Backstage news on Rock/Cena promo

Source: The Wrestling Observer

It was the WWE's intention for John Cena to get the upper-hand in his feud with The Rock on RAW. What Cena said, how long he spoke and The Rock's reaction were all part of the plan.

Many in WWE still believe, however, that Cena pointing out The Rock's crib notes on his wrist was not scripted and something The Rock didn't expect.

WWE officials want the crowd to be split 50/50 at Wrestlemania 28 in Miami, which will require Cena to look stronger leading up to it in order to get the crowd on his side.

There idiots, there sacrificing The Rock to try and make the fans like Cena.

definatly a work- Rock has never had words on his wrist before, he has shown he doesnt need them to be a great promo worker

DDT wrote:There idiots, there sacrificing The Rock to try and make the fans like Cena.

Would you rather they sacrifice Zack Ryder?

I don't care who they sacrifice, as long as it isn't the Rock. So there going to ruin the Rocks reputation as the greatest ever on the mic, just to try and get Cena over.

Yeah I suppose. Putting one guy over another in a feud is a silly, pointless endeavour.

WWE are ******* if they think that they will get a 50/50 on the crowd. First of all they are in the rock's hometown for god sake. Second even if they weren't everyone will always be cheering for the rock , he is more known and more loved than cena will ever be.

I believe I called this.

KB 1-0 WWE

Im sorry but that is Flip stupid (excuse my language) I agree with DDT completley.

Why cant they just accept this is going to be another One night stand 2005 and money in the bank 2011 like atmosphire (i hope) where the crowd are completley on Cenas back.

It baffles the mind

If this is true, then Cena won't turn heel.

You want the fans on his back for the prime purpose to provide a reason for him going heel. Having it 50-50 makes that impossible. (unless Kevin Dunn wants close up images of crying kids in the front row as Cena batters Rock heel like after the match).

If he is getting cheered, what would the catalyst be for him turning? Hence why, if they are going to turn him, they want the fans to not only be 100 per cent behind the Rock, but also throwing a wave of venom in Cena's direction.

You can also infer in this that Cena looks odds on to win. They want it 50-50 so that if he does win, there is at least some happy faces in the crowd.

I have a feeling in 6 months time we will look back at this and think WWE has let a golden oppotunity to enhance not only Cena, but the company and wrestling in general, slip through their fingers.

Actually.......they had the oppotunity and they flushed it down the toilet.

The thing we have to remember is that this will be the last match on, the main event etc and ill close the show. (If it doesnt then I will be amazed!

It is well known that Vince likes to end Mania on a big high, a happy note, a feel good factor, a send the kids and women home happy.

A Cena Heel turn will not do that, infact quite the opposite! It aint gonna happen at Mania. Vengence maybe but not Mania.

Cena has more than enough reason to turn heel on the Rock. Remember what Dwayne did to Cena at last wrestlemania isn't that enough.

Zoot - Trevor Swann 6WF wrote:Cena has more than enough reason to turn heel on the Rock. Remember what Dwayne did to Cena at last wrestlemania isn't that enough.

No, that isn't a reason. That was one year ago with next to nothing in between. The point is not Cena turning heel on the Rock....it is him turning heel against the "fans". That is the whole point. Rock is just a catalyst for this happening.

TwisT wrote:

Zoot - Trevor Swann 6WF wrote:Cena has more than enough reason to turn heel on the Rock. Remember what Dwayne did to Cena at last wrestlemania isn't that enough.

No, that isn't a reason. That was one year ago with next to nothing in between. The point is not Cena turning heel on the Rock....it is him turning heel against the "fans". That is the whole point. Rock is just a catalyst for this happening.

Thats a good point. Cena's issue should be with the fans and who better to bring that issue to a head than the People's Champion, The Rock. Having said that, after overcoming Kane and being allowed to punk The Rock out on RAW, I think it's pretty obvious Cena is not turning and Rocky has been tasked with getting Cena over as a face.

Don Caboose wrote:

TwisT wrote:

Zoot - Trevor Swann 6WF wrote:Cena has more than enough reason to turn heel on the Rock. Remember what Dwayne did to Cena at last wrestlemania isn't that enough.

No, that isn't a reason. That was one year ago with next to nothing in between. The point is not Cena turning heel on the Rock....it is him turning heel against the "fans". That is the whole point. Rock is just a catalyst for this happening.

Thats a good point. Cena's issue should be with the fans and who better to bring that issue to a head than the People's Champion, The Rock. Having said that, after overcoming Kane and being allowed to punk The Rock out on RAW, I think it's pretty obvious Cena is not turning and Rocky has been tasked with getting Cena over as a face.

I think that is increasingly looking like the case.

When will the WWE learn

If it ends with Rock and Cena shaking hands then I will

WZ has learned that John Cena referencing The Rock having notes on his wrist, which were visible on RAW, was not a planned part of the show.

There was much speculation that it was scripted for Cena to call out The Rock's notes, but that appears to be incorrect. The Rock legitimately had the notes to refer to if needed for his lengthy live promo. As WZ columnist Mark Madden wrote, it is something The Rock has done for years.

I spoke to a source close to the situation who reminded me of last year when John Cena responded to one of the taped promos The Rock did where Cena made mention of being able to the see the teleprompter The Rock was reading off of in the reflection.

It seems that the improvised comments revealing some of the tricks The Rock uses to perform his promos is one of the best public examples of the genuine animosity between The Rock and John Cena. The source says there are other comments they make on-air about one another that are “just as surprising” as Cena making mention of the notes, the difference being the notes on the wrist comment is unusual for fans to hear in a wrestling promo.

In addition to this knowledge, WWE's official YouTube account does not have any video of that segment on RAW posted anymore. This is surprising because they typically post most segments of each episode of RAW. This was the big promoted return of The Rock to RAW and the first time the two had been face to face since Survivor Series so you would think that would be a video archived on WWE's YouTube. In addition, WWE has all of the other segments recently or from earlier in 2011 that the two appeared in together.

There are other videos of that segment on RAW uploaded by people not affiliated with WWE. These copies of the show are taken from different television feeds around the world and posted without the authorization of WWE. There are several videos that are uploaded courtesy of certain international television networks where it appears the notes on The Rock's wrist are blocked out via a block that is the matching color of The Rock's arm. WWE RAW does air or repeat at a later time in some markets around the world which seems to indicate they edited the segment for airing after it happen live.

This seems to be another example and story furthering the many reports about the true dislike and competitiveness The Rock and John Cena seem to have for one another.

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/251025-exclusive-details-behind-the-rocks-notes-on-his-wrist

In my opinion I think it is all a pre planned ploy, put it this way if people think there is legit heat between the two then come match day more people are gonna want to see it.

I would say this is all part of the work. Having seen the interaction between Rock and Cena at the HoF there is a lot of respect and in the age of shoots etc it is all the more important for the company to try to make any controversy seem real so that people take it seriously.

Don't forget wwe like to you use the internet and wrestling sites to their advantage, as they are so quick to report any little thing.

To add to that

This type of thing (again in my opinion) is not aimed at us anyway because we will watch it regardless but if the casual fan hears there some real heat going on they may want to watch it.

TwisT wrote:If this is true, then Cena won't turn heel.

I'm thinking the opposite. Whats the point in turning someone heel when the majority of the audience is already booing them? Where is the shock or the surprise? The atomsphere wouldnt change at all! They would boo him being the nice guy and then just keep booing him when he turns..not really any drama there. There is also the risk that if they are booing him as face, when he turns he will get cheered!

If both are 50/50 and Cena then turns, the 50% that were cheering him will suddenly start booing make the turn much more effective, give the commentators something to point out etc. A big heel turn is all about that drop jaw moment for me.