The Rock Responds to CM Punk's Promo About Being an Ass Kisser!

cm>rock
nuff said.

funny thing is, Punk will continue to work multiple Manias (if he chooses to stay). Rock will go back to being a sellout and doing shitty movies

Someone tweeted Rock:

"@TheRock u can make more money but he is better wrestler , isnt this all about wrestling? Or money?"

Rock's response:

"@GRedrum .. Does Punk wrestle for free? Smarten up my friend."

lol typical sellout. proves he's only in it for the money

So basically Rock confirmed he is indeed a kissass. Well-done, Rocky, you just made yourself look like a pompous dick...oh wait, THAT'S HIS GIMMICK OH NOEZZZZZ.

This whole shoot angle has really made me choose sides between sports entertainment and professional wrestling....and Punk won me over, wrestling all the way. Dwayne basically confirmed that the WWE really is what we all heard, and I honestly want nothing to do with that anymore.

we knew what was gonna happen BEFORE this years Mania, and that's Cena beating the Rock. the fact that Rock will bring in money, is cause he hasn't wrestled since 2004, then in typical fashion he's gonna leave again. not to mention that match is gonna suck so much ass to begin with, it's gonna be all Cena noselling vs Rock overselling.

I just wish we could see Cena away from the ME of wrestlemania or any headlining match at WM for a while. It was so refreshing to see Alberto vs Edge for that reason.

who didnt know the Rock was kiss-ass? like really? same for Cena..kiss ass...

anyway..meh to all of this. Sadly Rock is right about being a bigger draw than Punk next year. But yes Punk is the better wrestler..

I hate to say it but I've lost a little respect for The Rock. Randy Orton did an interview Tuesday morning and he even said some stuff about Rock, he talked about when he had talked about The Rock needing people to write stuff for him while Cena doesn't need it, etc. and he said The Rock actually called Vince and whined about that so John Laurinaitis had to have a talk with Randy.

What disappoints me the most is the fact that Rock promised he wasn't going away yet he did and he won't be back til around rumble time to build for Mania. If he only cared about movies he shouldn't have come back to begin with or he should've just not promised everyone he wasn't going away.

So yeah, I do agree with what Punk said as well, while he's there busting his ass and not getting the main event Mania match Rock is out doing movies when he's already set for the main event Mania match next year

everyone with a brain KNEW that Rock was talking out his ass when he "promised" he wouldnt leave again. sorry to say, you believed him when he said it just like every other Rock mark/fan did

Dead wrote:

everyone with a brain KNEW that Rock was talking out his ass when he "promised" he wouldnt leave again. sorry to say, you believed him when he said it just like every other Rock mark/fan did

I will be watching all his movies because he is the sequel king every movie he really done good in is been a sequel or spin off mainly. With Fast Five Success he landed a role in G.I Joe 2. A couple other new movies. If he did return and they booked the match for wrestlemania it would of been stupid cause it mainly would invole two headliners avoiding each other till Mania which would of been a let down.

Dead wrote:

everyone with a brain KNEW that Rock was talking out his ass when he "promised" he wouldnt leave again. sorry to say, you believed him when he said it just like every other Rock mark/fan did

Yeah and he should've thought about that before he got peoples hopes up, but like you said, seems he only cares about the money

Was Orton referring to Rock's most recent comeback; or his overall wrestling career?

From what I've heard, while he was an active wrestler way back when, that was all his material.


Anywho, it wasn't a shocker that he left afterward. He's been retired for a long ass time now. I couldn't see him being with WWE full-time after all these years.

It does suck for guys like Punk, and a plethora of others, that work their asses off and get rewarded with pretty much nothing.

Angelus wrote:

Dead wrote:

everyone with a brain KNEW that Rock was talking out his ass when he "promised" he wouldnt leave again. sorry to say, you believed him when he said it just like every other Rock mark/fan did

I will be watching all his movies because he is the sequel king every movie he really done good in is been a sequel or spin off mainly. With Fast Five Success he landed a role in G.I Joe 2. A couple other new movies. If he did return and they booked the match for wrestlemania it would of been stupid cause it mainly would invole two headliners avoiding each other till Mania which would of been a let down.

dude...Fast Fives success wasnt because of the Rock...lol, its because its a successful movie franchise. the first 4 movies didnt need him to be a hit and G.I. Joe didnt need him to be a hit

Dead wrote:

Angelus wrote:

Dead wrote:

everyone with a brain KNEW that Rock was talking out his ass when he "promised" he wouldnt leave again. sorry to say, you believed him when he said it just like every other Rock mark/fan did

I will be watching all his movies because he is the sequel king every movie he really done good in is been a sequel or spin off mainly. With Fast Five Success he landed a role in G.I Joe 2. A couple other new movies. If he did return and they booked the match for wrestlemania it would of been stupid cause it mainly would invole two headliners avoiding each other till Mania which would of been a let down.

dude...Fast Fives success wasnt because of the Rock...lol, its because its a successful movie franchise. the first 4 movies didnt need him to be a hit and G.I. Joe didnt need him to be a hit

Very true but he always gets attached to successful films doing spinoffs and when he been in those movies the buys went up from the last one. Like you said alot got to be attached to the movie being popular and then you add in more of his fanbase and stuff.

what spinoff was exactly successful? Scorpion King? that movie was horrible

Ahem...

Folks, they've figured out how to completely work the Smarks in the Internet Age! Notice how the Rock's comment is worded exactly like a typical Rock promo? And isn't it an amazing coincidence that Cena and the Rock are in this situation when they've got that Wrestlemania Main Event coming up?

And, what exactly did Rock say there that wasn't the truth? Can anyone honestly say they believe that Punk vs whoever would be a bigger, more money making, draw than Cena vs Rock will be? Honestly?

And really... Is the idea that what will draw the most buyrates is the biggest consideration for a wrestling company's biggest PPV that big a shock? That's how it's always been.

Just so I understand this correctly... Rock gets paid, he's a sellout. Punk gets paid, he's pure. How isn't this a double standard?

At this point, Cena vs Rock is bigger than anything else they could come up with because the young guys aren't promoted enough. We'll never know who is and isn't the real deal until they're given a legitimate push.

How many stars over the last six years beside Orton, Cena and Rey has received a really good boost? Swagger's and Sheamus' ended abruptly. Drew McIntyre has become a jobber. Kofi's purpose over the last year or so, has been to make Dolph Ziggler look good.

Fact is, if you want to make money you've got to promote stars. The newest star is Miz; but who else?

Dead wrote:

what spinoff was exactly successful? Scorpion King? that movie was horrible

drawed good in the movies to make money. Mainly they said anything that sequel or spinoff he done drawed money except Be Cool

kinda sad since Be Cool is my favorite movie featuring The Rockever. Daboo FTW~!

@Percival: ahem, the difference between Rock and Punk getting paid is that Punk will continue to get paid by doing what he wants to do and that's wrestle. Rocks getting paid to do ONE match and then he's off again. do you think he cares about wrestling? of course he doesnt, if he did, he woulda came back YEARS ago. Austin was making movies and he still came around every once and a while

It seems VKM has once again prevailed. He's got you all talking. He's got you all buying into this crap, he's found a way to make the Rock relevant.....even when he doesn't even appear.

Get ready to hear A LOT of Rock references in the coming months. He needs to for the Rumble.

You people....VKM's Little Puppets...no better then the wrestlers he makes millions off of.

Buying into what crap... disagreeing with Rock MEing WM when he's not even active anymore?

nycd.org wrote:

At this point, Cena vs Rock is bigger than anything else they could come up with because the young guys aren't promoted enough. We'll never know who is and isn't the real deal until they're given a legitimate push.

How many stars over the last six years beside Orton, Cena and Rey has received a really good boost? Swagger's and Sheamus' ended abruptly. Drew McIntyre has become a jobber. Kofi's purpose over the last year or so, has been to make Dolph Ziggler look good.

Fact is, if you want to make money you've got to promote stars. The newest star is Miz; but who else?

Punk has been there for 5 years, and is a 4 time World Champion, winning his first after being in the company for a little more than a year. Compare to Triple H, who was there for 4 years before he won his first World Championship. While you can say this person or that person hasn't been handed the ball, you can't say that about Punk.

Is he bigger than Cena? No, he's not. Do I wish he was bigger than Cena? Yes, I do. I like his matches more, and find Cena boring. Is this the company just forcing Cena on us, holding down Punk, and not listening to the fans?

No, it's not.

Whether we like it or not, and I don't, Cena is the one the fans respond to, who's merchandise they buy in huge numbers, who puts butts in the seats and sells PPVs. Our problem isn't that they're not listening to the fans, but that they ARE listening. We just don't like what the fans are saying.

But, this storyline is working out very well. The Smarks are swallowing it hook, line, and sinker. Cena's representing the PG Era fans, Rock the Attitude Era fans, and Punk the Smarks.

Actually, I'm speaking in relative terms. Not just about Punk.

And, yes, fans respond to him most bc he receives most of the glory. Vast majority are tired of seeing him involved in damn near every main story-line. The others are mostly kids, and chicks who slobber all over him.

Again, the best way to draw a reaction for stars you're trying to develop, is marketing them.

Go back about 15 years: some of the stars that emerged were given time and marketed.

When it comes to The Rock, I'll say what I said about Austin, Hogan, the Hardy Boyz, and everybody else that I heard bad things about. I like to separate their personal lives from their in-ring personas...

No matter how big of an asshole somebody might be, or if they are a crybaby, or even a drug addict, I like to remember them best for the great memories that they gave me, and The Rock gave me many, many excellent memories. His 2011 return promo was the latest one, actually. Raw usually bores me these days, but on that night, I was marking out like I used to when I was a little kid watching my heroes like Sting.

In reality, and the ones who've made it will tell you this, it's up to the performer to take the ball and run with it when they're given it. Being given heavy promotion by the company isn't going to do it on it's own. Remember Heidenreich? Nathan Jones? There are a lot of people who got promoted to the sky and just didn't get over with the crowds.

You know why Triple H had all those title runs? A lot of them were because the intent was for him to be the monster heel who would put over the guy who was being groomed and built as who was going to be the next Austin or Rock, the next Face of the company. Trip would put the guy over in a big match, and it would then be up to that guy to carry the ball. Problem was, it took a few tries to find the one the crowds would back after the big feud with Trip was done. First, it was Orton. JR even mimicked his selling the end of Wrestlemania 14 when Austin's fist title run started with "The Randy Orton Era has begun!"

The Randy Orton Era flopped, so the belt went back to Trip, and they tried again, this time with Batista. Batista didn't capture the hearts of the casual fans or bring any new ones aboard, so they tried again, this time having Trip put over the God of the Smarks, Chris Benoit. But, being the favorite of the Smarks didn't translate to the casual fans or bring new ones in.

The fourth try, John Cena, did. And, THAT is why Cena is the top guy. Yes, casual and new fans are, at the end of the day, more important than Smarks.

And yes, the performer has a lot to do with how their push gets over. They'll throw an idea to the agents, or they'll improvise during one of their promos, say something completely unexpected, even by Vince, like this example...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGM1o8CDLs8

Vince was concerned about this and the promos that followed, wanting Austin to tone it down a bit, especially the language. Austin insisted this was the way to go, that it would work really well, so Vince relented. The rest is history.

Also, a performer that isn't getting over can re-invent himself. Take Rocky Maivia, for example. Promoted heavily, huge flop. Got put in the Nation of Domination. There, he came up with something to re-invent his character...

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x949xi_rocky-maivia-becomes-the-rock_sport

He developed this cocky character further, and became one of the biggest stars the business has ever seen, to the point where, this many years after he retired from active competition, he'll add strongly to Wrestlemania's buy rate by wrestling the top face in the company.

One of my favorite examples of performers re-inventing themselves and how the crowds decide who's on top comes from the Divas...

In 2004, former Women's Champion Trish Stratus had been kept out of the title picture for several months. Lita had been pretty much kept out of serious title contention for years. She'd had her one brief run in 2000, had gotten a few token title shots here and there since, but it seemed like she would never hold the Gold, again, despite her huge popularity with the fans.

Internet Smarks absolutely hated Lita, however (thinking even that one brief 2000 run was one too many), and were very pleased that she and Trish had been dropped from the Women's Division. With them out of the way, other talent would shine. Victoria was the top face, and had a long feud with Molly. Going into that summer, she was feuding with Gail Kim, building to a climactic showdown at Bad Blood.

Lita, meanwhile, was involved in a feud between Matt Hardy and Kane. Trish was languishing in a storyline centered on Jericho and Christian. Then, with one of those one minute segments we always complain about the Divas being regulated to, everything changed. Trish and Lita had ideas they shared with the agents. It was supposed to be just a little skit as part of the Matt/Kane storyline...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1-OsejsZ18

Hmm... Wonder if it would help the current Divas if, before one of their one minute segments, they said "Hey, instead of throwing this food/drink/make-up at each other, we throw punches?"

That led to a quick throwaway match that, again, was all about advancing the Matt/Kane feud...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMr7dV1Ox1I

Great crowd response they were getting. Meanwhile, with Victoria and Gail...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKM_PEuHqJw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHwYE8MFsks

And yes, at the 2:15 mark, that is the move that Cena's STFU, the dreaded, most feared, submission move that makes everyone tap, is a modified version of. In 2004, that was just something you saw in the middle of a Diva match. Just saying... Make of it what you will. Anyway...

Good matches, dead crowds (by 2004 standards. Now, this would be a great response to a Diva match). So, on the Raw before Bad Blood, what was going to be the Victoria vs Gail showdown at the PPV became a Fatal 4-Way with Trish and Lita added.

The Internet Smarks were upset, arguing that it didn't matter what the fans were responding to. The match, they said, didn't need Trish, and Lita would just ruin it by being there (Like I said, they hated Lita. Never mind that, to get the crowd to boo her, Gail had to talk about Lita instead of the babyface Champion she was actually feuding with). Oh well, hopefully, they were just there to get the crowd into it (Well, yeah, the company would want the crowd to be into it), and maybe cause Victoria to lose the title to Kim without being pinned, thus furthering the Victoria/Gail feud. Surely, they wouldn't do something like having Trish or Lita win the thing and start feuding with each other. Trish, they thought, would be good as Victoria's next feud after Kim if they must have one of their biggest names involved, but a Trish/Lita feud? That would destroy the Women's Championship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atFCXI3jgIg

The Smarks worst fear was clearly coming about, since it was Lita pinned by Trish. Some, grudgingly, admitted that Trish and Lita were getting the fan reaction. Others declared that it didn't matter. If Victoria and Gail couldn't make people care about the Women's Championship, these two unworthies certainly couldn't.

By the end of the year, Trish Stratus vs Lita for the Women's Championship was the Main Event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUyhRxsWjlM

The Women's Championship would have a high profile until these two retired two years later. Trish had extracted herself from the Christian and Jericho thing as soon as she had the gold, and was now second only to Triple H as Raw's top heel. A storyline that was supposed to be Kane's big push saw him wind up a supporting role in the Trish & Lita Show. And Matt... Often, it sucks to be Matt Hardy.

Most Smarks admitted they were wrong back in June, that these two took the ball and ran with it, did the seemingly impossible and made the fans care about the Women's Championship, and deserved their props. Others... Trish and Lita proving them wrong just made them hate those two that much more. Seven years later, some are still bitter about it. "They just played politics!" they declare. Well, if we consider crowd pops to be votes, then yes, they mounted a successful political campaign.

To keep the momentum going, Trish re-invented herself yet again, with a promo after a match that introduced her catchphrase, and created the persona we think of when we hear the name "Trish Stratus."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PevoRtr0hcw

She then proceeded to carry the entire Christy Hemme feud on the strength of her promos, the ones that are always used in the fan tribute vids.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMBwibxqXxU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JTCDlpf3m8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn-vSLbusdQ

And was she over. Even as a heel doing really heelish things, the crowds were LOUD, half booing the heel, and half CHEERING her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVyJs-JoyKc

Now, if you're a cynic, you might suspect that Trish and Lita had ulterior motives when they did that one minute skit in June, that it wasn't just about the Matt/Kane feud for them, that they were looking to reposition themselves in the company and on the card, that they were working to convince Management that if they were given the top spots in the Women's Division, they would elevate it with the fans.

And you'd be right. That's exactly what they were doing. And that is how talent rises.

Oh, any before anyone says "Well, TNA isn't interested in attracting the common rabble, they just care about what counts, we, the true fans, the elite, the Smarks!" Two words: Jenna Morasca.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrXpDHEq5VE

Half a million dollars they paid her, while Awesome Kong was making $400 a match. You may call Kong a sellout for taking a lot more money to jump to WWE if you like.

These two fighting is really going to make things tense at the house, well at least Morrison and Kofi are still getting along.

I believe Punk has already re-signed with the company, he'll be given a break, then come back in a big way, of which I hope leads to some type of Indy invasion deal in the company (I'm dreaming on the last one).

Jordan H wrote:

I believe Punk has already re-signed with the company, he'll be given a break, then come back in a big way

Honestly, i seriously think this IS the case as well. He's been doing the SAME things at houseshows where his mic gets cut off.

It's all a storyline clearly something only VKM would come up with the cause contriversy

Call Me....Boogie wrote:

Jordan H wrote:

I believe Punk has already re-signed with the company, he'll be given a break, then come back in a big way

Honestly, i seriously think this IS the case as well. He's been doing the SAME things at houseshows where his mic gets cut off.

It's all a storyline clearly something only VKM would come up with the cause contriversy

It's Shawn Michaels in late '96, where he'd cut these "shoot" promos bringing up stuff you did not bring up on air, like company politics, older vets (like Bret Hart) being unwilling to allow young talent to rise, and calling Sid "the World Wrestling Federation's most expensive piece of luggage." People were like "WTF?!!"

Shawn had been a babyface who'd won the Championship, but didn't keep it long. So, he started doing these promos that had the Smarks stunned. Why nobody could be sure is because Shawn's promos were based on very real situations that were going on. It ended up leading to Dx, and re-inventing Shawn's character.

I love your posts Perceval