So was "Rock vs. Cena II" the plan all along?

[agent817]

I read how Punk finally dropped the belt and Rock won the title, same with Cena winning the Rumble. This time, their rematch is for the title but if they wanted to do a return match, did it really need to be for the title?

I guess The Rock won the belt and will appear every so often from now until Wrestlemania. He has "Snitch" coming out, same with "GI Joe: Retaliation." So with the latter coming out around Mania time, I guess the angle could to hype up that movie, even though it was supposed to come out last Summer.

I know he is going to drop the belt at Mania. He isn't an active wrestler anymore and I guess if the rematch was the plan the whole time, it's only natural to give Cena the win.

[Beast Army Ass]

I would imagine it was set in stone pretty much the second Rock came out and said he was going to challenge for the title at Royal Rumble back on Raw 1000. And I would say it pretty much had to be for the title so it's not literally the same exact main event from WM 28.

[Jimmy]

As soon as they got the buyrate numbers for Mania 28, yes.

[Cronant]

They teased the first Rock/Cena match being for the title. If they were going to do a rematch, they were going to add it. It makes sense.

[Celgress]

yes

[BRV]

Jan 28, 2013 11:21:07 GMT -5 Beast Army Ass said:

I would imagine it was set in stone pretty much the second Rock came out and said he was going to challenge for the title at Royal Rumble back on Raw 1000. And I would say it pretty much had to be for the title so it's not literally the same exact main event from WM 28.

I think the game plan came in two parts:

1. The night after WrestleMania XXVIII, when The Rock declared that he would be WWE Champion set the wheels in motion that the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XXIX would feature The Rock in some capacity, either with the belt or as a challenger.

2. Raw 1000, when he declared that he would challenge for the belt at Royal Rumble all but confirmed that he would win the belt, that CM Punk was just holding the belt for him and that John Cena would be challenging for the belt. They had six months to put anyone else on the level of those three, and the closest they came was with Ryback.

I think the biggest mistake they made was giving The Rock the title match last night, as opposed to announcing that he'd enter the Royal Rumble.

The Rock winning his first WWE Championship in 11 years in his first match in nearly a year should be a WrestleMania moment. Hell, him winning the Royal Rumble would've been a moment. A full, two-plus-month program between himself and CM Punk would've made WrestleMania XXIX, their match, Punk's possibly 500-plus day reign and the feud itself seem so much more important.

[cool guy]

I'm still holding out for a triple threat with Punk. I'm absolutely convinced it would both do better business and be a better match than Rock/Cena 2.

[Deleted]

I'm pretty sure WWE always plans out stuff for the likes of Rock/Undertaker/HHH/Brock well in advance. Those guys aren't getting their plans changed right before they walk through the curtain like any other guy.

I read something ages ago about how Vince, barring injury/suspension to someone obviously, always knows what the Wrestlemania main event will be a year in advance and he works backwards from there to reach that point.

They knew in March 2011 that Rock/Cena and Taker/HHH in the Cell would be the main events of 'Mania 28. They knew from the second they booked Rock to beat Cena last year that the rematch would happen at 'Mania 29 with Cena winning. And even 15 months out, I bet they already know what will be the main events of 'Mania 30 (Cena/Undertaker and Rock/Brock).

[Djm Doesn't Find You Funny]

Jan 28, 2013 11:28:49 GMT -5 Celgress said:

yes

[paywindah]

Jan 28, 2013 11:29:57 GMT -5 cool guy said:

I'm still holding out for a triple threat with Punk. I'm absolutely convinced it would both do better business and be a better match than Rock/Cena 2.

In my opinion the WM main event should never be a triple threat match. It's very rare than a TT match ends up better than a one-on-one. Plus with a TT match it would likely be Cena pinning Punk so Rock keeps his heat (and then they could do Rock/Cena again at WM30 since "Rock never was beaten for the title").

[xCompackx]

Just putting this out there, but Rock vs. Cena II still isn't confirmed yet. Punk has his rematch and Elimination Chamber is coming up.

[YiHammer]

Jan 28, 2013 11:54:33 GMT -5 xCompackx said:

Just putting this out there, but Rock vs. Cena II still isn't confirmed yet. Punk has his rematch and Elimination Chamber is coming up.

Yeah I'm sure the Rock is losing at the EC

[Sparkybob]

Jan 28, 2013 12:02:18 GMT -5 YiHammer said:

Jan 28, 2013 11:54:33 GMT -5 xCompackx said:

Just putting this out there, but Rock vs. Cena II still isn't confirmed yet. Punk has his rematch and Elimination Chamber is coming up.

Yeah I'm sure the Rock is losing at the EC

That does get rid of the nagging issue of the rock having a rematch clause if he drops the title to cena and seemingly not using it.

[Deleted]

Jan 28, 2013 12:05:59 GMT -5 Sparkybob said:

Jan 28, 2013 12:02:18 GMT -5 YiHammer said:

Yeah I'm sure the Rock is losing at the EC

That does get rid of the nagging issue of the rock having a rematch clause if he drops the title to cena and seemingly not using it.

One scenario that's possible is Punk gets his rematch in the chamber and wins, so Rock gets his rematch and Cena gets his title shot at WM, setting up the triple threat. Then Cena can win it, and Punk can get his rematch at Backlash, and Cena FINALLY beats him clean and resolves that whole deal.

[mizerable]

There's absolutely no way that Punk gets the title back before Wrestlemania. He is out of that match entirely. It would also be dumb to just drop the title back in a month, only to drop the title again in another month. There is nothing I hate more than bouncing the title around, especially after we got one of the best reigns in a very long time.

[Deleted]

Jan 28, 2013 17:20:41 GMT -5 mizerable said:

There's absolutely no way that Punk gets the title back before Wrestlemania. He is out of that match entirely. It would also be dumb to just drop the title back in a month, only to drop the title again in another month. There is nothing I hate more than bouncing the title around, especially after we got one of the best reigns in a very long time.

I usually feel a similar way about hot potatoing the belt but it does take the belt off Rock during that stretch where he's not on TV for 3 weeks in March, and I just think it's a fun scenario to logically set up a triple threat match, which I would prefer over the Rock/Cena rematch. It also leads to closure on Punk/Cena, which we'll probably get after Mania either way.

[Snaptastic]

Just wait until Rock/Cena Part 3

[mizerable]

Jan 28, 2013 17:28:08 GMT -5 @lovehater said:

I usually feel a similar way about hot potatoing the belt but it does take the belt off Rock during that stretch where he's not on TV for 3 weeks in March, and I just think it's a fun scenario to logically set up a triple threat match, which I would prefer over the Rock/Cena rematch. It also leads to closure on Punk/Cena, which we'll probably get after Mania either way.

It doesn't do the title any justice if it changes hands 3 of more times in less than 2 months. They need to milk this ending of Punk's reign as much as they can before they decide to put the belt on him.

Besides, I'm of the opinion that Punk doesn't need or should get the belt back...at least any time soon. I think his records right now are vastly more impressive than winning the title a third or fourth of fifth time. Everyone does that nowadays and it's no fun. Punk can milk this long reign for the rest of his career if he wanted.

Jan 28, 2013 17:33:43 GMT -5 Snaptastic said:

Just wait until Rock/Cena Part 3

Yeah, they'll unifying the f***ing belts.

[hitchslap]

of course, business is business. predictability, intrigue, excitement be damned; Cena is forefront as per usual.

[SEAN CARLESS]

It makes sense. I just don't know how they're going to build it. Under normal circumstances, someone in Cena's position, having not had the title for so long, and after having lost to the now-champion before, would have a groundswell of support and momentum behind him. But we know that won't be the case, no matter what. The vast majority of those who'll buy WrestleMania won't want to see Cena win (just like last year), and will see him as the heel. I'm not saying it won't do well. I'm saying, maybe it being the opposite scenario would have been better business -- Cena as champ, and Rock trying to win it from him since he beat him already.

If this were real life it wouldn't matter. An athlete with Cena's credentials would be enough. But it's a STORY, and the fact is, everyone got their happy ending first, last year, and now, when it's time to return the favor, the show will end on a sour note -- rather than as what it should be: Cena's crowning moment as a tenacious, hardworking babyface.

The only way to remedy this, honestly, is to either have Cena turn heel since he's reached his ceiling as this character, or, have him go in "injured", and claw and scratch, that way at least some people's base instincts to get behind an (real, not manufactured) underdog takes over.