Did The WWE Want The Fans To Turn On The Rock In 2013?
For years before 2011, WWE fans would constantly hope for The Rock to make his return. Videos debating that he would never return, fans making videos to prove he would return one day. The Rock is one of the most beloved WWE superstars in the history of the WWE. Fans missed having The Rock on WWE TV.
For WrestleMania 27, the WWE announced that there would be a special guest host for the big event. Many fans thought it would be a celebrity like Justin Bieber. However, it was not Justin Bieber.
On February 14th 2011, fans were glued to the TV to find out who the special guest host was. The lights went out, many thought the Undertaker. The lightning bolts, still the Undertaker right? No. While, the Undertaker would not be a bad surprise, we all knew he would be competing at WrestleMania anyway, so it would not have been a shock.
Well, those were not lightning bolts, symbolized electricity. The Rocks theme song hit, and the fans blew the roof off the building in Anaheim. WWE was buzzing, The Rock came back. That same night, The Rock called out WWE’s current poster boy John Cena. That would be the birth of a fued between the two superstars, that would eventually lead to a match between the two.
It did seem as if the WWE wanted The Rock to be the heel the entire fued. First by assisting the Miz in retaining the title in WrestleMania 27 main event. The Rock seemed heelish through out all the promos. Though, whatever WWE was trying to do, it did not work. The Rock would go on to win the WrestleMania 28 main event against John Cena, in what was virtually forced by the fans.
What I found interesting, was that when The Rock made his return for Raw’s 1000th episode, they made The Rock come out and announce that he would be getting a title shot at the Royal Rumble of that year. Some fans, not many, were ranting on what The Rock did to deserve a championship title. The way WWE did it, without Rock getting a title shot, or some other story to lead up to him getting a title shot was odd.
In January of 2013, The Rock would go on to face WWE Champion CM Punk, who was loved in his own right. CM Punk would first pin The Rock on an assist from the Shield. Vince McMahon would come out, and was ready to strip CM Punk of the title, as he promised if the Shield got involved in the match. However, The Rock would tell Vince to restart the match. The Rock would go on to win the title.
While, many fans were happy, many fans were outraged. A video went viral of youtuber Angry Grandpa’s son going on a tantrum. Breaking The Rock’s WWE discs and destroying the entire house.
The Rock would not be showing up to most Raws, which would also put a bad taste in their mouth, many blaming The Rock for not showing up. The WWE knew that The Rock would not show up to every Raw, and had to know that the fans would not be happy with Rock not showing up to every event.
After a rematch with CM Punk at the Elimination Chamber, WWE would have The Rock go on another fued with John Cena. This time the crowd reaction was different from the year before. Many did not want to see a rematch between the two, but their also wasn’t an overwhelming amount of people clamoring for The Rock to win this match.
Did WWE want to get the WWE fans pissed off at The Rock, by having the title and not showing up, and by taking the title off of CM Punk, who fans thought he buried. Did the WWE want to make it, so the fans would at least accept John Cena as champion?
