The Rock being an ass

[Fox]

All of those great points aside, what about The Rock apparently wanting to drop the name "The Rock" and just be Dwayne Johnson, so as to get rid of the pro wrestling stigma as a Hollywood A-list actor? Or his claims that he would NEVER come back to perform for the WWE again (meaning in a storyline, as a GM, etc, etc)?

Do those things not make you feel even the littlest bit tarnished or thrown aback as wrestling fans?

If, say, 6 months from now, Dwayne Johnson was on a talk show promoting his new film and the host referred to him as "The Rock," and he said "Don't call me that, that's the old me, I don't go by that name anymore, my name is Dwayne Johnson, I'm an actor," would that not bother you even the slightest?

I respect the man for leaving the WWE and I believe he should be given every right to go out and do what he wants with his charisma and skill and that he shouldn't be judged by it, but at the same time, the man cannot forget who got him started in the world of entertainment. If it wasn't for Vince McMahon and the WWE fans, he WOULD just be Dwayne Johnson, some ex-CFL linebacker who works at fucking Big R, for all we know.

I'm not saying that's who he is now, but I'm asking if he WERE to become that stuck up, that full on Hollywood, and truly trying to "erase" his wrestling past, would you still feel that The Rock is not an ass?

[Kane Knight]

Originally Posted by Fox All of those great points aside, what about The Rock apparently wanting to drop the name "The Rock" and just be Dwayne Johnson, so as to get rid of the pro wrestling stigma as a Hollywood A-list actor? Or his claims that he would NEVER come back to perform for the WWE again (meaning in a storyline, as a GM, etc, etc)?

Has he actually said he'd NEVER work for WWE again? I haven't seen that.

Do those things not make you feel even the littlest bit tarnished or thrown aback as wrestling fans?

No more than I did when Mick Foley started actively badmouthing wrestling. Of course, I didn't really care then, and I don't care now.

If, say, 6 months from now, Dwayne Johnson was on a talk show promoting his new film and the host referred to him as "The Rock," and he said "Don't call me that, that's the old me, I don't go by that name anymore, my name is Dwayne Johnson, I'm an actor," would that not bother you even the slightest?

Should it?

I respect the man for leaving the WWE and I believe he should be given every right to go out and do what he wants with his charisma and skill and that he shouldn't be judged by it, but at the same time, the man cannot forget who got him started in the world of entertainment. If it wasn't for Vince McMahon and the WWE fans, he WOULD just be Dwayne Johnson, some ex-CFL linebacker who works at fucking Big R, for all we know.

Or, for all we know, he'd have become a big movie star without WWE. That's how hypotheticals work.

I'm not saying that's who he is now, but I'm asking if he WERE to become that stuck up, that full on Hollywood, and truly trying to "erase" his wrestling past, would you still feel that The Rock is not an ass?

People move on.

In fact, given the state of things, I wish more people would move on. Ric Flair's retirement match, his big moment, would mean more to me if it had happened years ago. Hulk Hogan should have moved on ages ago. Hell, Mick Foley retired, never to wrestle again, and keeps coming back. Now, I love Foley, but his continued returns are bothersome. Kurt Angle should have walked away while ago, and Steve Austin's kind of lucky he can walk at all.

Unless the Rock starts actively ragging on WWE, I doubt I'll have a problem with him if he says something like "That's not me now." Because it isn't. He's not the Rock anymore, except maybe in name. Even then, Mick Foley ragged on wrestling in general, and he said in a speech I saw him give that he'd have more to say about WWE specifically when the terms of his contract were up. Mick's still respected, despite the fact that he slammed the product pretty hard and pretty loud.

Will I be happy? No. Will I care?

Probably not.