I loved the Rock's Corporate champion gimmick. He was a heel you couldn't help but love to hate. He was the anthithesis to the Texas Rattlesnake, and the two clicked perfectly in the months leading up to their WMXV match. I loved his face post-Backlash 1999 face turn about as much, up until 2000. He was still likeable that year, but he started getting a bit too fixated with the rectal cavity for my taste. He started saying jokes only ten year olds would find remotely funny. But he was still overall solid, both on the mic and in the ring.
Then came 2001. The Rock's promo started to change, and started repeating himself, repeating himself, REPEATING...himself. He could still throw in a few good jokes here and there, but his spirit was gone. He was no longer the coolest cat in town, but just another WWF Superstar obsessed with getting / keeping the title belt.
Another thing I disliked was his booking at WM17. I loved his match against Austin, but he kept kicking out of the Stunners, chair shots, etc...He became Super Rock that night, something I found to be infuriating.
When he came back from being "suspended", I was thankful to see that he returned with a reinvigorated attitude. His mic skills were about as good as his 1999-2000 days. I heard some people saying that he was terrible in the ring, but I think he was still relatively solid. Then came his feud with Chris Jericho. The way he was booked made him look like a complete and total dick. He attacked Jericho simply for saying something he disagreed with. How he remained a face at the point is a miracle, but this was when fans started turning on the Rock. He also buried Jericho on the mic big time, saying that the latter didn't get the opportunities for the major titles because he didn't deserve it. The point that made me a Rock hater was when he won back the WCW title from YJ with a FREAKIN ROLLUP, after being on the walls of Jericho for nearly a minute! It was such a great match up until that point, and Rock had to ruin the whole darn thing.
In 2002, Rock became a parody of himself. He would accuse people of licking the anus of a llama...(Because that's TOTALLY something we all do, right?). He was making extremely bizarre sounds with his voice, which was in a higher pitch than usual. Not only were his promos redundant, repetitive and atrocious, but the way he delivered them also made them incredibly annoying. When he came back after Austin walked out, he delivered without a doubt the worst promo he's ever done in his life. "Austin can take his ball and go home, But as far as I'm concerned, this IS home". And of course "If there's anybody in the back that doesn't want to be in this company, then I swear to God, just like the slogan says: get the F out!"...SURE, how how much time was he given to focus on his movie career at that point? And two months, he was gone. He wasn't seen for another six months...He became the biggst hypocrite in the business, next only to Hogan. Taker should have done that promo, not Rock.
In 2003, Rock came back with the Hollywood Rock gimmick...Thank goodness for that character! This was by far the best work he's done since 1999. His voice was a stll a bit too high-pitched for my taste, but everything else about the character was gold.
He would make many returns in the past decade. They were fine, but none were any close to his 1999 and 2003 runs.
Anyone here share my feelings?
Then came 2001. The Rock's promo started to change, and started repeating himself, repeating himself, REPEATING...himself. He could still throw in a few good jokes here and there, but his spirit was gone. He was no longer the coolest cat in town, but just another WWF Superstar obsessed with getting / keeping the title belt.
Another thing I disliked was his booking at WM17. I loved his match against Austin, but he kept kicking out of the Stunners, chair shots, etc...He became Super Rock that night, something I found to be infuriating.
When he came back from being "suspended", I was thankful to see that he returned with a reinvigorated attitude. His mic skills were about as good as his 1999-2000 days. I heard some people saying that he was terrible in the ring, but I think he was still relatively solid. Then came his feud with Chris Jericho. The way he was booked made him look like a complete and total dick. He attacked Jericho simply for saying something he disagreed with. How he remained a face at the point is a miracle, but this was when fans started turning on the Rock. He also buried Jericho on the mic big time, saying that the latter didn't get the opportunities for the major titles because he didn't deserve it. The point that made me a Rock hater was when he won back the WCW title from YJ with a FREAKIN ROLLUP, after being on the walls of Jericho for nearly a minute! It was such a great match up until that point, and Rock had to ruin the whole darn thing.
In 2002, Rock became a parody of himself. He would accuse people of licking the anus of a llama...(Because that's TOTALLY something we all do, right?). He was making extremely bizarre sounds with his voice, which was in a higher pitch than usual. Not only were his promos redundant, repetitive and atrocious, but the way he delivered them also made them incredibly annoying. When he came back after Austin walked out, he delivered without a doubt the worst promo he's ever done in his life. "Austin can take his ball and go home, But as far as I'm concerned, this IS home". And of course "If there's anybody in the back that doesn't want to be in this company, then I swear to God, just like the slogan says: get the F out!"...SURE, how how much time was he given to focus on his movie career at that point? And two months, he was gone. He wasn't seen for another six months...He became the biggst hypocrite in the business, next only to Hogan. Taker should have done that promo, not Rock.
In 2003, Rock came back with the Hollywood Rock gimmick...Thank goodness for that character! This was by far the best work he's done since 1999. His voice was a stll a bit too high-pitched for my taste, but everything else about the character was gold.
He would make many returns in the past decade. They were fine, but none were any close to his 1999 and 2003 runs.
Anyone here share my feelings?
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