What's Bothering You?
Follow me on Twitter @RealityofChris to contribute in future editions of this column.
@BigBadDad0417 says…"The Rock: It just feels like he's reciting all his "greatest hits" and inverting Cena's name. Just not working for me."
CC Response: At this point in his career, that's all he needs to do. He's not around enough to bother with a ton of originality. And fans don't care for the most part. When I go hear the Eagles reunion, I want "Desperado" and "Witchy Woman". If you smell what I'm cookin, that is.
Quite a few of you sent Rock-related posts in. WZ's Mike Killam @MikeKillam even got in on the action, as he sent me the following to include here:
"You know what's bothering me this week? How certain fans react to the Rock and the quality of his work thus far in his 2012 return. Before I go into that in great detail, let me preface my point by saying I'm a huge Rock fan. While it may be true that I've been waving the #TeamCena colors during this feud, Rock brought me to "the dance" a long time before Cena was lacing up his pumps. There is no legit heat by me on either of these men – I respect Rock for his choice to leave for Hollywood, and I respect Cena for his position not to (and if you think films like the Marine are an example of how Cena never would have made it, you clearly have never seen the Scorpion King). Now that we have that out of the way…
Wrestling fans don't suspend reality today nearly as much as we did in the 1980s. You can blame MMA, the Finger-Poke of Doom, Henry/Young's hand-baby, or any of the other ridiculously unbelievable stunts wrestling pulled in the 90s, but the point still remains; kayfabe is dead. With that has come a new perspective that I believe is healthy for the industry and for its fans alike – pro wrestling is a product, and its main television show is Monday Night Raw. It does come with the uniqueness of live events and an insane amount of merch, but at the end of the day WWE puts on a fictional televised product that we all buy into and enjoy (for the most part). So what's bothering me?
The Rock is "untouchable" according the majority of his fanbase. They're as loyal as Cena-haters are, and for better or worse that's the world we live in. Rock, for all intents and purposes, is a high school bully. He always was, and always will be. He takes the spotlight, talks about his giant penis, brags about the women he's slept with, and sticks unwavering to his catchphrases. He sounds like just about every teenage jock on the planet – Rock the character is a cleverly disguised ass that just happens to get 99% of the crowd behind him. It's hilarious to me that in real life most of us HATE people like the Rock. Who would choose to be friends with a tool that does nothing but talk about pie and his package? But after saying all of that, it doesn't bother me near as much as how Rock gets off the hook with everything. If he has a great week – which nowadays means he actually showed up and cut a good promo – he's put over by the fans as a god. He's brilliant, he's a visionary, he's the greatest of all time. But when he shows up and completely botches something, it's not HIS fault. If the Rock flubs a promo or butchers Queen, it's the WRITERS fault. It's the McMahons, John Laurinaitis, John Cena or anyone else BESIDES THE ROCK.
On the flip side of that, if John Cena has a bad week (or even if he doesn't) the wrestling community will come down on him with fire from heaven. The biggest thing that bothers me is that Cena can do no right, and Rock can do no wrong. Their characters are polar opposite of that dichotomy – Rock's character is a douche and Cena portrays an all-around nice guy, but it will never matter. Cena will keep pushing the "Be a Star" campaign for the company every single day, and Rock will come back, destroy it in a night, and leave for 4 months… At WrestleMania 28 there SHOULD be a 50/50 crowd split to make the match more polarizing. 30 minutes of "Cena sucks" will get old fast, and take something special away from the moment. But unfortunately wrestling fans are too pretentious these days to go with the flow, and don't have the testicular fortitude to stand up and cheer for the good guy.
I get it guys – Rock is awesome. His promos are great and he's a reminder of what the industry "once was". But while you're chanting the Rock's name next Sunday and echoing your over-used "Cena sucks" catchphrase, remember who was around for the last "seven long years" trying his damnedest to keep the business interesting for YOU. It wasn't Dwayne, and it wasn't even the Rock. It's the guy you will all be booing…don't boo Cena, you should be booing yourselves!"
