Should the Peoples' Champion be WWE Champion?

[Rock Bottom]

– The Rock is featured on the cover of the December 2011 of WWE Magazine and is depicted appearing angry and ready to fight. The magazines teases the mega-superstar possibly having his sights set on championship gold. The headline reads: “THE ROCK! IS THE PEOPLE’S CHAMP GUNNIN’ FOR THE GOLD?”

Last Wrestlemania, The Rock overshadowed the two who were the top face and top heel of the company at the time. The Miz is the one who got the shit end of this stick, but it really didn't do Cena any favors in that The Rock is an excellent beacon to rally behind if you're tired of John Cena. If part of The Rock's agenda was to put either one of these guys over, even if just a little, I have to say that he failed.

That being said, The Rock usually buried people on the microphone, but he gave it up in the ring. He wouldn't no-sell finishers, he would regularly lose matches, and he would cleanly lose when called for. This makes it a little tough to identify any reason for his return beyond reaching out to old fans in an attempt to try to get them back on board with the WWE and simply hyping the confrontation. (There was a website recently launched by WWE to keep the hype going between the two superstars, http://cenavsrock.wwe.com/)

Since he hasn't been in a match, we can't really say if he's here to put anyone over. All we know is that a rock bottom was enough to get The Miz a victory over Cena via pinfall after a short delay. I won't argue if you accuse me to reading into kayfabe semantics, but in an age where everyone is kicking out of finishers in main events, sometimes even as much as two times per match, this is a significant statement.

The man brings a lot of cash. Compared to anyone on the WWE roster today, The Rock can easily be considered a juggernaut whose shadow eclipses everyone else. He is a powerful drawing tool, so much so that it might be financially sound for him to beat the entire roster in a single handicap match. This is where things begin to get dangerous for certain talent.

Should the WWE be concerned at all about how The Rock will affect their roster, or just follow the money while he's around? With a vague idea of what the plans are including The Rock at this point, and with no idea in regards to the aftermath, would you put The Rock in the title scene in any capacity?

[DrCrawford]

look, i love the rock. but if youre going to just drop in time to time and not give it your all like most of the other guys on the roster working their asses off, you don't deserve the title. even if the title doesn't mean as much as it used to, there are so many others who give it their all who have been working so hard to achieve that dream

[Jura]

I read an article that made it seem like he wasn't interested in the title and that it does not make sense for him to even chase the title by having it on Cena.

[Nicky Fives]

I do not want to see John Cena anywhere near a championship for a while..... It's getting tiresome.... as he'll be feuding with Rock, Rock shouldn't have the title.....

[Ruien]

I want to change my vote for him to win it and drop it to Mr. Ryder. The People's Champion passing the torch to the Internet Champion.

[drave]

I can see why they keep the gold on Cena, sadly :(

But if The Rock won the gold, somehow, it would be a joke. I get it, send the people home happy blah blah blah..... there are some great talents busting their asses on a daily basis that are more deserving of that spot than The Rock. He had his time, time to move on.

[GD]

If The Rock went on to win the spinner belt, he will become a 10-time World Heavyweight Champion (7 reigns as WWF/E Champion and 2 reigns as WCW/World Champion).

[Emperor Smeat]

I'd say no because then you'd basically have a situation similar to Hogan and the Undisputed title where he won it as a symbolic title reign but at the same time ended up cutting Triple H's reign short for no real reason.

The difference is while that ended up leading to a great reign by the Undertaker, most likely The Rock would lose it to Cena who would have 5 reigns within a year (assuming he wins it back before Mania and then wins it from The Rock). Maybe even a 6th reign if it gets swapped twice before Mania.

The bigger mistake was automatically making Rock vs Cena a title match a day after WM 26 which ended up sort of ruining some of their plans they wanted to do for 2011 (ex. rumored Miz having a new version of the title, the constant title swapping every month, potential long CM Punk reign, etc).

[screech]

How great would it have been if Del Rio cashed it after Rock won it from Cena?

[screech]

That's probably been discussed to death already, but it just came to mind reading this thread.

[Aguakate]

Yes, he should be WWE Champion...especially if we'll see him pin Cena for it.

[screech]

I don't think he has to win the belt. I don't think the title should be involved in this match at all. It's certainly big enough to attract interest on its own, let the championship add to another match on the card.

[GD]

Since the brand exclusivity doesn't exist any more, Daniel Bryan should cash in his MITB contract after the WWE Championship match at Wrestlemania and become the Champion of RAW.

[GD]

The entire internet will ejaculate simultaneously.

[Aguakate]

If The Rock came back as a HEEL, circa 2003 "Hollywood Rock"...and won the Title...I'd ejaculate...

...a lot.

[GD]

So would I Aguakate...so would I.

[Asmo]

One word... No.

[XL]

Since the brand exclusivity doesn't exist any more, Daniel Bryan should cash in his MITB contract after the WWE Championship match at Wrestlemania and become the Champion of RAW.
You think a lack of continuity would lead to...
The entire internet will ejaculate simultaneously.
:wtf:

[Juan]

Only way I would be ok with it is if here back for good (for real this time)

[Rammsteinmad]

Nah, like DrCrawford said, he doesn't need it or deserve it.

One match with Cena, and possibly something with CM Punk afterwards would be enough for me. I do like the Rock, but since he's not an active guy anymore, I've just kinda lost interest, and don't want to see a retired-for-seven-years wrestler turned actor burying an entire roster of active wrestlers.

On that note, I'll be hugely shocked if The Rock actually wins at Wrestlemania.

[Kane Knight]

SCOTT 2 HOTTY 4 WWE CHAMP

[RVDmark]

Business wise Rock has to beat Cena in a match, but Cena needs to win overall.

Fans want to see Rock lay the smackdown on Cena. But after the dust settles Cena must walk away the victor, best of 3 starting at survivor series and culminating at 'Mania is the way to go really.

The fued shouldn't involve the title though, Cena vs Rock has all it needs without the title, use that time to give Del Rio/Punk/Worthy Other Person a run with the title and a match at mania.

[Pintint]

look, i love the rock. but if youre going to just drop in time to time and not give it your all like most of the other guys on the roster working their asses off, you don't deserve the title. even if the title doesn't mean as much as it used to, there are so many others who give it their all who have been working so hard to achieve that dream

:y:

[Shadrick]

Saying Rock doesn't deserve it, and "there are other guys who deserve it" don't really go hand in hand necessarily. If Rock DID win the title, I guarantee it wouldn't be a long reign. If there "are other guys who bust their asses daily" but aren't at the point to even get close to the title, why not put it on Rock for the moment? If even to bring back in the old casual fan? It's not a "omg rock has the belt, shit that means Ryder wont be getting it now, shit shit shit" type situation.

And when I say for the moment, I don't mean a 9-month Triple H-esque run, I mean maybe a 2 month/2 PPV run to put someone else OTHER than Cena over eventually. He's already signed on for next years Summerslam so....yeah. Putting the title on Rocky doesn't seem like the horrible thing people are making it out to be in the grand scheme of things.

And again, they probably want the title on the match so that it can go on last. I've been saying that since they made the match.

[Rock Bottom]

And again, they probably want the title on the match so that it can go on last. I've been saying that since they made the match.

You're probably right. The whole question on the cover about Rock going for the gold is probably in reference to whether or not Cena will be champion anyway.

[Aguakate]

Only way I would be ok with it is if here back for good (for real this time)

If by "If he's back for good" you mean him staying in WWE and not leaving to do movies, etc, that's not going to happen.

I know he's said he's never going to completely go away, etc, but I won't believe it until I see it. I read he signed a deal with WWE to make some appearances and wrestle some matches within the next 12 months, but after that, it remains to be seen if he'll actually still come back from time to time.

So, I have chosen to not worry about that. I'll just enjoy him from the Survivor Series on, however long it lasts.

[Kane Knight]

I honestly don't care if he gets the title or not. He doesn't need it, strictly, but it could actually be beneficial.