Raw [07/01/2013] Rock Returns *Spoilers*

B.A._Baracus

The irony of the rock suggesting punk is on steroids.

Liam O

This is probably the most cringeworthy I've seen the Rock.

Lol'd there though

DJKendo

I was enjoying Punk more than The Great One. .

Show Time

Liam O wrote: »

If John Cena said "Cookie Puss" I'd love to see the reaction in here.

Rock can get away with anything.

Dunny

DJKendo wrote: »

I was enjoying Punk more than The Great One. .

Agree

B.A._Baracus

I hate all this "we do it for the fans" crap from wwe.

CM punk's promo had me more interested. Bloody true as well. Every man does it for themself. I'd like to listen to that more than this fake-passion crap.

DJKendo

Punk killing it. He is just brilliant.

Dunny

Go Punk

J. Marston

Punk's promo was great but I'll always be a Rocky fan.

Show Time

Rock with the final say on the night.

Liam O

After Punk verbally raped him I suppose they had to let the Rock physically come out on top.

RobbingBandit

PG Sass Talk.

harney

DJKendo wrote: »

I was enjoying Punk more than The Great One. .

Actually I was starting to nod off as Punk was doing his little rant thing.

Strongbow10

we saw a display tonight of how wrestling in the 21st century just doesn't measure up to the late 90s.

Punk is a great talker, but he just doesn't have "it". I'm a punk fan believe it or not, but you will never have another glory run of wrestling with someone like CM Punk as the main guy.

Mr.Nice Guy

The Great One is back.

Congrats WWE. You got me invested in this match. Might order this PPV.

Best thing on WWE TV in ages.

Liam O wrote:

After Punk verbally raped him I suppose they had to let the Rock physically come out on top.

Not at all. I thought both guys did a terrific job.

Punk deserves credit for keeping his vision being in there with a star that shines so much brighter than he ever will.

BohsJohnny

I love rock but that was pretty bad from him cookie puss what was that,popeye on crack that was up there with cena bad imo,punk was so much more believable in his promo.

starviewadams

Strong finish from Punk and Rock there.If that segment was 5 minutes shorter it would've been x10 better though.

Could've done without the cookie fuss or whatever he was on about,same as last year with the popcorn fart bollocks.

Strongbow10

J. Marston wrote: »

Punk's promo was great but I'll always be a Rocky fan.

what did Punk say to Rock in fairness, hes going to kick his ass??

The promo before was pretty decent i'll give him that, he says alot about whats wrong with the business right now. He is on the money with that.

But he is part of the reason the business is where it is too. If the company was operating in the glory years, CM Punk with be a mid carder at very best.

Thats the reality.

GTR63

Is this worth a watch tomorrow spent the last few hours arsing about with my laptop and watching x-men.

J. Marston

Strongbow10 wrote: »

what did Punk say to Rock in fairness, hes going to kick his ass??

The promo before was pretty decent i'll give him that, he says alot about whats wrong with the business right now. He is on the money with that.

But he is part of the reason the business is where it is too. If the company was operating in the glory years, CM Punk with be a mid carder at very best.

Thats the reality.

The solo promo, I meant. He didn't say a lot that was interesting to Rock.

But, like Rock, Punk's promo got a bit samey eventually.

''You people don't matter.'' = ''20 days, time's up.''

BohsJohnny

I can't believe some people on here didn't think punk's promo was that good and that rock was great every where else i am checking people are slating the rock and loving punk's promo.

A Rogue Hobo

GTR63 wrote: »

Is this worth a watch tomorrow spent the last few hours arsing about with my laptop and watching x-men.

Hour 1 and 3 are. Nothing happened in the second hour so skip that.

Enjoyed the face-off between both men. Thought they both performed very well. Rocky had some lame insults but gotta do the best with that's given to you in a PG world. Plus it got a reaction so mission successful. I think people are jumping the gun when they say Punk was out-shone by Rocky or that he would never pass mid-card back in the day etc etc. Punk is the bad guy, he doesn't want to out-shine the Rock, that's not his job, his job is to be the sharp contrast to Rock's loud and brash funnyman routine, Punk is meant to be the antithesis to that. To be serious, dry and arrogant. Put it like this, at no moment in that face-off did I ever forget Punk's presence and I think that says a huge amount about Punk's ability.

EDIT: My only actual problem was the Rock Bottom upon reflection. I get that Rock has returned and so he gets out on top, but no one has forgotten the Rock, They only have 2 and a half weeks worth of programming left of build to this match. Make Rock chase Punk.

starviewadams

BohsJohnny wrote: »

I can't believe some people on here didn't think punk's promo was that good and that rock was great every where else i am checking people are slating the rock and loving punk's promo.

Wrestling,like most things in life, is subjective.

Wouldn't slate either mans promos myself,but apart from Punk's closing face to face bit with Rock and his ''boxing with god'' line,I prefered Rock's promo overal.

BohsJohnny

starviewadams wrote: »

Wrestling,like most things in life, is subjective.

Wouldn't slate either mans promos myself,but apart from Punk's closing face to face bit with Rock and his ''boxing with god'' line,I prefered Rock's promo overal.

Oh I know it's subjective every body is entitled to like what they want but I thought punk promo before rock came out and his i going to kick your ass reply was better then "cookiepuss" and "Popeye on crack" like I said I love rock just expected a bit more from him.

Mr.Nice Guy

A Rogue Hobo wrote: »

Enjoyed the face-off between both men. Thought they both performed very well. Rocky had some lame insults but gotta do the best with that's given to you in a PG world. Plus it got a reaction so mission successful. I think people are jumping the gun when they say Punk was out-shone by Rocky or that he would never pass mid-card back in the day etc etc. Punk is the bad guy, he doesn't want to out-shine the Rock, that's not his job, his job is to be the sharp contrast to Rock's loud and brash funnyman routine, Punk is meant to be the antithesis to that. To be serious, dry and arrogant. Put it like this, at no moment in that face-off did I ever forget Punk's presence and I think that says a huge amount about Punk's ability.

EDIT: My only actual problem was the Rock Bottom upon reflection. I get that Rock has returned and so he gets out on top, but no one has forgotten the Rock, They only have 2 and a half weeks worth of programming left of build to this match. Make Rock chase Punk..

That's a fair assessment of tonight, although I disagree with you on the Rock Bottom as I think Rock needed to respond to the GTS from a few months back.

In terms of the content of the promos, as you say yourself Rock had to tone things down with the PG environment. He got to say 'ass' about twice which is the extent to which they'll let him go. He was saying 'backside' and 'butt cheek' more often. You can easily see the difference between this Rock and the Attitude Era Rock. This was Rock at about 50% of his powers yet he still showed the entire roster how to cut an impassioned money promo.

Punk's character is more suited to this PG environment as his character doesn't need to push the boundaries like Rock used to do. Punk held up his end of the bargain I will give him that and many of the current WWE guys would have been out of their depth being in with The Rock. I would say though there was nothing particularly noteworthy in what Punk said with the exception of the 'pipe bombs' about the company guys, which I've no doubt he worked on with Vince just like his first pipe bomb speech.

The biggest truth said in this whole segment for me was Rock mocking Punk's attempt to change things. There are no ice-cream bars, the WWE Title hasn't changed its design and Punk ended up becoming just another generic WWE babyface. I hope Rock touches on this more.

In terms of sheer charisma and star power, I thought Rock stood out from everyone in wrestling today. He has a charisma that's effortless and more akin to guys you'd see in other forms of entertainment. Guys like Will Smith for example. It's so rare to see this trait in a wrestler and that stood out for me from seeing this promo.

Some Punk fans might try to rubbish Rock and praise their guy but I think it's quite apparent that no guy today - Cena and Punk included - could have cut a babyface promo like Rock just did. The way he blended the humour with the seriousness is something the current crop can't do, although Cena is capable of it on rare occasions. Maybe Hunter too if we can include him. Rock got the fans chanting 'cookie puss' somehow and as I said earlier, this wasn't even Rock at anywhere near 100% freedom of expression.

The Rock is a one of a kind.

P.S. Guess I am still a Rock fanboy at heart. :pac: Glad he's back though.

A Rogue Hobo

I definitely agree about the Rock cutting a babyface promo unlike anyone else. That's his trait, his selling point if you will, but Punk was a heel not a babyface, and I felt he cut a great heel promo. I think you make a good apoint about Rock saying Punk really changed nothing but I think Punk prefaced this well in his promo when he basically said he realised he needed to sell out to fans to get where he wanted to be.

To become Mr. Popular, and pander to the crowd with calls for ice-cream and change which made Rock's point a little moot. I guess you're right in a sense about Rock getting revenge for GTS, but I just think it'd be more exciting for Rock fans if he tried to to hit and Punk escaped and ran away. Constantly have Punk one-up Rock so that come Royal Rumble, Rock fans are dying to see him get his hands on him.

DEFTLEFTHAND

BohsJohnny wrote: »

Oh I know it's subjective every body is entitled to like what they want but I thought punk promo before rock came out and his i going to kick your ass reply was better then "cookiepuss" and "Popeye on crack" like I said I love rock just expected a bit more from him.

Granted the cookie puss line was lame but I did smirk at the Popeye comment. There is a hint of resemblance there since he went with the tight haircut, and of course quite ironically he has always looked like a drug addict.

rovert

Punk and Ryback rehearsing before the show:

Show Time

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

The Great One is back.

Congrats WWE. You got me invested in this match. Might order this PPV.

Best thing on WWE TV in ages.



Not at all. I thought both guys did a terrific job.

Punk deserves credit for keeping his vision being in there with a star that shines so much brighter than he ever will.

Punk is miles behind the Rock when it comes to mic skills and after watching Punk on the mic last night i have no doubt he would not have lasted as a wrestler in the Attitude Era either. At the most Punk would be a very poor man Ken Shamrock.

SlickRic

Punk did what he does.

Rock did what he does.

neither of them schooled the other.

Punk, as has been mentioned, is the antithesis to The Rock. the way he delivered his promos was perfect. some of the material, especially in the first promo, was a bit long, and he didn't talk about the Rock until far too long into his promo, but his delivery was epic.

The Rock is supposed to be this larger than life persona that gets the crowd excited. Punk is supposed to be this resilient prick of a champion who doesn't give a shít what anyone says or thinks, and is just going to do what it takes to win, because that's what the best do.

Punk also did a great job putting the title over as very important, as well as his title reign.

i found it funny that Punk insulted the crowd for not having the intelligence to take in anything remotely complicated, and the crowd didn't really react, probably because the promo was too long and complicated

it's a great natural rivalry, and I hope there is some effective stuff planned for the next couple of weeks.

i also think it was too early to Rock Bottom Punk, presuming the plan is for the title to go on The Rock. IMO, there should have been some sort of chase. but we'll see what happens.

JP Liz V1

This has to be most active Raw thread in a while

grames_bond

Loved that segment so much! And I agree with everything SlickRic said - except for one thing: I think the rock bottom at the end was perfect - the last time they were in the ring - Punk hit him with a GTS - which the Rock didn't for get! This should makes it 1-1 and builds a huge fire under punk for next week - we saw him knocked down a peg with the rock bottom - after his TLC "win" and awesome promo it was needed! He will be pissed off next week and angry and want to be heard! builds brilliantly IMO!

hufpc8w3adnk65

Quick question...Does anyone think The Rock would pass the Wellness Test?Seriously?Even one person?

Theres no way Rocky isnt on some juice!

rossie1977

Show Time wrote: »

At the most Punk would be a very poor man Ken Shamrock.

punk would not have been in the shamrocks spot to start off with he would have been in an similiar spot to jericho but punk can shoot without a script far better than jericho could/can

SlickRic

good point actually grames.

i hadn't thought of it that way, and I hope, now, that WWE play to that and have Punk go up a level or 2 as a response.

rovert

Pffft Rock and Punk

Lord TSC

Last night on Raw, WWE posted a "The World Follows WWE On Twitter" list. The Rock, John Cena, Randy Orton and CM Punk were in the top four spots, while the Miz was in 5th place with 878,011 followers. This upset Zack Ryder, since he has 990,324 followers. Here is what he posted on Twitter last night…

So on #RAW it just showed the most followed superstars in @WWEand they just skipped me? #AREYOUSERIOUSBRO

Can @WWE read? I have 989k twitter followers. @mikethemiz has 879k. #AREYOUSERIOUSBRO #HMMM

The world follows me on twitter too. @WWE just doesn't want you to know. I have 100k followers more than @mikethemiz.pic.twitter.com/J6k3DFx0

Hey @WWE. Whose decision was it to leave me off the "The World Follows WWE On Twitter" list? You can just DM me the answer. I won't tell.

Hey @WWE…;#RyderHasMoreFollowersThanMiz is trending worldwide. Sorry @mikethemiz.

http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/269058/Zack-Ryder-Upset-WWE-Left-Him-Off-Twitter-List-on-Raw.htm

gimmick

Saying Rock stands apart from the rest is not exactly a big or controversial opinion. He is a once in lifetime talent when it comes charisma.

Seems to be a good boards rating on this weeks Raw. Will give it a watch.

gnfnrhead

Jaysus, get over it, Ryder! Not like it means anything.

rovert

Can't wait to get home to watch Raw and find out where I sit on the general internet divide of whether Rock and/or Punk were either great or absolutely terrible. Really taken aback by the range of opinion it has generated.

takamichinoku

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/269058/Zack-Ryder-Upset-WWE-Left-Him-Off-Twitter-List-on-Raw.htm

Heel turn for Ryder as a comedic version of Punk's whole unappreciated schtick?




Anyways RE Rock and Punk, I didn't think either was awful, they just didn't gel at all. Rock needs to get away from cookie puss fruity pebbles crap pretty quickly though if he's gonna be around until mania.

cian68

The Rock was great at building a big match atmosphere but I'll never understand why he thinks 'fruity pebbles' 'cung pow chicken' or 'cookiepuss' are funny. Kind of neat that Cm Punk put over Tyson Kidd. Also Rock mocking Punk's tattoos was kind of ridiculous. Look in a mirror buddy.

CMpunked

rovert wrote: »

Punk and Ryback rehearsing before the show:

Got there before you, bud.


I loved the promo, from both men, each one had substance and truth.
It completely 100% invested me in the match at the rumble, it wasn't perfect but it was excellent to have that kind of a promo done with 2 more raws between now and the match. They can only go up from here in terms of promoting the match.

Bounty Hunter

Didn't watch the last two filler Raw's but im watching this one now and here are my thoughts:

The opening promo by Cena was pure garbage unless he is actively trying to troll adult audiences and be both a face and heel at the same time (actually possible) but fair play dolph for at least getting in the line about Cena just laughing off everything that happens to him (although I guess that may have been the point of the whole interchange). Big E says it's on even though Dolph says no so it's so.... umm when did Dolph's bodyguard get match making privileges?

No commentators for most of the match which as its a rarity i actually enjoy and the crowd seem into it but King/Cole returned after the first break and the finish to the match wasnt great imo considering the above about Cena laughing off everything and then he wins anyway, woulda preferred if he was actually taught a lesson (and Ziggler winning thanks to Big E's actions wouldnt have made him look weak but made the new guy look impressive) but i guess he is still somehow the face and he will be kept strong enough heading into mania season so no surprise, actually a good match that aside but thats what id expect from these two.

divas match...skipped, sorry girls but Raw is already 3hrs... guess I like that Kaitlynn seems to have won, guess they will go 1on1 at the Rumble again.

Not sure were the Steamboat bit will go but im a fan and Randy/3MB tonight meh, Randy/3MB at the Rumble, honestly more interested in seing 3MB then

Hell No vs Team Rhodes scholars, as always and Bryan I think is everyone's fav 5 now booker.

Sandow did well covering up Kane's top rope slips and Bryan sold his knee very well and this was a good and different match as a result with Sandow/Rhodes going over and a little story being told.

Randy vs Slater, I didnt skip as I thought it would be fast and thankfully it was only long enough (maybe a bit too long) to remind us of Randy/Smackdown storylines until the viper "out of nowhere" hit an RKO and is made look good. I dont dislike Orton and he is good in ring but he also gets no reaction from me so...

Santino w/The Dragon is fun and I expect them to make Wade look good, not many can get the reaction Santino does and beating him impressively is what Barett does. The Steamboat tease kinda confuses me as surely Steamboat wont face him but it does have me interested.

Sheamo promo asking 3MB out to the ring to be brogue kicked seemed odd, he wouldnt look strong as Randy just whipped them and 3MB would look even weaker.

Cesaro vs Khali, well I like Cesaro but vs Khali isnt going to have a great match (but the neutralizer looked decent) and now we know its Miz next for him... I dont really care but it makes sense. Khali, Nattie & Hornswaggle jaysus what a group!

Still not sure what they are doing with Maddox, hope I care when they do it.

Jindar vs Sheamus at least made Sheamus look as good as Orton and did give more time to 3MB but i wanted to skip it.

TLC next? seems The Rock is main eventing or this will be a long match with the Rock appearing at the end...it's given a PPV match build and promo which I like, really seems like the match that was supposed to happen at the last PPV

simply put that match delivered and it will be weird now as it seems there may be matches after it unless Rocky is going long...but no pipe bomb time it seems, no rest for punk but im happy and now Rocky has someone to interrupt.

Shelby next week eh, could be funny but wwe have seen it a lot over those 4mths, but still hopeful...bad 2 weeks for Kofi but this is just time filler till the promo main events it seems.

Punk's pipebomb was great and set things up very nicely for his confrontation with the rock. Wont make us sheeple dislike Punk but he is 100% heel in this feud as far as a promoting standpoint goes and its time for rocky to take advantage...

and boom! these 2 just sold the Rumble PPV as far as im concerned and thats without having to even mention the Rumble itself

764dak

Surely, Brock Lesnar will appear at the Royal Rumble PPV.

DM_7

LOL'D hard at Sheamus dropping in an Uncle Gaybo quote to 3MB

DEFTLEFTHAND

Maybe they're getting ready to bring Ricky Steamboat Jnr up to the main roster, that could explain Snr getting involved with Barrett last night.

CMpunked

DM-ICE wrote: »

LOL'D hard at Sheamus dropping in an Uncle Gaybo quote to 3MB

No way! what did he say?

GTR63

764dak wrote: »

Surely, Brock Lesnar will appear at the Royal Rumble PPV.

I read on reddit that Eve Torres takes him out next week and breaks his arm with a Kimura.

rossie1977

CMpunked wrote: »

No way! what did he say?

he said, "you can't sing, you can't dance, you look ridiculous ....you will go along way"

i thought it was gaybo first too (in reference to the first appearance of boyzone), found out it was actually a kit-kat ad from the late 80s