Caught in the Ropes-Rocky Steals the Spotlight One More Time (WWE, Rock, Cena, CM Punk)

Columns, Top Story

Welcome back to Caught in the Ropes! Man, did that CM Punk promo take off or what? Whether this is a sign of a Stone Cold-like evolution or, at the very least, the ‘E breaking out of their post-Wrestlemania slump remains to be seen. I should note that I have not read the spoilers for the July 4th episode of Raw; I don’t like reading spoilers in general unless I know I won’t be able to watch the show in question. That said, he did a hell of a job, and made it clear why the ‘E needs him so badly. But instead of discussing his promo in full–a number of talented writers here at Pulse Wrestling have already covered the topic–I’ll be tackling a specific issue Punk brought up in his promo. Thanks go out to reader Phil for inspiring this column.

When CM Punk took a flamethrower to the WWE establishment in his now-famous June 27th promo, he directly attacked the Rock for hijacking the main-event at Wrestlemania 28. The Rock was the old guard, still clinging to his spot as the top draw despite being absent from professional wrestling for around seven years. This touched a nerve with a lot of fans, and it’s understandable. The ‘E should be looking forward and pushing young talent that can help the company regain a lot of the luster lost after the Invasion storyline and the end of the Attitude Era rather than going back to the well, so to speak. Namely, it should be pushing guys like CM Punk. And I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment; the ‘E’s developmental system has fallen very short when it comes to filling the gaps in the ‘E’s roster after established faces left the company, and Vince has failed to give a consistent push to the talented heels he does have. What I don’t agree with is that the Rock/Cena match should be anywhere but the main-event on the Wrestlemania card.

Wrestlemania 27’s Pay-Per-View buyrate was the highest the ‘E has experienced since Wrestlemania 24. Adding the Rock as a “host” for the event increased buyrates by nearly 157,000 units from Wrestlemania 26. And all this occurred despite the fact that the Rock wasn’t even in the ring. With a year of build-up and and the promise of the in-ring return of one of the most popular entertainers in WWE history, it’s practically a guarantee that those numbers will increase even further. From a business standpoint, crafting the Wrestlemania card around Rock/Cena is a no-brainer.

Putting business aside, however, there’s the idea that putting Rock/Cena before any other match on the card will only serve to overshadow them. As I have mentioned before, Chris Jericho noted that the lack of audience participation for his Wrestlemania 18 match with HHH was due to the crowd burning all their energy during the Rock/Hulk Hogan match that came before it. Casual fans tuned in to the event for that match-up, and that was going to be the highlight of their evening. Casual fans will be tuning in for Rock/Cena as well; one of the most popular wrestlers of all time squaring off against one of the most divisive wrestlers of all time. If that match were to occur any lower on the card than the main-event, casual fans are going to lose interest in anything that follows it. It’d be like serving the crowd dessert before they’ve finished the main-course of the Wrestlemania meal. If the ‘E wants to increase the visibility of young stars, then they need to position them close to the main-event match on the card and put them in position to steal the show, much like Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat putting on the match of the night before the Hulkster and Andre the Giant locked horns.

And that brings up another issue: what the ‘E needs to be pushing are young marketable faces. They…really don’t have any. They have great young heels, guys like Punk, the Miz, R-Truth, Dolph Ziggler, and others. Sure, they set the tone for the feuds and determine the pace of the matches; their importance to the growth and future of the company can’t be overstated. And while they certainly have an impact on the draw–a great heel can increase buyrates, of course–the primary draw will always be, for casual fans, the charismatic face. The ‘E, as of this moment, has Cena and Orton; that’s about it. Mysterio is nearing the end of his career, so he can’t be counted on to stay healthy for Wrestlemania. HHH is making the transition from main-eventer to behind-the-scenes company man, so I don’t see him being trotted out much unless something drastic happens.

The knock against a lot of the young faces the ‘E does have is that while some of them may be technically proficient in the ring, or even downright great depending on the individual, none of them have proven to be great talkers. WWE needs faces who are good on the mic, and while Zack Ryder has shown a lot of promise, Vince and his merry crew have shown no interest in pushing him. So, who do you push to the main-event of Wrestlemania outside of Cena/Rock? If Punk returns at some point before Wrestlemania, that’s an option; he could give the rub to a young guy and possibly build a great feud, but there’s a lot of “ifs” in that plan. The same for Jericho if he returns, but that plan also relies on the ‘E finding a young guy who can become a big draw in less than a year. There’s the off-chance that Batista might make his return after his MMA career failed to materialize, but who does he feud with?

Apart from the dramatic, unforeseen rise of a new talent, the only match that could possibly come close to eclipsing Rock/Cena is Sting vs. Undertaker. According to Sting in some recent interviews, he was close to signing with the ‘E before eventually going back to TNA. Since the guy is on a year-to-year contract with TNA, the ‘E might be able to reel him in for a short-term contract with a Wrestlemania match and an eventual induction into the Hall of Fame. If Sting is being honest with how close he was to signing a contract with the WWE, that makes this scenario at least plausible. A match with two legends who have never stepped in the ring with one another would be a serious draw as well. But that all depends on Sting; I’m sure Vince would love to have him on board, if even for a short period of time.

Let me be clear here. I don’t think Cena/Rock will be a five star, match of the year contender. Much like the first meeting of the Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 6, neither man is what you would call a great “pure” wrestler. I think it’s safe to bet that there will be another match on the card that will “steal the show”, so to speak; as is often the case, the best match is not necessarily going to be the biggest draw. However, a great match by a young star on a huge PPV card can create the new big-draw face that the ‘E so desperately needs right now. But putting two young stars in the main-event spotlight following one of the most hotly anticipated matches in recent memory can only harm them, in my opinion. Give two guys the spot preceding Rock/Cena and give them the kind of push that can create a new star; the Rock can be forgiven for taking the main-event again for Wrestlemania 28. If the ‘E plays their cards right, they could have two new stars headlining Wrestlemania 29.

Patrick Spohr learned everything he needed to know about the English language from the Jean-Claude Van Damme classic "Cyborg", including how to artfully describe Jean-Claude being crucified. Armed with this knowledge, Patrick has become a freelance writer of fiction and not-quite-fiction, or non-fiction to the layman.