Finally…. The Rock Has Come Back to Wrestling!!!
Moments that stick with us are genuine. They can be manipulated but can’t be manufactured. Tonight in Anaheim, CA on Monday Night Raw was one of those moments. There were misdirections, there were leads, there were reports. But at 10:58pm Eastern it became a reality. The live reaction let you know immediately what was happening was big. The ripple effect on social media outlets let you know how wide it reached. The Rock had come back to wrestling… Finally.
I had two people who were there live, tweet me.
That’s the energy The Rock creates. We’re now on the Road to Wrestlemania knowing that The Rock will be the guest host; including a tease that there will be a confrontation with John Cena. But, tonight was about the people. Rock always called himself “The People’s Champion.” Tonight for fifteen minutes the Rock entertained and electrified the people by giving a performance that should be studied by everyone who aspires to be the best. If you’re a young wrestler, aspiring actor, performer, comedian or simply a person wanting to accomplish anything, watch and study what the Rock did tonight!
Today is/was Valentines Day. It’s one of those days that draws a positive or negative reaction. A love/hate type of day. For me, Valentines Day 2002 was the day I was hired by WWE! Yep, I’ve been in the wrestling business officially for nine years today. There I was, sitting in the waiting area of the WWE TV studio after my second interview. My flight back to Los Angeles was in a few hours and a car was on it’s way to get me. I didn’t know if I had the job or what would be next. Stephanie McMahon saw me as she was walking out and said, “oh, I’ll see you in Milwaukee on Sunday.” Yep, it was that quick and this journey began. Ironic that the hobby that became my job would start on Valentine’s Day. And here on 2/14/11, the Rock returned and reminded us all why we love the business so much.
Tonight’s moment reminded of my second night in WWE in February of 2002. The return of Hulk Hogan to WWE TV was met with a confrontation with with The Rock setting up their legendary match at Wrestlemania 18. It was my second day in the company; my duties ranged from shadowing Ed Koksey to doing whatever I was told to do. This included letting Rock know how close we were to the segment being on the air as he prepared. He had worked passionately with Brian Gewirtz (who he always collaberated with and most likely did tonight) to create these epic and memorable promos. Brian doesn’t get enough credit for what he’s done over the years. As it’s been said millions of times before, walk a mile in someone’s shoes. That night, it was a home run between Hogan and Rock. We all remember it to this day.
The Rock always impressed me by his work ethic. Remember when debuted, he wasn’t well loved; chants of “Die, Rocky, Die”. Did he quit? Did he hope someone else would help him get to the top? He worked harder. He didn’t wait for anything to be handed to him. He reached the top of the wrestling business faster then anyone else. He had another dream to chase down in Hollywood. And for everyone who said he wouldn’t make it there, I think he’s doing pretty good. And tonight, he came back to the WWE and as he called it… came back to his family.
One thing Rock always seemed to have problems remembering was my name. “Hey Steve, good to see you.” When you’re new at WWE, the rule is they don’t really learn your name for the first few months because people didn’t last. There would be long stretches when The Rock wouldn’t be around and my interactions were usually limited to a hello, handshake and pleasantries. When he would come back, he kept calling me Steve. Was he waiting for me to correct him? Was I walking into some horrible rib? Then in Atlanta in 2003, I was assigned to produce a few shots with him during the Goldberg program. Just as we’re about to go live with the shot, we’re standing there talking and he looks over at me. “You know I know your name is David, right? I’ve known the whole time.” He gave me a wink and a smile as the stage manager counted down the shot. That is Rock’s charisma. He’s got you in the palm of his hand; controlling your emotions while charming you at the same time.
Rock goes Social
As I wrote earlier, Rock is now fully jumped into social media launching a Twitter and Facebook page. He presented an amazing and genuine message to his fans tonight on RAW before he entertained them with his routine. He said he came back to the WWE not for the money or to promote a movie but for the fans. He told them he would never leave them again. Rock’s new t-shirt proclaims “I Bring It.” That’s his brand. He brought it tonight. He brought it in the past and we know he’ll bring it to Atlanta for Wrestlemania 27.
David Lagana / IWantWrestling.com
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Well I can guarantee the rubes out there going crazy about tonight will be let down big time.
1. Johnson is not going to wrestle at WM.
2. Johnson is not sticking around after WM.
3. These few appearances are to promote his BRAND (and his new Twitter account and existing Facebook page).
Look at all the plugs for his FB/Twitter on the show and on WWE.com. He shows up to pop a rating or buyrate and they promote his stuff to a new generation of fans. It’s nothing more than that. Don’t fall for it. Don’t be a rube.
Vince & co. are hoping you’ll order the PPV thinking “maybe he and Cena will have a match”. Once the show ends and Rock is gone, your $ is spent and it’s too late.
@Carnie. Who gives a shit? Last night was a moment of epic nostalgia for wrestling fans, both young and old. I could care less if he comes on the air again til WM or even steps in the squared circle to brawl. The Rock is legendary. His charisma is unmatched. However is used from now til WM will be amazing, despite whatever capacity he is used. I’ll support The Rock. I’ll support The Brand. And I’ll spend my $$$ without a second thought.
Simply put one of the best promos ever given and the only other time Ive seen and heard a crowd reaction like that when someones music played was when Stone Cold made an entrance during the match when Mankind won the WWF title for the first time.
However long he sticks around, you have to give Vince credit for this. 7 years ago, I am positive he told Rock “You can go make movies, but when the time is right, I’m bringing you back a bigger star”. This is the return on the investment – Rock got out there, became somewhat of a movie star, got bigger in entertainment. Now, he’ll be the WM 27 host and the buyrate will skyrocket because of it. There’s no way that business won’t pick up, even if just for a little while.
Best case scenario: Rock sticks around for a full year, and faces Cena @ WM 28 in his hometown of Miami, FL!
Raw was unexpectedly a great show last night even before the last segment, but the part at the end with the Rock was absolutely fantastic.
I’ve been following WWE since about 1980, but haven’t been motivated to order a WM since WM 19. If Rock wrestles a match against Cena, Undertaker, or another top star, I’m a buy (or maybe even go to Atlanta).
FINALLY THE ROCK HAS COME BACK…………HOME!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY FUCKING SHYT!!!!!!!!!!!! ROCKY, ROCKY, ROCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CANT BELIEVE I FUCKING WITNESSED THE RETURN OF THE GREAT ONE. AT FIRST I WAS SKEPTICAL ABOUT A RETURN SINCE IT WOULD BE MAINLY TO PROMOTE A MOVIE BUT DAMN MY INNER CHILD COULD HARDLY CONTAIN HIMSELF WHEN THE ROCK WAS ON RAW. DID I JUST SAY THE ROCK WAS ON RAW? FUCK YEA I DID. THIS WAS THE BEST RAW OF THE DECADE THUS FAR. THE ROCK IS BACK BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.therealshyt.com/2011/02/real-raw-shyt-2142011-finally-rock-has.html
That’s interesting what you said about Brian Gewirtz. I always wondered why, aside from his natural delivery and charisma, The Rock’s promos seemed to be so radically different from everyone else’s. Was he just allowed to say what he wanted, or do the writers up their game when he’s around? So, nice to know that it is one specific person he collaborates with.
Rock would work with Brian on what he wanted to say. Some people seemingly have ‘nothing’ to say and don’t think about their character.
The one thing about last night is this
I REALLY hope all the young talent in the locker room were GLUED to the monitors to see how a promo is done. Not to ape Dwayne’s style or gimicks, but to see what he does to OWN that ring when he steps into it. He’s been doing this since his first heel turn way back in the day. No matter what gimmicks he had, or catch-phrases, it was his showmanship and attitude that not only did he BELONG in that ring, it was HIS ring when he got into it that the new fellas need to learn how to do. Some people are naturals, and some need seasoning to get there, but you can learn ACTING… which is a solid half of the whole show.
As a for-instance.. take John Morrison. By all accounts this guy has the goods. Great look, incredible physique and really polished ring-work… but where does he leave us dry? When he talks.. when he acts… You get less of a feeling like he believes he should even be there, and more of a “gee, I hope I don’t screw this up too badly” sense… That confidence, the bigger-than-life bravado is missing and it makes him someone I can’t seem to stay interested in, despite all the real potential I see there. That confidence, that showmanship, if it were there would make him reminiscent of Shawn Michaels from back in the day. He could get there.,.. but he needs to work less on the parkour stuff and more on grabbing our attention and owning his spot in that ring as a character
Who gives a s@&t-he cut a promo. He won’t be wrestling, and will leave soon.
Would be nce if WWE would get behind younger guys rather than reheat ’97-’02 yet again.
Get rid of the s@&ty ‘writers’ and bring back sole bookers. Imagine a Bill Watts or Cornette in charge- it would be far more beneficial than th f’n Rock!
*clasps hands and dreams* – “the cowboy’s coming back…”
Oh, and are we really meant to believe Rock will be spending his precious time writing nonsense on Twitter? Much like Cold Stone apparently having nothing better to do than ask fools about songs like Long Stick Goes Boom? (and I didn’t make that up!)
Social media, lol!