The Rock's return to WWE last night

[Joseph]

Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Ole and Arn Anderson as the 4 Horsemen, now THAT was a stable.

When the Rock started he was a tool, but Dwayne Johnson is highly charismatic and entertaining if you enjoy the wrestling game.

[TRF]

Eddie was a great face too.

Cena is Rock-lite. He was supposed to be the next rock. Even got his own Cena Sucks chant. The face you love to boo. But he just doesn't quite make it. He's done a few movies, none as good as the Rundown or Walking Tall. Dwayne Johnson actually can act a bit. Has a nice wide range, appeals to kids. Even my 12 year old daughter was mildly excited when i showed her the video.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

YouTube - Raw: The Host of WrestleMania XXVII is revealed

C'mon, I can't be the only wrestling fan here who marked out like crazy. I'm a pretty jaded wrestling fan these days but I got goosebumps seeing the guy I watched as WWF Champion when I was 10 triumphantly return.

Also I'm not someone who particularly cares that WWE is rated PG (like the product was so great the last few years before the change) but it was nice to see Rock be himself and not a neutered or censored version.

I didn't see this live and just watched the video and while I thought it was a little entertaining, it just seemed to be a rehash of his past promos. I know that's what the fans wanted to hear but The Rock used to be cutting edge in his promos. There was nothing new in that promo. It was almost like he was following a checklist, "Finally, The Rock has come back..." check. "It doesn't matter what you think," check. Make fun of opponent, check. "Millions and millions," check. And then finish it off with the obligitory, "If you smell what The Rock is cooking."

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by Chip R

I didn't see this live and just watched the video and while I thought it was a little entertaining, it just seemed to be a rehash of his past promos. I know that's what the fans wanted to hear but The Rock used to be cutting edge in his promos. There was nothing new in that promo. It was almost like he was following a checklist, "Finally, The Rock has come back..." check. "It doesn't matter what you think," check. Make fun of opponent, check. "Millions and millions," check. And then finish it off with the obligitory, "If you smell what The Rock is cooking."

Yeah -- it definitely had a "greatest hits" feel to it. I think that's mostly because old Rock promos usually went in phases; he'd fall in love with one particular bit / line and do that for a few weeks and then switch it up to something new. It's part of what really kept the Rock fresh. Just when the "...take that left on Jabroni Drive and check your ass directly into the Smackdown Hotel!" thing got old, it turned into the "turn it sideways..." bit. Then when the "It doesn't matter..." got old, it turned into making fun of Kevin Kelly for being a "ugly hermaphrodite" or forcing Michael Cole to wear a towel over his head when he interviewed the Rock.

I think if the Rock came back on a regular basis, he'd start to come up with fresh material again. He's a genuinely funny dude, and he was always given pretty much free reign to do whatever he wanted when cutting a promo (from what I've read). For this promo, though, it made sense to stick to the classics -- hell, I'd say a solid portion of the WWF's current fanbase probably wasn't even watching wrestling when the Rock was last on regularly

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by Caveat Emperor

I think if the Rock came back on a regular basis, he'd start to come up with fresh material again. He's a genuinely funny dude, and he was always given pretty much free reign to do whatever he wanted when cutting a promo (from what I've read). For this promo, though, it made sense to stick to the classics -- hell, I'd say a solid portion of the WWF's current fanbase probably wasn't even watching wrestling when the Rock was last on regularly

You're probably right. I like him and he's very creative. I wonder if this time he's spent making movies has stifled his creativity somewhat. I doubt we'll see him much after WM since making movies is much safer - and probably more lucrative - than wrestling.

[Slyder]

After watching Elimination Chamber last night that Wrestlemania is going to need the Rock to bring up the views if thats the best they can do.

[kpresidente]

Originally Posted by WMR

John Cena is seriously supposed to be a superstar? I listen to him talk and it's like he's doing a really, really bad Rock impression... wrestling sucks now. Maybe if Rock came back he could save it.

And Randy Orton does the eyebrow thing. Half of them copy The Rock.

Now if they could just get Steve Austin and Mankind to come back, too...

[kpresidente]

...Also, they have too many high-flying stunt artists these days. They need more power wrestlers like Goldberg or Undertaker. Jumping off the ropes is cool, but you want to see some choke slams, pile drivers and jackhammers, too. The weak guys just never pull those moves off right.

[kpresidente]

Originally Posted by Eric_the_Red

Sorry, but the glory days involved Hulk Hogan (pre-Hollywood), Andre the Giant, Roddy Piper, Brutus Beefcake, The Hart Foundation, The British Bulldogs, Junkyard Dog, Tito Santana, Randy Savage and more.

I came in just after that. Hogan and Savage were still around, but then you also had The Ultimate Warrior, the beginnings of the Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, etc. It was a good time. Still, nothing tops the 90s, nobody tops The Rock, and no gimmick beats Austin vs. McMahon.

This is just classic...

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcv...uck_shortfilms

[Mario-Rijo]

Originally Posted by Joseph

Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Ole and Arn Anderson as the 4 Horsemen, now THAT was a stable.

When the Rock started he was a tool, but Dwayne Johnson is highly charismatic and entertaining if you enjoy the wrestling game.

Ditto, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, Tommy "Wildfire" Rich, Mad Dog Buzz Sawyer, The Fabulous Freebirds. I met Tully Blanchard a few years ago, nice fella but I dwarfed the guy and I'm a hair short of 5' 10". I bet he was no taller than 5' 6" maybe 5' 7", shocked the crap out of me.

[Reds4Life]

Old school Undertaker from the early 1990's on up was great stuff to. He played the character so well, one of the best gimmicks ever in the business.

Who could forget the Million Dollar Man? One of the best heels in WWF history.

[Slyder]

Originally Posted by Reds4Life

Old school Undertaker from the early 1990's on up was great stuff to. He played the character so well, one of the best gimmicks ever in the business.

Who could forget the Million Dollar Man? One of the best heels in WWF history.

Probably one of the greatest to never hold the main WWE title. He, Curt, Dustin, and Piper never held the World Title. Heck Piper only held the IC belt once.

[WebScorpion]

I find this whole thread to be kind of funny. I think when I was growing up it was called 'Big Time Wrestling' and the stars were Bobo Brazil, The Sheik, and Flying Fred somebody or other. I kind of quit watching after Andre The Giant came on the scene. :

[Eric_the_Red]

Originally Posted by Slyder

Probably one of the greatest to never hold the main WWE title. He, Curt, Dustin, and Piper never held the World Title. Heck Piper only held the IC belt once.

Actually DiBiase did hold the belt for a very brief time, and he didn't beat anyone to get it. So, true he never was recognized as WWF champ, but after Andre beat Hogan, Andre immediately gave the belt to DiBiase.

Shortly thereafter Commissioner Jack Tunney declared the title vacant, leading to a tournament at WrestleMania IV where Randy Savage beat DiBiase in the finals to win his first world championship title. As a kid and Macho Man fan, I was very excited.

[Eric_the_Red]

Speaking of the Macho Man, I found this and suddenly felt very, very old:



And here is the Ultimate Warrior. (Fun fact: his actual name is Ultimate Warrior. He legally had his name changed to his gimmick.)