The Rock vs John Cena II "Twice in a Lifetime" Equals Money Grab

At Wrestlemania 28, we witnessed a dream match between The Rock and John Cena in what was advertised and billed as "Once in a Lifetime". The Rock, arguably the biggest star of the Attitude Era versus the biggest star of the Modern Era John Cena. The posters and billboards told us that The Rock vs John Cena was a one time match... boy we were fooled.

Now, just one year later we are going to see The Rock vs John Cena AGAIN at Wrestlemania 29. This means that the WWE retroactively committed false advertising at Wrestlemania 28. I can't help but feel like this rematch is nothing more than a money grab at this point. There were plenty of other more interesting match-ups for The Rock at Wrestlemania. Why not have The Rock face Triple H or The Undertaker? Why waste The Rock's limited schedule on a match we've already seen at Wrestlemania just a year ago.

Funny enough, this isn't the first time WWE has allegedly falsely advertised at Wrestlemania. Who can forget John Cena on RAW after Wrestlemania 27 stating that Cena vs Rock at Wrestlemania 28 would be for the WWE Championship, but when the match came around it wasn't a title match at all.

Who can forget when WWE advertised a US Title match between Sheamus and Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania 27 only to screw the fans who ordered the PPV to see that match because WWE decided to make it a dark match and not tell anybody. Technically, the WWE is able to get away with stuff like this by using the "Card Subject to Change" scapegoat. It just irks me when WWE advertises matches and doesn't deliver. It's one thing if they can't deliver because one of the wrestlers got injured or is in no condition to compete (ex. Scott Hall, Jeff Hardy), but if they are able to compete then don't cheat the fans who paid to see what YOU ADVERTISED. You got to love that "Card Subject to Change" scapegoat. So lets gear up for the "Second Time in a Lifetime".

Once in a Lifetime was a dream match. Twice in a Lifetime is a money grab.

Then and Now: The Undertaker

The Undertaker in his physical prime (circa 1990-1992)

The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 28 (2012)

List of Wrestlemania 28 Theme Songs

Click on song to listen

Official Song List for Wrestlemania 28

Machine Gun Kelly feat. Ester Dean "Invincible"

Flo Rida feat. Sia "Wild Ones"

Flo Rida "Good Feeling"

Madonna "Girl Gone Wild"

Metallica "The Memory Remains"

Triple H vs Undertaker Battle Rap

Is WWE Using Attitude Era Stars to Prop Up Sagging Ratings and PPV Buys?

by Brian Phelps

http://wrestlersway.blogspot.com

One thing I find amusing in the world of wrestling is the number of fans online that accuse TNA of being nothing but a bunch of old guys. The ironic thing is that WWE is guilty of the same thing but no one ever seems to mention that. Over the last two years the WWE has been a virtual revolving door to the Attitude Era, but no one ever says the WWE is over using older stars. The fact is the WWE has been constantly bringing back old stars to prop up sagging ratings and ppv buy rates. Every time an older star leaves another shows up to keep the ratings from going down.

Over the last two years, we've seen Bret Hart, Mick Foley, Booker T, Stone Cold, The Rock, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Trish Stratus and now Brock Lesnar. This is an alarming trend because it shows that the WWE is struggling to create new stars. They have to keep falling back on Attitude Era stars to anchor the company. The 3 headlining matches at Wrestlemania 28 featured The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, The Undertaker and Chris Jericho. This was also the 8th consecutive Wrestlemania that John Cena has headlined. So the only newer star was CM Punk.

Wrestlemania 27's line-up was so weak that they needed the Rock guest hosting, Stone Cold reffing, Trish Stratus wrestling, and Undertaker/Triple H headlining just to prop up buys and put make-up on an otherwise ugly ppv line-up.

Wrestlemania 26 featured the wrestling return of Bret "Hitman" Hart taking on Vince McMahon. It also featured Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker II.

In between these Wrestlemania's we've seen Bret Hart win the US title, Kevin Nash in a Sledgehammer ladder match, Mick Foley hosting "This is your life" segments, Triple H taking the spotlight off of a white hot CM Punk last Summer, Mark Henry and Kane win the World Title (people forget that Mark Henry has been with the WWF since 1996 and is 40 years old and Kane is 44 years old), and Brock Lesnar returning to headline Extreme Rules.

This is definitely an alarming trend because in most of these cases the older stars are not putting over up-and-coming stars, or else we would be having a different conversation. Think about it. With the exception of Chris Jericho putting over CM Punk the rest of the older mega stars are just putting each other over. Shawn Michaels and Triple H put the Undertaker over twice. The Rock fought John Cena which doesn't elevate anyone, especially when The Rock wins. Since Kane has returned with the mask he's buried up-and-coming talent Zack Ryder while feuding with John Cena and Randy Orton. Kane feuding with Cena and Orton doesn't elevate anyone. If these stars would spend more time putting over younger stars instead of burying them, the WWE might be in a better spot. Until the WWE starts to get past Cena and Orton, and stops relying on Attitude Era stars as a crutch the WWE's ratings will continue to slowly decline because they refuse to introduce fresh new characters and make them important.

Look at Kofi Kingston, a guy that became really popular to the point that he took out Randy Orton in Madison Square Garden at the Old School edition of Monday Night Raw and has since gone nowhere but downhill. Kofi Kingston won his first Intercontinental Title FOUR YEARS ago and he is actually less important now than he was then. Instead of capitalizing on Kofi's booming popularity, WWE thought it would be a greater idea to put the World Title on Jack Swagger. Funny thing is, Jack Swagger wasn't even over while Kofi Kingston had been over. It's poor business decisions like this that make you smack your forehead with disbelief. 

Unresolved WWE Storyline: What happened to John Cena vs The Rock for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 28?

by Brian Phelps

http://wrestlersway.blogspot.com

After Wrestlemania 27, John Cena told the WWE Universe that at Wrestlemania 28 it was going to be John Cena versus The Rock for the WWE Championship. However, when Wrestlemania 28 rolled around there was no title match on the line. In fact, John Cena wasn't even the WWE Champion. CM Punk was WWE Champion. So what happened to Cena vs Rock for the WWE Championship? This is another example of WWE promising something and then failing to deliver yet again.

Why the Road to Wrestlemania 28 was Full of Duds and Disappointments

by Brian Phelps

http://wrestlersway.blogspot.com

Well, the early numbers show that Wrestlemania 28 did about the same as Wrestlemania 27 (1.1 million for WM28 vs 1,042,000 for WM27).  This has got to be considered disappointing for WWE and I'll tell you why. Wrestlemania 27 had a HORRIBLE line-up. The main event featured The Miz. Wrestlemania 28 had what was billed as the biggest match in Wrestlemania history as The Rock returned for his first singles match in nearly a decade against John Cena. It also featured the return of Shawn Michaels, and saw CM Punk facing off against Chris Jericho to determine who really is the "Best in the World". So what went wrong? Well, I'll tell you why the Road to Wrestlemania was littered with duds and disappointments.

Some people speculate that Wrestlemania 28 had some weak build up. I have to say that the Road to Wrestlemania this year was awful. There were so many unresolved stories that never went anywhere. In other words, a lot of duds. For instance, when Chris Jericho returned the first words out of his mouth after weeks of silence were "At the Royal Rumble, it's going to be the end of the world as you know it". This had everybody wondering what that ominous statement could mean. However, when the Royal Rumble took place Chris Jericho was pathetically eliminated from the Royal Rumble match by Sheamus and nothing at all happened. This is a perfect example of WWE falling through on a huge promise. I'm sure they duped a ton of people into buying the pay-per-view to find out what the big surprise was only for nothing to happen. It was a dud.

Who can forget the cryptic messages for Chris Jericho's return. Anyone else notice how they never explained who the little girl in the video was or what she was supposed to represent?

How about Kharma who made her return at the Royal Rumble PPV, and then disappeared right afterward. What was the point? I was looking forward to her possibly feuding with Beth Phoenix for the Divas title. WWE never explained why she was there one night and gone the next at the Rumble.

Think about Kane. WWE never explained why Kane returned with the mask. All Kane said was "This is my true form". Well... ok. That's not an explanation. How did he come to realize he needed the mask back? Why is it his true form? We know what Kane looks like, but he decided to wear a mask any way? Another example of WWE not explaining something.

Speaking of Kane, anyone else notice that John Cena never embraced the hate, and that Kane was thrown into a random feud with Randy Orton that had little rhyme or reason to it? Zack Ryder should've fought Kane at Wrestlemania, but WWE thought it would be a better idea to injure Zack Ryder every week for like 2 months.

Is it just me or did Mark Henry never get a one-on-one rematch for the title after dropping it to the Big Show? Mark Henry just sort of went back to upper mid-carder.

Now, let's not forget how John Cena told the world that at Wrestlemania 28 it was going to be John Cena vs The Rock for the WWE Championship. Funny how at Wrestlemania 28, John Cena wasn't even the WWE Champion.

Or, how about Daniel Bryan telling the world he was cashing in Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania 28? Well, not only did Daniel Bryan NOT cash in at Wrestlemania... he got squashed at Wrestlemania 28 in 18 seconds in what was a waste of talent.

(Note: This isn't the first time WWE has pulled something stupid with Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania. Last year at Wrestlemania 27, WWE advertised Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus for the United States Championship only to not show the match on the PPV. It was a dark match (non-televised) so anyone who ordered Wrestlemania 27 to see Daniel Bryan in a US title match were ripped off)

Watch WWE Friday Night SmackDown: March 9, 2012

WWE Raw 3-5-2012: Shawn Michaels reveals he is the guest ref for Triple H vs Undertaker

http://wrestlersway.blogspot.com

WWE Raw 3-5-12: The Rock and John Cena engage in a WrestleMania war of words

http://wrestlersway.blogspot.com

Watch WWE Friday Night SmackDown: March 2, 2012

http://wrestlersway.blogspot.com

WWE Friday Night SmackDown: February 24, 2012

Why Does Triple H Have to Steal Everyone's Thunder?

by Brian Phelps

http://wrestlersway.blogspot.com

One thing I've grown aware of when watching wrestling is Triple H's tendency to steal people's thunder. Triple H always seems to know how to make everything about Triple H. Now, I'm a Triple H fan myself. He's not my favorite wrestler of all-time, but I've always generally liked him in spite of all the reported backstage politics. I've just noticed over time that Triple H somehow always manages to make everything about him. It's like he has to "one up" everyone else. I'll give you a few examples. 

You all remember this past Summer when CM Punk was on fire, and Kevin Nash screwed him out of the WWE title at Summerslam right? Do you also remember how Triple H somehow spun the beef between Kevin Nash and CM Punk into Triple H defending his wife's honor from CM Punk's derogatory comments? Somehow he turned a beef that had nothing to do with him into a story about Triple H defending his manhood to CM Punk. 

 

Then there's the Undertaker feud. Shawn Michaels put on two of the greatest Wrestlemania matches ever, and came the closest to ending the Undertaker's streak. Of course, Triple H decides he has to "one up" Shawn Michaels. He can't let Shawn be the closest to beating the Undertaker. HE has to be the closest one to beating the Undertaker. If Shawn Michaels took the Undertaker to the limit then Triple H has to leave the Undertaker unable to leave under his own power. If Shawn Michaels fights the Undertaker twice, then Triple H has to fight the Undertaker THREE TIMES! It can't just be a regular match like Shawn Michaels first match with the Undertaker. It has to be a "No Holds Barred" match. If Shawn puts his career on the line in the second match, then Triple H has to have "Hell in a Cell" for his second match. Triple H always has to outshine everyone. It seems like he can't let people have their moment without interjecting himself. Now, I do think that Triple H made sense to fight the Undertaker last year since the Undertaker retired his best friend. HOWEVER, their feud last year wasn't even about Undertaker retiring his best friend. It was about Undertaker and Triple H being the last ones left from the Attitude Era. Triple H said himself last year that the "streak" was all he had left. So, once again it wasn't even about defending the honor of his best friend Shawn. It was about Triple H wanting to get the only accolade that was left for him to attain. It was about ego. 

Even if you go back a couple of years, it's the same thing. When Shawn Michaels beat John Cena cleanly on RAW after Wrestlemania 23 in 2007 in that hour long epic, Triple H couldn't let it fly. Despite the fact that Triple H lost to John Cena multiple times in the past, he had to beat John Cena clean at Night of Champions 2008. 

Now, I could obviously be wrong about Triple H. Maybe all of it is just a coincidence, but maybe it's not. Over the years it just seems like Triple H has a history of trying to "one up" other people. It just seems like he has a way of making everything about him. 

John Cena vs The Rock at Mania 28!

Cena vs Rock at Wrestlemania 28. This is what we have been waiting for. This is the kind of Wrestlemania main events that the company was built on. Finally WWE does something right lately. By letting the fans know of the main event one year in advance, that means they have a whole year to build to that match in the same way that Sting and Hogan built their feud for a year before Starrcade 97. Anticipation will grow, anxiety will increase because it's the match we all want to see. Now, with the main event set in advance they can figure out how to stack the card now... and this is how WWE will get over a million buys. They won't get it with silly guest appearances, and special refs, or celebrities. They get it with epic matches. Hogan vs Andre. Hogan vs Warrior. Savage vs Warrior. Stone Cold vs Rock. Rock vs Hogan. Not Miz vs Cena. This is what we want to see.