Chalk another one up for Cena?
Last night on Raw, John Cena and The Rock came face to face for the second time since the Road to WrestleMania really kicked off after the Elimination Chamber PPV. Their first meeting, last week, showed just how differently these two Superstars are approaching the "biggest match of all time". Cena came across as serious, intense, and concise. The Rock was loose, clownish, and, most glaringly, shook.
We got more of that this week with the pre-taped segments, but the in-ring confrontation told a slightly different story. The Rock came to the ring and brought with him a much more serious tone than we've seen over the last few weeks. He was in Cena's face, he finally said the words "I'm going to beat you", but like last week, The Rock got shook.
Last week, it was Cena's short and to the point mic work that seemed to throw a monkey wrench in "The Great One's" plans, but this week it was the millions (and millions) of The Rock's own fans that threw him off his game. The Boston crowd, despite being Cena's hometown, is usually anti-Cena and very vocal about it. While he got his usual mixed reaction when his music first hit, other than a few supportive "fruity pebbles" chants, the crowd was much more critical of The Rock.
"Tooth Fairy!" "Tooth Fairy!" "Tooth Fairy!"
Did the Boston crowd turn on The Rock, or were his supporters just not as vocal as the Cena supporters? Had this happened a few weeks ago, I would've said the latter was true, but this late in the game, I have to lean towards the crowd turning on him. The Rock isn't the same man that he was 10 years ago, Cena has been right to call him on it, and this may have been the first live crowd that got it.
When The Rock's music used to hit 10 years ago, you knew that you were in for either a quality match or the best mic work in the business. Now when his music hits, you know you're in for a cereal references, homophobic/transphobic remarks, and more of his sick obsession with trending worldwide. The Boston crowd chimed in for the "millions and millions" bit, but other than that, they were relatively dead to everything The Rock had to say and went as far as to serenade the People's Champ with "Tooth Fairy" chants. This, even more than Cena's unprofessional and annoying interruptions, seemed to shake The Rock and take him off his already compromised A-game.
Does The Rock still have it?
This question has to be on the mind of any Attitude Era fan that remembers how great the Great One used to be. From his work with the Nation of Domination in the early days of The Rock, to his interaction with Jericho during his debut, to his work with Mick Foley and the Rock & Sock Connection, the Rock was always solid. Has Hollywood changed The Rock? Has Hollywood turned the quick-witted former champion into a comic disaster? Or is The Rock playing Cena (and fans like myself) like a fiddle?
We've seen The Rock showcase his acting skills in such instant classics as The Game Plan, Doom, Race to Witch Mountain, Tooth Fairy, and his most recent work of art, Journey 2 : The Mysterious Island. Could The Rock just be playing possum with Cena? Perhaps having notes penned on his arm, seeming shook on two occasions, and sticking mainly to comedy routines is all an act. What his reasoning might be for this, I don't know. Perhaps it's just wishful thinking, but just like John Cena, I hope we get The Rock at WrestleMania and not Dwayne Johnson. As things look right now, though, the main event at the biggest show of the year is John Cena, wrestler vs. Dwayne Johnson, actor.
@TheAlexArcher | #FTLOW
