Dap Diesel

Promo War: The Rock vs. John Cena (who's really holding back)

13 Comments

, 03-12-2012 at 02:55 PM (5873 Views)

First blog on here, long time reader, it's just ramblings but I look forward to your thoughts as well:

So I've read these forums and blogs long enough to see how someone gets named a Cena Pole Jockey or a Rocky Mark. There's never any positive nickname for being part of the Cenation, but no one gets grief for being part of Team Bring It.

I'm 28 years old, and after watching wrestling since I was old enough to change the channel on the old UHF models, despite all other men my age being firmly anti-cena, I find myself progressively being on the fence if not completely leaning over it in an unexpected way.

Sure, I like many other wrestling fans like to see believable storylines and appreciate an underdog, but when Cena became the face of the company, he lost that underdog appeal he had when facing JBL or Big Show for the belt almost nine title reigns ago. He’s gone from Ruthless Aggression Cena to Doctor of Thuganomics to Marine to the Make A Wish Kid which is at any moment a combination of all the above. The bad part is, he comes off as a product which isn’t genuine. He may finally be coming across as himself, but the packaging is all wrong. So male fans cry B.S. He’s phony, he’s fake, we’ve cena-nuff. How can we appease the male demographic with a good ol’ fashion slobber-knocker of epic proportions with Cena on the receiving end?

Enter "The Great One", "The Bhrama Bull", "The People's Champ". A man who has had a legitimate beef with Cena for running him down in interview after interview for turning his back on a business he supposedly loved SO MUCH.

Cena’s comments and an example of the article can be found below:
http://popular-culture.families.com/...wayne-johnson#

It all came from when The Rock went from being billed as “The Rock” in The Scorpion King, to being billed as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to simply being Dwayne Johnson. Cena said he would never leave the WWE and that wrestling was his first love, he’d never be like The Rock. He even said he’d like to wrestle him in whatever iteration of a name he chooses.

Cena seemed salty, but he’s entitled. Just as Johnson is entitled to follow Hogan’s advice and distance himself from wrestling in order to be taken seriously in Hollywood. If Hogan is the example, nuff said. Which is why it’s so interesting to see him picking back up the “The Rock” handle. Maybe because that male demographic isn’t flocking to theaters like he thought they would after dropping the name. Maybe playing a gay male in Be Cool and a Tooth Fairy hurt his credibility more than Faster or The Rundown could repair. So Cena’s comments about launching his twitter account and promoting fast five don’t seem so unbased. Rock needs the men to support his action films, so he goes where they are in droves, he even tried an association with the UFC first:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yK0tCki_0c

So after all this, now was the opportunity to come back and put boot to ass and make Cena his bitch in public and in front of the world. From Valentines Day 2011 to WrestleMania 27 they proceeded to make Cena the Rock’s whipping boy, and no one complained. Even when his first rap retort to Rocky came across as a more interesting and aggressive and refreshingly funny John Cena, he still got verbally trounced without an appropriate comeback and got Rock Bottomed on the grandest stage of them all in a match that made both he and The Miz an afterthought to the hosting ability of the always trending Dewayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Then they announce the match at Wrestlemania 28 with a “never before, never again” tag team match at Summerslam. Cena put on a decent showing to start the match, tagged in Rocky and allowed him to dominate. Then get bitched out in the ring and stand there and take it smiling before receiving yet another Rock Bottom for his trouble.

Why subject us to this? Does anyone think this was intended to make Cena look good or credible? A yearlong battle via satellite and YouTube and Rocky is JUST NOW allowing Cena to get a word in edge-wise to achieve a 50/50 split?

Riiiiiiiiiiight. And Derek Bateman will be WWE Champ by June.

My point is this. So many have been saying “the rock is holding back” and “he’s making Cena look good”. I think it’s CENA who’s holding back.
Hear me out. I can’t help but remember something I saw on this site saying Randy Orton weighed in on the Rocky v. Cena war of words. He said that Rocky’s stuff is written, but Cena is just naturally witty and can go when given the ability to do so. I tend to agree. I say that because after Cena cut loose on Rocky with some very pointed and personal insults. The Rock, (er…Dwayne…no, they’re the same person. He said so. Got it.) Rocky came back guns blazing and sights set on embarrassing Cena handedly….and sadly...failed to impress me.

Don't get me wrong, the nostalgia always gets me,…for a second, then reality sets in. His shtick is tired. Last week he was talking about sticking feathers up Cena's ass and calling him a Jabroni. He's always smacking someone's lips off their face and he’s obsessed with pastry. It’s catch phrase, after catch phrase. Never mind that Hustle, Loyalty and Respect are plastered across Cena’s back the same way eat your vitamins and say your prayers are embedded into the minds of Hulkamaniacs,…Rock’s key notes seem to have lost luster in this latest exchange.

Instead of Cena, the prep-school thug wannabe who disses himself before his opponent has an opportunity to (ala 8-Mile), it’s Rock who’s coming off as phony. Cena called Rock “…a self-serving son of a bitch who wouldn’t give a damn if WWE closed its doors tomorrow. Continue trending…” Ouch…Rocky said I’ll slap the lips off your face, if you smell what the rock is cookin’!!! (ouch…*sarcastically*) besides, dude looked legitimately angry and shook.

Did you ever think you'd go back in time and tell your 18-20 year old self that "The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment" was housed on the microphone by the "Doctor of Thuganomics"???? Cause it’s happened. People have been sticking up for the rock left and right, but as a true and objective fan (I'm not a mark for anyone, I just call it as I see it)...Cena owned the rock on the mic on a couple of occasions. With jaw dropping
pipe bombs. I don’t care what anyone says, the rock was not expecting Cena to hit him with the lines about his wrist notes. Sorry, the rock is not that good of an actor. All Rock has done is say fans are tired of him, he’s not entertaining, he’s a fruity pebble, bloated transvestite wonderwoman. He gets to say Cena chews on yumm rockets and all, but Cena gets slammed by GLADD for his gay rants against Rocky. Who gets held back in this exchange?

Rock really has no legit beef. What is he gonna say? Cena sucks. Okay, what else? Your gear is stupid. You look like a fruity pebble. And I’ll still kick your ass! I’m wearing black now and my shorts are military themed as a tribute, so the F what, say something else!!! I’m gonna slap you with Kung pow chicken and make you my kung pow bitch!

…

Did I ever like this stuff? I’m starting to wonder what was appealing about the rock.

Maybe it’s because his opponents flipped out as if they couldn’t believe the level of witt and creativity displayed. I can’t help but laugh as Cena smirks unfazed, cause that’s what any of us would do in a face to face encounter…if you’re not shook. Just an observation…

So this leads me to my assessment of this year’s Wrestlemania. I have an old “we bring the whippin’/…you bring the ass” Rock T-shirt in the closet. I also have the old John Deere themed John Cena shirt. Guess which one I’m gonna rock holding my son on the couch.

Yes I’m a father now. So I see the role Cena represents for the next generation of wrestling fans. They’re getting younger, not older. So I don’t blame Cena for the aspects of his character that have gotten stale. I place partial blame the other talent who haven’t got over on the opportunities they’ve been given (imagine if ZigSwag or Kofi could capitalize like Santino has). I blame the writers for having the same attention span in storylines as the script-writers for Lost. But I don’t blame Cena. I think he’s playing his position. He’s in essence obeying the Rock. He knows his role, but he refuses to shut his mouth.

So what am I saying. I don’t want to nor can I sway anyone from hating John Cena. He’s the most effective face/heel in recent memory. He makes arenas boo him almost as heavily as Vicky Guerrero, but sells just as much merch if not more than Hogan ever did. That alone arguably earns him the title of most controversial champion. I’m saying in a bout against the People’s Champion, the realism edge in the war of words, and the effective exclamation point goes to Cena.

Updated 03-12-2012 at 03:02 PM by Dap Diesel (typo)

Tags: cena, promo, rock, work, wrestlemania

Categories: Uncategorized

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Comments

Theicon - 03-13-2012 04:06 AM
First of all sorry i mispelt a word thanks for being th nerdy grammar police lol
No one is questioning Cenas work ethic you tool & you are obviously copping in the butt from cena to put the time into writing a blind pro cena blog that has no real merit other than a misguided opinion.
I used to be a fan of cena when he had the rapper gimmick but the marine gimmick & promos get old after a few years of the same old shit
[QUOTE=Dap Diesel;bt56695]@Theicon, thanks for reading. You're entitled to disagree. that's what makes this country so great. We don't have to agree. But just because I don't bow to the same idol as you doesn't make my blog crappy anymore than it makes you an expert on wrestling or spelling "realize". Again, not a Cena mark. I respect the hell out of any wrestler who goes hard 360+ days a year taking insane bumps and putting miles on their bodies going cross country to entertain the fans. It's not a 50/50 battle because kids will blindly follow Cena just like guys (presumably) our age will blindly chant along with The Rock.

Rocky WAS more entertaining than Cena. I was also a lot younger then. I appreciated when CM Punk came out ripping into Cena and Trips and VKM and Stephanie because it had a ring of reality to it. It seemed raw and off the cuff. That to me is WAAAAAAY more entertaining than talking about male and female genitalia and rectal exams.

You're a Rock fan. You're entitled. I looked at this objectively as a guy who has always been very pro Rock. But you can't get butt-sore if I don't see things the way you do *lol. My feelings were genuinely hurt when you called me stupid (insert sad face).

@lukepopescu73, I don't have heat on The Rock, I'm looking at things objectively as I hope others who read anything I write would do. His promo on Cena was not one of his best, his promo where he ran down Rikishi, Undertaker and Kurt Angle among others was hilarious. His back and forth with Jericho picking apart Stephanie McMahon Helmsley? Great stuff and classic one-upsmanship (if that's even a word). The stuff in Boston was a bunch of cheap pops and pointing out that Cena has a bunch of crap made in his likeness just like Rock used to. Bobbleheads, alarm clocks, cologne, it's all stuff Rock used to have too, which is what made it funny to me.

And let's be clear, I'm speaking based on obserations that I've made, not what I think Cena marks or Rocky marks want to hear or read. You don't like what I have to say, write a compelling counter arguement. You're tired of people siding with Cena, I'm just as tired of people riding for rock blindly. It's my opinion and you have yours. I respect it. just defending my position in my blog.

And thank you for the correction, you're right it was Survivor Series and not SS. My mistake. Continue to be a fan of the site, I too am looking forward to this battle, but honestly if Cena wins, he'll get booed out of the building and if Rock wins it buries Cena and doesn't give anyone the rub. The whole handshake at the end is just not realistic at all. So...

hopefully creative gets it right. I'll leave it to the experts on this site who clearly work for the WWE give me the heads up (hint at sarcasm).

Thanks for reading guys![/QUOTE]
Dr. Death - 03-13-2012 04:58 AM
It was a decent blog, unbiased and true from your own perspective. That's what a blog should be, true to oneself with some facts thrown in. good job and don't let rock or cena marks get you down.
DarknessFalls - 03-13-2012 01:05 PM
Great blog. Seems like anyone who doesn't say that Cena sux will get jumped from IWC. I too am a father and grew up with The Rock and now watch Cena doing the same thing he used to for the most part. I find myself entertained by the promo wars but mostly by Cena as the Rock is recycling old material. I'm
Dap Diesel - 03-13-2012 01:17 PM
@DarknessFalls, I'm starting to get that impression that either you're anti-cena or against everyone else. I'm just getting the sense that Rocky is kind of reached this awareness that:

A. The crowd will chant whatever I say
B. They'll cheer whatever I want
C. It doesn't have to make sense so long as it's a diss.

That's not the Rock I remembered fondly. It's just coming across lazy. I think that's fair assessment. At any rate, thanks for reading.
Dap Diesel - 03-13-2012 01:20 PM
Originally Posted by WheresAhmedJohnson

What we're seeing between The Rock and John Cena is truly history in the making. Why? Because it's based on real life issues that should be addressed. I am a fan of both wrestlers and though I don't consider myself a "mark," I side with Cena. Let's look at a few things and consider what makes this thing so relevant.

The biggest thing that stands out to me is the whole doing away with kayfabe. Anyone who is a true wrestling fan has seen so many gimmicks and storylines that it was almost to a point where wrestling wasn't worth watching anymore. Everything that could have possibly, and legally been done was done. So what's left to do? How about telling the truth. Bring some realism to the game. Case in point, back in the 80s when Flair and Steamboat feuded, they focused on the lifestyles of both men. Flair was the high rolling, flamboyant player that every woman wanted and every man wanted to be. Steamboat was the low key, family man do-gooder who refused to cheat his way through the biz. Flair brought the ladies and the bling to the ring, Steamboat brought his wife and kid. A taste of realism helped combined with the clinics they put on in the ring.

Jake Roberts and Rick Rude had a nice run with their feud with the inclusion of Roberts' wife. Hogan and Savage split up as the Mega Powers over an alleged (yet probably true) affair between Hulk and Liz? Again, a sense of realism. And how about the Ric Flair's beef with Jim Herd over the operation of NWA/WCW toward the beginning of the 90s? The Great American Bash was supposed to be Barry Windham's big night, but because Jim Herd was an idiot who brought the first fall of WCW, Flair split up NOrth with Big Gold. Watch GAB '91 and you can hear the fans chanting for Flair, and watch Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone (sp?) trying to sell a fake story as to why Flair wasn't there while all along knowing the truth. Realism works!

Still not convinced? Let's welcome in the Monday Night Wars. What about the incident at MSG when the Clique said goodbye as Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were on their way out the door. And even though their debut in WCW started as a work/shoot (importance on work being first) it still brought a realism to the audience. DX invaded Nitro, Madusa throws away the WWE women's title on live TV, the Radicals come to WWE. ALl the drama with Russo screwing up WCW which led to the end of WCW...all these things weren't expected by the audience, and it worked. Up to a point, we didn't have websites and insiders to give us a heads up on the happenings of the wrestling world, and the shock factor was great!

By no means am I trying to insult anyone's wrestling knowledge, but it's always best to present something to the crowd that's new and fresh, which, FINALLY after all that rambling, I come back to The Rock and Cena. It's not just about being a Rock fan or a Cena fan, but it's about being entertained. The stuff Rock is doing now was new and fresh 10-15 years ago. What makes it bad is that we're seeing it over and over in his promos. His Boston promos were weak and the fact that he had to write stuff on his wrist was pathetic. If he can memorize lines for a script, surely he can memorize a promo. And ending his "Rock Concert" tonight with We Will Rock You was lame. He was doing fairly decent until he got to that part. He's not addressing the accusations Cena has presented to Cena's face, and that makes him look weak to me. Yeah Rocks promos are entertaining, but they're flat out weak.

Cena is giving us his heart, his emotions and the truth, and it's burying the Rock. Yeah, it may have started off as WWE trying to hold back the Rock to make Cena look strong, but I really don't think Cena needs the help. Am I the only one who noticed when Cena was putting EVE on blast that we mouthed the words "I'm Back" to the camera? Cena's been the one who's holding back. Yeah he may look like a Vanilla Ice Eminem wannabe, but he's got our attention. He gets on the mic and it doesn't even seem like he's trying, and he cuts a good promo. All I'm saying is promo wise, Cena is clearly ahead on the score cards. And if it weren't for a PG rating, he could probably be further ahead. I can really do without all the references to the people's strudel, Clydesdale, or whatever the heck it is. Man-up Rock and tell Cena how you really feel. The match at WM28 is going to be a heck of a match. Whoever wins, it'll be good for business, but if it were just left to a war of words, then, like Cena says, "The Champ Is HERE!"

Well stated sir. Well stated indeed.
NrG-GoD - 03-13-2012 02:37 PM
Originally Posted by lukepopescu73

I dont get all this heat on The Rock on all these blogs, we all loved the rock for his trash talk and his catch phrases . how is it different now? his promo on Cena at the Boston Harbor was one of his best. Cena just has done nothing to impress me, just because he is "real" does not mean he is winning in these promo wars. Rock is still great, he proved it at survivor series not "summerslam" . I have been waiting for this match up to happen for a very long time. i am a big fan of this website but to see a lot of you guys bashing the rock is turning me away, if we are dedicated wrestling fans we should be enjoying this because this is a once in a long while match up.

did u not see the teleprompter in his sunglasses while he did those promos in Boston... theres the sun light and another blueish light reflecting in his glasses