THE ROCK HAS COME BACCCCCCCCK TO THE WWE!

[imref]

You kids make me laugh sometimes.  He was MAYBE the best promo of the attitude era.  Maybe.

I'm partial to Flair, but in more than 30 years of watching wrestling, that was the best promo i've ever seen.

[hammondsnats]

stone cold, the rock, HHH ... in no particular order ... but those three dudes would always get loud resposnes and still to this day do.

[Lintyfresh85]

The bad thing about Rocky coming back is... people will see the current product, judge it against The Rock... and when he leaves, people will crap over the current product and turn away in droves.

I mean, there's guys like Punk, Miz, Cena, Taker, HHH that would fit in any era... but a lot of the guys just aren't going to cut it after fans get a taste of 'what used to be'.

[cmdterps44]

The bad thing about Rocky coming back is... people will see the current product, judge it against The Rock... and when he leaves, people will crap over the current product and turn away in droves.

I mean, there's guys like Punk, Miz, Cena, Taker, HHH that would fit in any era... but a lot of the guys just aren't going to cut it after fans get a taste of 'what used to be'.

Nostalgia is a nag.

The thing that sucks is (what someone else pointed out elsewhere) that come Wrestelmania, the Rock will probably lose in the match if he fights. This will probably end up being a short stint.

As for promo, I agree with you guys. HHH, Stone Cold, The Rock, Flair, Taker... they would all fit in any era. I think 4 of them have fit in most of the era's anyway.

[Potomac Cannons]

I'm partial to Flair, but in more than 30 years of watching wrestling, that was the best promo i've ever seen.

Last nights was really good but there have been plenty of guys who could go out every night and cut their own instead of having the whole thing scripted like Rock does.  When Rock is on, he's excellent.

Pre-what? Stone Cold was better than Rock just during the attitude era.

I'd take 80s Flair (before the overload of whoos, flopping etc), Rhodes and Arn Anderson as well.  The Freebirds promos, especially Hayes, in WCCW and UWF/Mid-South were phenomenal in their day.  Piper was fantastic as a face and heel all the way through Portland, Mid-Atlantic and the early Wrestlemania years.

[MarquisDeSade]

Anyone remember the John Cena-Kevin Federline storyline from a few years ago?  Cena's a cool guy (wound up sitting next to him on a flight a few years ago) but that was horrible.

/happy the Rock is back
//People's Champion Forever
///totally used to be a wrestling fan in undergrad

[NatsDad14]

Arn Anderson? Seriously. Maybe I'm too young because I only remember him in the late 90's as one of the 4 horsemen in the WCW, but he wasn't charismatic at all.

[Lintyfresh85]

Arn Anderson? Seriously. Maybe I'm too young because I only remember him in the late 90's as one of the 4 horsemen in the WCW, but he wasn't charismatic at all.

You're not wrong. Anderson was not charismatic. That's why he was pared with Flair in the first place.

[cmdterps44]

Pre-what? Stone Cold was better than Rock just during the attitude era.

Stone Cold definitely was the attitude era IMO. It seemed like he was in every bit associated with WWF then. He received so much love and everytime he was in the ring it showed. Personally, The Rock v Stone Cold discussions were amazing. I loved the Attitude Era.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

Last nights was really good but there have been plenty of guys who could go out every night and cut their own instead of having the whole thing scripted like Rock does.  When Rock is on, he's excellent.

Pre-what? Stone Cold was better than Rock just during the attitude era.

I'd take 80s Flair (before the overload of whoos, flopping etc), Rhodes and Arn Anderson as well.  The Freebirds promos, especially Hayes, in WCCW and UWF/Mid-South were phenomenal in their day.  Piper was fantastic as a face and heel all the way through Portland, Mid-Atlantic and the early Wrestlemania years.

I've argued that before, but this board seems to be filled with Rocky marks.

[Lintyfresh85]

I've argued that before, but this board seems to be filled with Rocky marks.

Know your role Knorr, know your role.

[Minty Fresh]

I've argued that before, but this board seems to be filled with Rocky marks.

KNOW YOUR ROLE - AND SHUT YOUR MOUTH!

[Nathan]

There's really that many people here that watch WWE?

[The Chief]

I've argued that before, but this board seems to be filled with Rocky marks.

Look, let's not pretend either of them exactly has a HUGE range, but between the two, at least The Rock has a *little* bit of variety and occasionally came up with some new lines.  What did Stone Cold ever have?  "I'm a redneck and I spill beer all over the place."  He might've occasionally had a slight edge on ad-libbing (something I wish The Rock would more often), but aside from that he was the definition of "one-trick pony."

Rock/Mankind was far, far more entertaining a feud than Austin/anyone.  Rock/HHH was much better from a technical standpoint - because of HHH of course, but still...  that's what Rock did, brought out the best in his opponents.  His talent is wasted as a face, IMO.

There's really that many people here that watch WWE?

I did as a kid and then again in high school.  Not so much since.

[Minty Fresh]

My brother who wrestles in an indy league and studies the craft said one of the best wrestlers of the past 20 or so years in terms of mic work and in-ring work is Christian (or Christian Cage if you know his TNA work).

I wrote my Master's Thesis in Theatre History on the comparisons between professional wrestling and Victorian Melodramatic Theatre so I researched this for a year as well as got to interview a couple of big names from the 80's and early 90's for my work.  IMO, the Rock has the best combination of raw performance talent that I've ever seen and could pull off multiple characters (both heel as the Crown Jewel of The Corporation and as a face: The People's Champion) whereas Stone Cold was limited in his role as a heel - it just never worked.  He could manipulate an entire crowd whereas Stone Cold only work a segment (albeit a large segment) of the audience - rednecks and wannabe rednecks.

[Minty Fresh]

Look, let's not pretend either of them exactly has a HUGE range, but between the two, at least The Rock has a *little* bit of variety and occasionally came up with some new lines.  What did Stone Cold ever have?  "I'm a redneck and I spill beer all over the place."  He might've occasionally had a slight edge on ad-libbing (something I wish The Rock would more often), but aside from that he was the definition of "one-trick pony."

Rock/Mankind was far, far more entertaining a feud than Austin/anyone.

I thought the best rivalry was Austin/Rock over the I.C. Belt.  

[The Chief]

(Image removed from quote.)

I thought the best rivalry was Austin/Rock over the I.C. Belt. 

Eh.  Too weak on the wrestling side of things.  Not to say that Rock and Mankind have much in that department either, but you can't just turn Austin into a human crash test dummy the way you could with Foley.  On the story side of things, yes, Austin/Rock was a good one.

[Minty Fresh]

There's really that many people here that watch WWE?

I still do occassionally but not nearly as much as I used to.  It's fun to still watch with my brother and listen to him talk about technique and style - also to hear stories about the guys that show up from the old days that he's wrestled against.

Plus, he has a killer Royal Rumble party every year.

[Minty Fresh]

Eh.  Too weak on the wrestling side of things.

I can't disagree with that but The Rock was great in the ring early on before the big persona.  Austin was never much after he blew out in knees in WCW and it was only worse after Owen Hart broke his neck.

[The Chief]

I can't disagree with that but The Rock was great in the ring early on before the big persona.  Austin was never much after he blew out in knees in WCW and it was only worse after Owen Hart broke his neck.

I always thought HHH and Rock matched up well.  Brought out the best of each other.

Really you could match up Foley with anyone and I'd be amused.  Dude was just funny/amazing.

[Nathan]

When I was a kid I used to love Hulk Hogan, but I haven't watched it since I was probably 8.  I mean, what do you watch it for?  I mean no one here believes that it's "real" do they?

[The Chief]

When I was a kid I used to love Hulk Hogan, but I haven't watched it since I was probably 8.  I mean, what do you watch it for?  I mean no one here believes that it's "real" do they?

James Bond movies aren't real either.  What's your point?  Do you go to stage plays and shout at the actors that they're faking it?

[hammondsnats]

My brother who wrestles in an indy league and studies the craft said one of the best wrestlers of the past 20 or so years in terms of mic work and in-ring work is Christian (or Christian Cage if you know his TNA work).

I wrote my Master's Thesis in Theatre History on the comparisons between professional wrestling and Victorian Melodramatic Theatre so I researched this for a year as well as got to interview a couple of big names from the 80's and early 90's for my work.  IMO, the Rock has the best combination of raw performance talent that I've ever seen and could pull off multiple characters (both heel as the Crown Jewel of The Corporation and as a face: The People's Champion) whereas Stone Cold was limited in his role as a heel - it just never worked.  He could manipulate an entire crowd whereas Stone Cold only work a segment (albeit a large segment) of the audience - rednecks and wannabe rednecks.

 that's friggin cool man.  did he ever do MCW (maryland championship wrestling)? 

yeah and i've heard the same in articles about Christian and how he is such a hard worker, good dude in the industry and what not.  what was cool is how he and edge are like best friends (i believe one was the best man at the other's wedding).  

christen has never gotten the love he deserves, imo.  

[Nathan]

James Bond movies aren't real either.  What's your point?  Do you go to stage plays and shout at the actors that they're faking it?

You know where I live.  People here love WWE.  And they will swear to you it's 100% real.  I mean if you are watching it as a performance, that's fine.  But c'mon.  It's not real.

[hammondsnats]

I always thought HHH and Rock matched up well.  Brought out the best of each other.

Really you could match up Foley with anyone and I'd be amused.  Dude was just funny/amazing.

spot on.  foley vs. rock was good, but then the rock vs. stone cold turned into one of the greatest rivalries in "sports entertainment".  really people would wait 2-3 hours (depending on how long the event was) just for this moment and all the matches beforehand would get good reaction by audience because fans were so excited to see rock vs. stone cold.

and HHH, too, could always get a reaction - whether as a face or heel.  when he was with DX, watching wrestling was one of my favorite hobbies.   and then he grew so popular he could go on his own and still get a huge pop (again doesn't matter heel or face). 

they all had to work hard, paid their dues and had to catch some kind of a break.