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| I thought Cena held his own on the mic. Did you? Photo Credit: WWE.com |
My choice is Cena. Given how much I've been hating on Cena and his cutesy tendencies lately and how hard I crush on Miz on a daily basis, this is surprising, but hear me out. The Rock came back for the first time in seven years. He cut a special promo, one that needed a special response. The Miz's promo was good. It was well-delivered, par for the course for him, really. But was it special? Did it feel like a once in a lifetime response to a once in a lifetime promo? I think describing it as "par for the course" tells you that I thought it did not.
Cena's rap though? Yeah, that did feel special. Granted, Cena had to reply to Rock in an epic way. He had to show that yes, he could stand toe to toe with The Great One. The preamble to his first rap in several years was great, serious enough to match the gauntlet thrown down by The People's Champ without sounding too glib or dismissive. What put it over the top though was that rap. It was Cena dragging out the one part of his character that people could feel nostalgic about, one that was left in the storage chest until then for good reason. Cena brought it and brought it hard, and I think that he wins this round over Miz and comes mighty close to Rock's first shot. In fact, TWB superfan and sometimes-collaborator Pete Speer said on Twitter that he'd score the first round between Rock and Cena a 10-9 advantage for Rocky. I agree with that assessment a lot, and I think that if Cena keeps holding his own, he'll come out of this important stretch run to WrestleMania looking like a bigger star than he already is. For the WWE's sake, that's very important.
So, what say you, commenters? Let me know whom you thought won both the reply battle between Miz and Cena as well as the back and forth between Rocky and Cena. I'm very interested to find out.
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I agree, Cena's felt special, just like The Rock's. Why? Because they both have a past in WWE, and they were both nostalgia moments and pretty damn good moments.
ReplyDeleteThe Miz can't play the "remember my old gimmick" card simply because he doesn't have it yet.
As for Rock v Cena, well, The Rock's return was something like nothing we've seen in a long time, and it was epic. I was pleasantly surprised by Cena's response, and if it hadn't been THE FREAKING ROCK, Cena would have won hands down.
But yeah, 10-9 to the people's champ sounds good.
Yup. I don't like Cena but he did well. Very well.
ReplyDeleteIf all things were equal, I think Miz's promo was better written and better delivered.
ReplyDeleteAt least half of Cena's promo was delievered as "new Cena" that awkwardly transitioned into the rap. I thought the rap was good in that it brought an edge we haven't seen much lately and didn't back down, though if you look at what was actually said it was mostly one gay joke after another.
Miz's was his usual, which is a good thing imo. It was smooth, on point, and further developed the Miz character as a believable outward cocky champion with an inferiority complex.
That said, all things were not equal. Cena got a prime retail position on the show after a week of heavy hype on what his response was going to be. The Miz got shoved in the middle of the first hour, between Cena and Taker/HHH, with no hype. So I think it depends on how you measure it, no doubt Cena's promo was more important given the circumstances.
My first instinct was - I remember Cena's promo, but not Miz's all that well. I'll rewatch them and judge. But then I realized - doesn't that answer the question? I remember Cena's promo but can't recall the finer details of Miz's. So I go with Cena on this one. I remember my gut reaction to the Miz being pretty positive though, so for sure, both of them had excellent promos. To me though, Cena's stands out as memorable and the kind of thing you build a legendary feud out of it.
ReplyDeleteAs far as if Cena or Rocky got the better of the other - I choose Rock. The Rock's promo was nothing short of iconic. The moment was perfect, the crowd was perfect, and the Rock was as good as he'd ever been. He was electrifying. Cena responded extremely well, with one of the best promos he's cut in a long time, but it didn't beat the Rock in quality.
Cena!
ReplyDeletegotta go with Cena. I thought Miz was less than stellar coming from someone who supposedly has good mic skills. simply saying "I don't suck, I'm awesome." just didn't do it for me. The fact the Rock spent so little time on him shows how much of a non-concern he is.
ReplyDeleteThat's not what he said. He said, "Last week, you people embarassed yourselves. I watched grown men jump up and down weeping like little girls over another man. That man was the Rock. Now don't get me wrong, back in 1999, I remember sitting back in my dad's living room watching the Rock electrify. I watched him rip apart his opponents verbally. So you can imagine my excitement when the Rock stood in the middle of the ring and said my name. I was wondering, aw man, what classic line would the Rock say about me? And then he said it... 'The Miz absolutely, unquestionably, undoubtedly, 100%, completely sucks.' Really? Really? That's the best the Rock can do? One of the greatest talkers in the history of sports entertainment and that is the best, that I suck? I've heard kindergartners say worse than that. So you people all think I suck? (They do, of course.) Really? Really? Really? Well now I'm a little hurt. Let me check my tears in the reflection of my championship gold. You see while the Rock is hosting Wrestlemania, I will be main eventing it..."
ReplyDeleteThere was more, but that gets the important part and highlights the fact that if you're going to say that all Miz did was say "I don't suck," then you at least should acknowledge that all the Rock said was that he did. Tit for tat, please. Are my biases showing? Oh yes, in a big way. I make no pretense of having listened to Cena's rap. Nor will I. They can book him to win everything in sight, be he'll be losing with me til eternity. And the Rock too. I loved the Miz's promo because I agreed with its sentiments entirely. I've always thought he was lame, so by all means, call him out on being lame succinctly. I'll drink that koolaid, with a little rum and a cherry swimming in it. :p
Both were good promos but Cena had a better delivery. Cena is way underrated by the IWC. Yes, his constant super push is annoying but he delivers the goods night in and night out. His rap on The Rock had the whole crowd on his side.
ReplyDeleteEh... Cena looked a bit rusty for that style, while Miz looked like he was stepping up.
ReplyDeleteR,
I thought Cena was tremendous, and the simple fact he threw down a rap for the first time in years was a moment - as suggested above - that people will remember.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I thought Miz's response was excellent as well, but in a different way. His response wasn't about getting the big pop, but about continuing to develop his character without overshadowing Cena. Because let's face it, Cena/Rock and the eventual confrontation is where the money in this angle lies. Not in Miz/Rock.