Jason Freeman
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Post by Jason Freeman on Feb 27, 2012 23:23:29 GMT -5
Who are you pulling for in the upcoming Mania match?
I was rooting for Rock but Cena's been owning him left and right lately. After Cena told him off tonight Rock looked so lost like he didn't even know what to say. Cena's been schooling him on the mic recently which is pretty sad. Rock really does seem to have become "Dwayne" as Cena said....so I dunno now.
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Post by The Mainerishi on Mar 1, 2012 20:02:01 GMT -5
"Owning him left and right".
Come on Freeman, for an Ivy League university student you're dumber than you should be.
Dwayne Johnson is doing exactly what he's known for. Acting. He's deliberately relying on catchphrases and making himself look bad so that Cena can actually try and get over on The Rock because Lord knows that on an equal pegging The Rock would destroy Cena routinely without mercy. Charisma like The Rock's doesn't just "fade with rust", it gets better like a fine wine.
It's a work to make Cena look better and get him more support because he's seriously lacking it atm.
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Jason Freeman
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Post by Jason Freeman on Mar 2, 2012 11:30:31 GMT -5
its possible but that would be beyond dumb on the WWE's part, where the hype is on these two larger than life guys, the biggest star of this era and the last era, going one on one, to then neuter one of them. I don't see what the point is in making Rock look bad when he's supposed to be selling the PPV, and the whole Survivor Series match was based on making him look good.
I guess it's possible WWE would do it, but it just seems like a dumb move. Especially since it won't even work because they're in Miami anyways for WM and Rock's going to get cheered either way. There's no way to know for sure but Rock's promos have been weak since he came back altogether besides the very first one so I wonder if people are just trying to blame it on the WWE because they don't want to believe it's possible Rock could not be as good as he was before. But I guess we'll see what happens as the weeks go on
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Post by Thunderkiss on Mar 2, 2012 20:34:49 GMT -5
Come on Freeman, for an Ivy League university student you're dumber than you should be. Don't give him too much credit for that. All he had to do is check the box that said "Jewish" and he was in. In a 1998 op-ed (”Some minorities are more minor than others”), Ron Unz pointed out “Asians comprise between 2% and 3% of the U.S. population, but nearly 20% of Harvard undergraduates. Then too, between a quarter and a third of Harvard students identify themselves as Jewish, while Jews also represent just 2% to 3% of the overall population. Thus, it appears that Jews and Asians constitute approximately half of Harvard’s student body, leaving the other half for the remaining 95% of America” (See also Edmund Connelly’s take.) A 2009 article in the Daily Princetonian (“Choosing the Chosen People”) cited data from Hillel, a Jewish campus organization, that with the exception of Princeton and Dartmouth, on average Jews made up 24% of Ivy League undergrads. (Princeton had only 13% Jews, leading to much anxiety and a drive to recruit more Jewish students. The rabbi leading the campaign said she “would love 20 percent”—an increase from over 6 times the Jewish percentage in the population to around 10 times.)
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VorteX
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Post by VorteX on Mar 3, 2012 0:25:36 GMT -5
So the Rock's been booked to 'look bad' for the past year and a half now? He's had ZERO good promos since he's returned.
All the WWE is accomplishing here is smark hate for Rock. People start to question how good he really was, and that's the problem.
What needs to happen is Rock verbally destroying Cena on a routine basis, leading to Cena screwing Rock at Mania and turning heel.
That won't happen however, so prepare for a lot more twitter jokes!
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Post by Thunderkiss on Mar 3, 2012 1:58:34 GMT -5
I don't know if they are letting the Rock loose to be honest. Cena is really almost shooting on him at every opportunit, yet Rock has not shot on Cena.
If I was the Rock, I would tell Cena that yes, he is in the WWE and always will be because he cannot transcend the business like the Rock. He should make Cena's failed try a point, and say Cena is a hypocrite because he flirted with Hollywood and didn't get over. The only reason that he makes himself "captain WWE" is because he can't do anything else and is stuck doing that, not that he truly wants to be there. The Rock should also be going and attacking Cena's fanbase and also the period where he has risen to prominence, saying that there is no way Cena would last a second in a non-PG era. Basically, the Rock should be saying the stuff people have been complaining about for years but has just come up short every time. He came close this past Monday when he took a shot at his Wigger McWiggens gimmick and when he brought up all the legends that didn't let others fright for them. The Rock has been around long enough for me to give him credit that he knows he should do these things, therefore I truly believe that there are strings being pulled here.
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Post by Thunderkiss on Mar 4, 2012 16:27:20 GMT -5
Relevant:
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Jason Freeman
Competition Judge
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Posts: 3,271
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Post by Jason Freeman on Mar 4, 2012 18:56:15 GMT -5
The problem with the rant in that video, is that he's been "off" ever since his return, in a number of promos, not just the "one", while Cena (When talking about the Rock) has been on. His first return promo was awesome, but ever since then they've all pretty much fell flat.
As for Rock being "restricted" by PG that's also pretty ridiculous. The guy apparently is now unable to cut a promo that would fall under "PG" standards? He's shown he can say "bitch" and can make penis jokes, and can mention ladyparts and whatever else he wants to...Cena made STD jokes last week to Eve etc, there's obviously some freedom there so how is that not enough wiggling room to make a proper promo? I don't even get how that would "restrict" Rock at all, and it's absurd to say that he is unable to cut a promo that doesn't cross lines.
I could see it being possible that he's holding back to make Cena look good, and that he'll come unleashed before Wrestlemania. But I don't see the point of doing that when the whole point of the match is two megastars who both should be made to look as good as possible. Not to mention it doesn't explain why his promos have been weak all year. But it's still possible, though I don't think that's a good decision on WWE's part. I don't however buy that Rock is unable to cut a good promo because of "PG" restrictions, as if he really is good enough he should be able to cut a good promo no matter what.
Rock seemed legitimately flustered on Raw, and I'm happy that it blurs the line between real and fake, but I really don't know which it is.
Also TK, I think a problem is Rock really doesn't have as much to stand on as Cena does. Rock could say all those things about Cena not really having a passion for wrestling but everybody would know it's obviously not true, as if there's one thing even Cena haters agree on it's that he really is a standup guy with a passion for wrestling. And the movies he did were WWE produced films, he never left WWE to Hollywood. If Rock tried to take the angle that Cena didn't care about wrestling, it'd fall flat because everybody knows it's not true. Cena has more leverage there because there is legitimate feelings that Rock did leave wrestling behind and is now only doing it for money rather than passion. When Cena said last week that Rock has changed and that Rock only came back to "Promote his movie and launch his twitter account" The shot works because it's very possible that it's true, and he's striking at real feelings. Rock saying the same thing wouldn't work because we all know it ISN'T true.
Rock could shoot on Cena's boring cheesy goody two shoes persona, but I think the real problem is that Cena doesn't have that much personal to go off on while Rock has a bunch.
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VorteX
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Post by VorteX on Mar 5, 2012 23:40:47 GMT -5
Dude in that video is probably eating his words right now. The Rock being 'off' for a second week in a row is inexcusable. It started great with the taped stuff, but gradually fell apart until...
HE CHOKED. The Rock. Choking. In front of the live audience, he said NOTHING except for one threat, then stormed off.
Let's go with the 'worked shoot' here. Who in the HELL is scripting this? Why would anyone have The Rock come back, only to be verbally destroyed by one of his weakest opponents ever? Even if he is intentionally choking in the ring, he's acting it up real good as he genuinely looks pissed and flustered in every single live promo he cuts.
I mean did you see his face when the crowd started the Tooth Fairy chant? That's some real good acting as he really looked like he had no idea what to do from there, and then proceeded to pause for a minute and a half before giving his weak threat and running.
The Rock. Running away. Is this really what WWE wants people to remember him as? I swear, if they ruin the concert next week....I think I'm done. They are systematically ripping apart his character.
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Jason Freeman
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Posts: 3,271
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Post by Jason Freeman on Mar 6, 2012 3:44:55 GMT -5
Im not going to say that it was "bad" or that Rock "choked" but I don't think he got the advantage either. He just doesn't have the energy he used to. IMO the problem is Rock really has nothing to say. He doesn't have anything on Cena. So he resorts to saying "I'm gonna beat you up" "You're afraid of me" etc. But it just comes off goofy because Cena is hitting him with tons of personal attacks, making fun of him and calling him out on his walk-away from the wrestling business, and Rock has no real personal insults to give to Cena. He could be saying the stuff he said in the ring to anybody really, and this feud is so beyond the wrestling itself that "You're afraid of me" and "Im gonna beat you up" just doesn't work.
Rock needs to make it personal, and if he can't do that, then he should just focus on making fun of Cena. Every time he's actually been in the ring with cena he's been so serious. Why isn't he cutting Cena off and making him look like an idiot? Cena has no problem doing it. Cena just smiled as Rock tried to rant seriously, and Rock came off like a chump. It's like he's barely even fighting back and his serious promos just aren't working. He needs to try to take charge and actually come off on top, but right now it feels like he's trying to be too generic and serious and it's not coming across well at all.
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Post by Thunderkiss on Mar 6, 2012 18:37:47 GMT -5
My main observation from last night is that this is simply not working due to the contrasting styles.
Cena is no selling EVERYTHING. The constant smirk on his face, the clowning around - Rock can't work with this. Rock is being a character and Cena is doing a shooting smartass routine. Cena is low blowing him and shooting every second he gets and Rock is simply being the Rock.
Honestly, I get the vibe that Cena is acting like a college frat boy and could care less about the whole thing.
Hogan Vs. Warrior this is not. Rock Vs. Hogan this is not.
This is another Cena match.
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Jason Freeman
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Posts: 3,271
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Post by Jason Freeman on Mar 6, 2012 18:48:23 GMT -5
Then Rock should take some lessons from his Hollywood Heel days and make Cena look like a moron. Make fun of the smirk instead of getting angry about it.
Go into this kind of routine
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Post by Mark on Mar 6, 2012 19:07:02 GMT -5
I posted this on Facebook a while back, but I think this would be appropriate for the discussion at hand.
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Post by Kim Jong CP on Mar 6, 2012 23:39:28 GMT -5
Im not going to say that it was "bad" or that Rock "choked" but I don't think he got the advantage either. He just doesn't have the energy he used to. IMO the problem is Rock really has nothing to say. He doesn't have anything on Cena. So he resorts to saying "I'm gonna beat you up" "You're afraid of me" etc. But it just comes off goofy because Cena is hitting him with tons of personal attacks, making fun of him and calling him out on his walk-away from the wrestling business, and Rock has no real personal insults to give to Cena. He could be saying the stuff he said in the ring to anybody really, and this feud is so beyond the wrestling itself that "You're afraid of me" and "Im gonna beat you up" just doesn't work. Rock needs to make it personal, and if he can't do that, then he should just focus on making fun of Cena. Every time he's actually been in the ring with cena he's been so serious. Why isn't he cutting Cena off and making him look like an idiot? Cena has no problem doing it. Cena just smiled as Rock tried to rant seriously, and Rock came off like a chump. It's like he's barely even fighting back and his serious promos just aren't working. He needs to try to take charge and actually come off on top, but right now it feels like he's trying to be too generic and serious and it's not coming across well at all. You and ExlaX absolutely missed the point. The Rock doesn't care! He's receiving a cool check for 'Mania and he's not losing any star power in Hollywood so why would he even bother with wrestling. It's been so blatantly obvious since day one. It's the same with why Cena's going over big. Why wouldn't WWE, on their programming, put over their biggest asset? It'd be ludicrous for him not to come out looking like he's better than the Rock.
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Jason Freeman
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Posts: 3,271
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Post by Jason Freeman on Mar 6, 2012 23:45:35 GMT -5
The WWE isn't doing this to put over Cena, they're doing this to sell Wrestlemania. And to do that both The Rock and Cena should be at their best. If Cena beats a shell of The Rock it means nothing really anyways so yes Cena will get more of a rub from winning an epic match of two megastars.
So then you're basically agreeing then that Rock's been phoning it in? And that Cena's been getting the upper hand as a result? I don't disagree with you. It only validates everything Cena says though.
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