Raw Thread 14/02 spoilers within

SlickRic · 15-02-2011 03:35PM

what this also might do, if Cena and Rock are going to have some interaction...is have Cena go back to his Thuganomics heel persona.

or some variation of it.

one week he can just say, 'right, this shít's gona get real', and just let loose on The Rock, and see what happens.

i reckon Cena could let loose, and step up to the mark well enough if he's given the licence Rocky was last night.

Rjd2 · 15-02-2011 03:47PM

I feel asleep before the Orton match as I was tired:o:o:o

I am looking forward to seeing the Rock return, but its six days until the Elimination Chamber PPV and not one wrestling fan will remember that after the Rock's return last night.

They could have left the reveal for the PPV or the Raw after the PPV.

Mr.Nice Guy · 15-02-2011 03:56PM

SlickRic wrote: »

what this also might do, if Cena and Rock are going to have some interaction...is have Cena go back to his Thuganomics heel persona.

or some variation of it.

one week he can just say, 'right, this shít's gona get real', and just let loose on The Rock, and see what happens.

i reckon Cena could let loose, and step up to the mark well enough if he's given the licence Rocky was last night.

I agree. I think the fact Rock was given a lot more creative license last night was noticeable. If they had said to him, don't use any of your non-PG catchphrases like sticking anything up anyone's candy 'ass' etc. then the promo would have been lacking. It would have been still good because he's The Rock but they needed to let him be himself and it seemed the censors were beaten last night.

If they free Cena from the shackles and stop him from doing the 'poop' jokes and all the other PG crap then the two could have some really top notch confrontations. I'd still have my money on Rock coming out on top, but Cena could do himself justice if given the opportunity.

In regards to a possible Cena heel turn, if Rock sticks around then that could happen but that remains unclear it seems. The storyline would write itself though. If it was at next year's Mania for example you could have Cena say the fans turned on him, he never left for Hollywood like The Rock did and the people are a bunch of ingrates etc. So many possibilities to do if they eventually have a match.

SlickRic · 15-02-2011 04:03PM

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

If they free Cena from the shackles and stop him from doing the 'poop' jokes and all the other PG crap then the two could have some really top notch confrontations. I'd still have my money on Rock coming out on top, but Cena could do himself justice if given the opportunity.

i also agree

i think Cena would get a huge rub for being let loose with The Rock, to show that he actually is close to that level. he will never come across as such if he's shackled with the children's jokes.

as noted by Alvarez and Meltzer last night, the difference between The Rock and the rest of the roster last night was hugely striking. he overshadowed everything that came before him in a matter of minutes; not only because of his starpower, but his performance was so ahead of the rest, it must genuinely have been frightening for most of those stars in the back.

Beefy78 · 15-02-2011 04:17PM

I always feel it's a bit harsh to compare other wrestlers to The Rock. I take the point JR made on twitter about hoping that the young guys were paying attention and I'm sure that there are things about how he expresses himself which they can take on, but at the end of the day it was no fluke that Dwayne Johnson ended up in Hollywood. The guy just oozes charisma, He emotes more just on his walk to the ring before he's said anything than 90% of wrestlers and, frankly, 50% of actors can do with a ten minute monologue.

The guy is different class.

jaykhunter · 15-02-2011 04:43PM

Beefy78 wrote: »

I always feel it's a bit harsh to compare other wrestlers to The Rock. I take the point JR made on twitter about hoping that the young guys were paying attention and I'm sure that there are things about how he expresses himself which they can take on, but at the end of the day it was no fluke that Dwayne Johnson ended up in Hollywood. The guy just oozes charisma, He emotes more just on his walk to the ring before he's said anything than 90% of wrestlers and, frankly, 50% of actors can do with a ten minute monologue.

The guy is different class.

Completely agreed. Although we had himself and Foley cutting killer promos (as well as others) in the Attitude Era so it's no secret why people look back so fondly on it.

That said, how do you feel about Rock cutting Miz and Cena down to size?

ricero · 15-02-2011 04:45PM

was very funny last night watching most of the little kids reactions to the rock returning half of them didnt have a clue and some were even booing the rock when he was slatting cena was very funny

Exclamation Marc · 15-02-2011 04:49PM

jaykhunter wrote: »

That said, how do you feel about Rock cutting Miz and Cena down to size?

It would be very strange booking by WWE to let Rock do that to its two top stars if there wasn't going to be a programme or something between them.

I really think Miz would be better suited to the Rock promo wise as Miz to me is more Jericho like in his attitude and it would hark back to Jerichos debut and his promos with the Rock.

Still though, just having the Rock back on TV, he can cut promos on whoever he likes and I'd stil love it

parker kent · 15-02-2011 05:24PM

rossie1977 wrote: »

by burying the guy, not exactly the way you go about it then, a large percentage of adult males wear cena shirts at live shows in the states so i don't think they had that in mind

what i saw and heard was a standard face rock promo and he burying the two guys the iwc dont like in cole and cena.

People need to stop throwing out the phrase "burying the guy". It was the first promo in what will be a 6 week programme. The key will be what happens as Mania goes off air. I think it will end with The Rock raising Cena's arm after the Main Event.

There is clearly a massive number of people who dislike Cena, this could be a way to change that opinion. They have been acknowledging what people dislike about Cena through CM Punk and Michael Cole over the past few months. This is probably another part of that.

JP Liz V1 · 15-02-2011 05:49PM

http://twitter.com/Johncena

CeNation - Rock was in rare form tonight. It was great to see him enjoying himself out there. Even if it was at my expense. I've been called alot worse. Just glad to see him back in action

I still think it will be Miz V Cena for WWE title at WM maybe with Rock as enforcer or ref

flahavaj · 15-02-2011 06:06PM

Sweet mother of Jesus i just watched it and it was f*cking UNREAL. Great moment.

D.Q · 15-02-2011 06:12PM

I think Ive watched it three or four times now. Still getting shivers thinking about it. Those ****ing high heels had my heart broken.

SilverFox261 · 15-02-2011 06:25PM

I never thought we'd hear a Rock promo live again. I haven't heard a promo like that in years. It really was epic!

Saying that, I think its unfair to compare Rock's promo last night to what everyone else on the roster produces though. All of todays wrestlers are playing characters that are designed for the PG era, with highly censored material in their promo's. When they are reading from a script, its never going to come across as well as what we heard last night.

flahavaj · 15-02-2011 06:26PM

He won't be wrestling at Mania though lads, I really don't think thats gonna happen.

parker kent · 15-02-2011 06:32PM

On a different note, I'm not sure what it says about me that the first thing I noticed when the woman's foot appeared on screen was "her shoes are Louboutins" :pac:. Might say more about the women in my life.....

Twitter talk suggested Stephanie played the role of "the mysterious ankle".

Mr.Nice Guy · 15-02-2011 06:38PM

I'm watching it for a second time now. I just copped on to the fact that all the electrical stuff at the start was a hint - the most electrifying man in sports entertainment.

When I first saw it I was like 'this looks like a Jericho entrance'. :pac:

stiffler123 · 15-02-2011 06:46PM

Great to see The Rock back, he was always my favorite wrestler and I havn't watched a Wrestlemania since he left. Great stuff from WWE.

Pentecost · 15-02-2011 06:49PM

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I'm watching it for a second time now. I just copped on to the fact that all the electrical stuff at the start was a hint - the most electrifying man in sports entertainment.

When I first saw it I was like 'this looks like a Jericho entrance'. :pac:

There was another hint, looking back, during the Miz's match Cole was shouting something along the lines of "this is like Rocky!" I doubt that was coincidence.

Exclamation Marc · 15-02-2011 06:49PM

It was great to see that WWE were able to put out a non-PG promo. I mean if you have to censor a half dozen words a night, but it gives a promo an edge then maybe its worth it.

I mean one of John Cenas biggest downfalls is that he is so childlike in his promos, if he was able to slip the word "ass" or "crap" or "bitch" here and there yet have it bleeped out, it would really help him in my opinion.

I mean a couple of censored words don't necessarily mean that next week you're going to have a bloodbath, so it might not be a hugely bad decision to censor a couple of words.

jaykhunter · 15-02-2011 06:59PM

Maybe the censors didn't know 'where rock was going' with "sum b!tch" and "candy ass" passing thru uncensored! Only one bleep.

well we'll see next week!!!

God it's so FCUKING AWESOME having the Rock back. He's my favourite wrestler of all time. God damn.

DOC09UNAM · 15-02-2011 07:01PM

You can't censor the Rock :pac:

i've watched the promo at least 4 times since last night, still has be feeling like a child again.

Pentecost · 15-02-2011 07:02PM

As somebody pointed out earlier in the thread Punk hitting Cena over the head with a wrench was a bit further than they usually push PG. They might be easing it slightly to build Mania up even further.

starviewadams · 15-02-2011 07:06PM

I really was a breath of fresh air to see Rocky back,great swerve by WWE too with the womens feet close up,I'd convinced myself that it was Miley Cyrus or Britney Spears or some such shíte during the ad break and was delighted when Rock's music hit,actually had goosebumps as he did his turnbuckle salute,superb stuff by WWE,will definitely be buying Mania now,and the DVD of it too probably!

mulner92 · 15-02-2011 07:18PM

Absolutely delighted to hear this, the special one has returned. WWE may be worth watching again. Maybe just maybe wwe is turning away from the pg era??

krudler · 15-02-2011 07:35PM

Watched the promo there, my god that was amazing. That was the biggest crowd pop since the attitude era, its up there with Jericho's debut, Austins entrance at Mania 17 and HHH's return. epic ,epic crowd moment. Imagine those people who went to that Raw thinking it was going to be the same old same old then bam, out strolls The Rock

CMpunked · 15-02-2011 07:41PM

I'd say wwe execs met with the USA network and were like "look, we have the rock back. These are the words he will be saying.
I know it's not exactly pg. But if we let him say it you could possibly have the highest ratings figures ever over the next few weeks."

"ok that sounds worth it.."

"also we will have someone getting hit with a spanner.. ":pac:

Mr.Nice Guy · 15-02-2011 07:47PM

Having watched it again I have to take back my criticism of the crowd. I thought they were poor last night but they were loud enough in fairness to them. I still think a New York/Chicago/Texas crowd or a Canadian or European one would have been louder and better. I guess I always associate California with being one of those places that's too quiet.

In regards to the PG aspect, J.R. gave a very honest answer to that when someone asked him about it earlier...

PG is a corporate decision to make the show more family friendly ala the circus, etc. I like the edgier stuff too but that's not the direction the company has taken. Corporate sponsors such as Mattel love the safer, PG environment. Boomer....

I think he's correct about the sponsors but as Austin said once, surely they could afford to push the limit more. I was wondering too do the US censors block out the stuff that we hear over here on Sky or is that Sky's own censorship? Because I can recall some incident a few weeks back where something non-PG was done and it was cut out of the Sky repeat. Are they instructed to be as strict on this as the Americans, or are they choosing to be or what? It really pisses me off seeing words like 'ass' getting censored on what Sky themselves say is a post-watershed production.

Incidentally here's J.R.'s thoughts from his blog on Rock's return for anyone who didn't catch it:

Big night on MNR to say the least. Here are some thoughts.....

The WWE hit a home run when they brought back Dwayne Johnson to be the Host of Wrestlemania 27. Who would have been a better choice?

For my money....no one.

Sorry, young Mr. Beiber.

The Rock's Raw closing promo was golden. I smelled money while he was commanding the live audience. My instincts tell me that fans watching at home were just as emotionally invested as were the fans in Anaheim.

Rock created as much magic Monday Night in Anaheim than Walt Disney did on his best day in the same city.

Hopefully, all the talents who were still at the Honda Center locker room area were listening closely to what the Rock said, when he said it, and saw how he was a majestic maestro who had the live audience in the palm of his hand.

One could tell that Rock was enjoying himself. His DNA is 'ring worthy.'

Great promo men over the years had one common denominator. They all could 'feel' the audience.

Rock felt it Monday night.

He once told me that what he always missed most about appearing in WWE was the adrenaline rush that he got from the live audience. Nothing on Earth can replicate that unique feeling for any entertainer/athlete, etc.

Trust me on that one. (Announcers kill for moments like Monday night.)

Some fans are hammering us on Twitter @JRsBBQ proclaiming that it will be Rock vs. Cena at WM27. That's not what I heard. I heard that Rock was Hosting the event which works very well for me. Will there be some sort of Rock/Cena interaction? Sounds that way to me which is why I'm 'staying tuned.'

With Rock as the Host of the biggest WWE event of the year inside the Georgia Dome, fans can expect the unexpected.

WWE and the Rock aren't collaborating at WM27 without the Rock making a significant IMPACT in Atlanta.

How does the man that Hollywood knows as Dwayne Johnson make an impact w/o wrestling in a match?

Very easily. Rock did it tonight and never laid a hand on anyone.

All I know is that business picked up in WWE Monday night and with all that is planned for WM27 I can't wait to attend the event live.

I expect more huge announcements to come at the Elimination Chamber PPV and soon thereafter as in 2/21/11.

Has anyone else in the industry commented on it? I've seen Jericho and Cena's reactions too but I'd love to hear more reaction to what was a great promo.

starviewadams · 15-02-2011 07:54PM

Christian said on twitter that he was glued to his TV!

jaykhunter · 15-02-2011 07:56PM

From twitter (credit Ben from Antdogs)

- John Cena responded to the Rock's comments on RAW via Twitter, wrting, "CeNation. Rock was in rare form tonight. It was great to see him enjoying himself out there. Even if it was at my expense. I've been Called alot worse. Just glad to see him back in action."

- Other superstars also commented on the Rock's return:

CM Punk: "Rock owes me fifty bucks for going 20 minutes past the hour, making me miss my valentines day reservations at Nobu."

Big Show: "Did anyone notice the chill bumps on Rocks arms as he gave his catch phrase? The rock is back!"

Val Venis: "I am just as happy as anyone else the Rock is back. As long as he sticks to the mic, we are good. Cuz his wrestling ability is questionable. Not hating on Rock. He is AWESOME on the mic. His charisma is unmatched. But lets be honest, Rock>Hardy & Venis>Rock! HONESTLY!"

Steve Austin: It was great to see The Rock back on RAW tonight…helluva promo from an electrifying cat. great stuff heading into Mania.

Chris Jericho: Congratulations to one of my favorite opponents and greatest rivals on returning to the WWE. The Rock is the BEST promo man of all time…

Furious-Red · 15-02-2011 09:25PM

Am i the only person who was not a fan of the remix of Rocks theme? Apart from that was great to see him back in the ring hard to believe its 7 years since he was live on the show. Could we be seeing Cena vs Rock next year at WM?

Raw Thread 14/02 *spoilers within*

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Raw Thread 14/02 spoilers within