Do You Smell What the Rock is Cookin?
In 2011, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made an unexpected and highly anticipated comeback to the pro wrestling world, after almost a decade away building his career as a Hollywood megastar. As the host of WrestleMania 27, The Rock made a huge statement by hitting the Rock Bottom on John Cena in the PPV's main event, costing him the WWE Championship. This set up the first ever WrestleMania match booked an entire year in advance – John Cena vs. The Rock, two generations collide.
This isn't one significant moment, so much as it is two moments that can't be separated. The first is that John Cena lost to the Rock at WrestleMania 28. The second is that he rose up and got his win back at WrestleMania 29. Despite what some people think – that they traded wins and nobody really got over – I see their feud a bit differently.
John Cena and the Rock are two major icons from two totally different eras of pro wrestling. They both carried the ball, both made incredible amounts of money, and will both go into the Hall of Fame some day. When they faced off the first time, it was an epic clash of the titans. Both guys had massive fanbases, despite the Rock's obvious vocal advantage in his hometown of Miami. But Cena had legitimate claims – where has the Rock been for the last ten years?
John Cena had to lose. You may not realize this, but John Cena always gets beaten before he comes back stronger. Edge beat the holy hell out of Cena for months. CM Punk beat Cena for over a year before John ended their long-standing feud in 2013 with an emphatic win on Monday Night Raw. He is the king of taking a beating, but always comes back stronger – apparently that includes real-life injuries, as he's shown in the past. He's more like a Super Saiyan than he is Superman.
The second match with Cena and Rock was equally important, but only because of that original loss. There had to be two matches, Cena had to lose the first, and he had to win the second. He's like a robot that learns and grows stronger. The loss cemented The Rock as the so-called greatest of all time. The win cemented Cena as the guy that beat the so-called greatest of all time.
