Do you think The Rock knows...

[Fox]

Originally Posted by Tedious It depends on what the Rock values. The Rock/Cena feud that spanned three Wrestlemanias and main evented two was largely successful; there was commercial success, and the booking was perfect even if it wasn't terribly exciting or original. The matches themselves weren't classics but I think in the vast majority of fans' minds they delivered. I thought I wouldn't care about either of them but in the end they drew me in and my expectations were exceeded by a bit. Rock and Cena had very good matched but probably not the best matches the two could have. I attribute this to them being largely established, the Rock having nothing to prove and Cena having little to prove other than the notion that he could hang with the rock. Neither of them "left it all in the ring." They didn't need to tear down the house, they only needed to deliver a solid outing. And they did. I'm sure the Rock knows that both of those matches could have been better, but given that there were other matches on both cards that Rock/Cena was never going to top in terms of a great match, it was probably wise that they didn't kill themselves to outshine everyone else.

Thank you for a well thought out and intelligent response.

You make good points, but I can't believe them to be true. What professional athlete goes onto the field for the big one (the Superbowl, the World Cup, the NBA finals - what have you) and doesn't want to put on the performance of a lifetime? Athletes of championship caliber generally have that one thing in common - the desire to be the absolute best. It's generally noted and stated from WWE superstars, past and present, that at Mania, you want to leave it all out there. You want to be at the top of your game and shine. HBK is a master at this - Undertaker has taken this idea to unthinkable levels in the past few years. I know the WrestleMania packages are always chock full of hyperbole, but they all say the same thing: "We work all year long for this night."

I can't believe that Rock, again, a third generation superstar and, at one time, the absolute best in the business, would try and justify, even to himself, a less than amazing performance in the ME of WrestleMania. "I did as well as expected, but what was I going to do when Triple H/Undertaker was on the same card?" No way. That's not a champion's mindset.