Are Punk/Cena this era's Austin/Rock?
 

I'm not one to usually tag something as the next whatever, but what do you think?

(Mobile post)

Definitely.

Do you think the matches Punk and Cena have had with each other are better than those Austin had with Rock?

I think Austin/Rock were on a "grander stage" so I think their matches were a bigger deal, but as far as the actual matches, I dunno man.

I definitely think Rock/Austin had "bigger matches", in that they had 3 WrestleMania bouts where two of them were for the WWF Title, and they also had a longer rivalry (I think they started feuding when neither of them had ben WWF Champion yet).

However, I also believe that in terms of the actual matches, Punk and Cena's have been better.

But in terms of the actual question, I do believe Punk/Cena is this era's Austin/Rock.

And the crazy thing is, if WWE really wanted to, they could still do so much more with Punk and Cena. There's still a lot of potential in this rivalry.

As far as chemistry with eachother goes, yes definitely.

Cena and Punk are at their best when they are feuding with one another.

From what has occurred so far: yes.

Yes and no. Yes in the context that they have filled the spots those two had as the top guys of the company and have been constantly entertaining when feuding with each other. No because sadly there will never be any two men who can really surpass the bar that the Rock and Austin set.

That being said however I think people will look back at the... oh what did WWE try to call it that one time? "Reality Era"? and think "Damn, Cena and Punk were the greatest of all time! I remember growing up and seeing those two just duke it out night after night man!"

They are the top 2 stars now.

Anyone remember the days when Cena and Orton were being bred as the next Austin/Rock "big two"?

I think Punk does the part of "Austin" amazingly well. It's like he still (intentionally) says shit to get boo'd but at the same time, the way he talks trash to Cena get people amped up. Also, not that he needs it, but the Punk/Heyman angle has a HUGE amount of potential if done right.

Sure do! I can still kinda get into Orton's Anti Superstar thing they are after..... but is he not getting a bit stale too?? I mean, it usually consists of "get beat on, act like a snake, power slam, DDT, RKO. Amirite?

Not taking anything away from him, just time for one of those slight changes to keep things fresh.

Anyone remember the days when Cena and Orton were being bred as the next Austin/Rock "big two"?

Yeah, it was before Orton violated the wellness policy.

Orton could have been where Punk is now, the #1 antagonist in the company. But his body is fragile, his attitude sucks, and he's a Wellness strike away from being shown the door. It's a shame, because he would be a great fit in the HHH role in regards to those two being Rock and Austin, but I think WWE is content to use him in more of a featured-attraction role.

They also ran the Orton/Cena feud into the ground. Then kept going.

Not to mention he's kinda "meh" on the mic, as well as a little bland.

A wooden guy with no personality and a dude that's booed by over half the fanbase. Yeah, they're this gen's Rock and Austin.

Cena is more like Hulk Hogan than anyone. And CM Punk is more like Savage. Unfortunately, they have still to find this generation's Bushwhacker Luke.

Thumbtack Jack was this era's Austin in my humble opinion.

Thumbtack Jack is an all time legend. Also, RIP Vicky Venom.

I'd say Orton & Cena were the closet for this era's Stone Cold & Rock pairing.

It didn't work out mainly because the WWE kept making the feuds become too stale or shoving both guys to the crowd regardless of their reactions. I think the WWE only finally realized it wasn't working when they had their stare down moment during a Rumble which generated no reaction from the crowd.


I think Punk and Cena fit more in the Macho & Hogan setup. You have Cena who is the undisputed mega star like Hogan while Punk is great in the ring and could easily have become the new "face" of the company if given a real chance just like Macho.

The first PPV Orton/Cena Match was stupid as fuck, completely rushed

No, Austin and Rock could both have a legit claim that they were the top guy of their era. I don't think Punk is "up there" alongside Cena and he probably never will be.

Yeah, exactly. Cena's nothing more than a cheap, imitation, wanna-be Rock, sans mic and ring skills.

Well said. Thinking about it in that context does seem to "fit" more. :y:

Cena's opening up his moveset a lot. I'm less worried about that. They've also come up with some fresh things in the Punk/Cena matches. They counter each others' signature moves left and right. It has the same dynamic as Rock with the elbow. Rock almost always had to "re-spinebuster" the guy (post body slam elbow!) and hit the elbow on the second attempt. People like it when they're surprised and these silly kinds of moves are countered.

I don't think Rock's much "better" in the ring than Cena, especially if you're talking "Cena vs. Punk" Cena. He's actually pretty good.

Being that they are the top two in the company, feuding over the WWE title, yeah, I'd say they're this generation's Rock and Austin, because it couldn't possibly be anyone else. I don't think it's a parallel I would personally make, but it's an obvious and fair one to make.

I don't think you'll get Austin and Rock again though. Not for a long time. It was really awesome watching them climb the card as a fan and end up feuding with each other almost by default because they were the best. That being said, Cena and Punk are filling that role. I just don't think they're as good overall.

I have plenty of gripes about Cena's character. It's really, really cheesey. The only gripe I have about CM Punk is that his finisher is really awful. However, we're also in the age of the "WMD." Whatever.

I was going to say Edge/Cena was this era's Rock/Austin, but the more I think about it, the more, they were actually this Generations HHH/Rock

I think they were this generations Edge/Cena

CM Punk wouldn't make the Mid Card during Rock/Austin's era. He a terrible champ.

It's not i'd say that Orton/Cena is a better comparison but that's not to say it's not up there though just more along the lines of Diesel/Bret if anything.

I disagree, I think Punk is gnarly!

Ok they're the top two now, but so were Bret and Shawn in the mid-90's and I don't see too many comparing them to Rock/Austin. They're the top two now and kids will remember them in the future but in reality they are not really close at all.

Almost nobody in this era would have made it past midcard in the Attitude Era. It's a battle for the middle, and everyone's in on it.

Ryback would have been champ during the entire era.

Ryback would have beaten Andre the giant and Hulk Hogan at Rasslemania 3.

Ryback would have reassembled the ring after the Lesnar/Big Show superplex and stacked them both up for a finisher, rebreaking the ring.

Actually I take that back, he would have caught them in mid air and triple suplexed them.

I think they are in the sense that they are the two hottest things over the past year or so and their chemistry together is truly special, but they have rode this thing into the ground so their matches and build are usually great, they don't have the "aura" of the Austin/Rock matches from 1999 onward.

Laughed way too hard at that and the next post

I still put Orton above CM Punk. Next year this will probably change though.