WWE: Why Old School Fandom Is Clouding Judgment of the Rock and His Return

From 1996 until his final full-time appearance in 2002, there was no superstar better at his job than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. I feel the need to say that from the get-go so that no one mistakes this article as an anti-Rock rant.

From 1997, when he joined the Nation of Domination and began to craft the persona of "The Rock," until his departure from WWE, I was a huge fan of the "Jabroni beating, pie eating, trail blazing, eyebrow raising, People's Champion." He was an exciting performer who brought the fans to their feet and kept them there until the conclusion of his match.

His matches with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho and Triple H are among the best matches of all time. I even enjoyed his early movies, including Walking Tall, the Scorpion King, Southland Tales and the highly-underrated The Rundown.

But some time around 2007, when it became clear "The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment" was distancing himself from wrestling, my adoration for The Rock began to wane. No longer did he want to be known as "The Rock." Instead, he wanted to be Dwayne Johnson, the actor. He did not want to associate himself with the business that made him a star.

I never had a problem with Johnson leaving wrestling to pursue an acting career. There are likely hundreds or thousands of guys in the history of the business that would have jumped at the same opportunity. He has proven to be a box office draw in any number of family-friendly Disney movies.

My problem with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is his insincerity. He knows a majority of the older fans in the audience loved him as a performer during the Attitude Era and will use nostalgia and old-school fandom to get those fans to continually cheer him.

He says he loves wrestling, yet was so quick to denounce it and distance himself from it when it no longer benefited him. They have seemingly become oblivious to the phoniness he has expressed in the last calendar year.

The fact of the matter is, Dwayne Johnson in 2012 is not much different from Hulk Hogan of  1994. Or 1995. Or 1996, '97, '98 or 2002.

Hulk Hogan left the wrestling business in 1993 and concentrated on an acting career that, to say the least, was not even a fraction as successful as The Rock's. One year later, Eric Bischoff recruited Hogan, playing to his ego, and signed him to World Championship Wrestling. He would be the major attraction that would drive in pay-per-view buys and television ratings, culminating with a showdown against World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair. Hogan would soundly defeat Flair, after boosting his own ego with one-sided promos and a major ticker-tape parade. During his entire stay with WCW, Hogan put over exactly one guy without ever getting his heat back and that was Bill Goldberg.

When pay-per-view buys and ratings were excellent, he took the credit. When they were disappointing, he never took the blame. Throughout it all, fans across the developing Internet despised him and criticized him for his selfishness. They said he did nothing to get anyone else over and as a result, the product was stale and old. Despite his legacy in the business, his proven track record of selling tickets, pay-per-views and driving in ratings, self-proclaimed smart marks reacted with a harshness not reserved for any other performer.

For whatever reason, The Rock has not been the recipient of the same criticisms as Hogan. Most of his detractors point to the fact that he left wrestling for acting. That is not the issue so much as is the fact that, since returning one year ago, he has done absolutely nothing to help get anyone other than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson over. He has not given a single young Superstar the proverbial "rub" and instead, has spent the majority of time hyping his own outside projects or spewing tenth-grade insults written for him by Brian Gewirtz.

He consistently has said he loves the business and he has returned to give back to it. While buy rates and TV ratings are nice, they are momentary. What good has he done, other than fattening his paycheck and promoting his movies, if the company and its stars are no better off for the future than they were when he got there?

In past Tweets, Rock has claimed that guys like CM Punk, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, and R-Truth could not draw a dime. For someone who loves the business, who is returning to give back to it, should he not be focused on building them up, supporting them, rather than making himself look bigger and better by comparison?

He was involved in a major pay-per-view main event, teaming with John Cena, and facing the above-mentioned Truth and Miz. It was apparent immediately following the match that Truth and Miz were in worse shape having performed with The Rock than they would have if they would have not.

Even the exchanges with John Cena have done more harm than good. Cena is not guilt-free in this scenario either but rather than point out the flaws with the company number one performer, The Rock should be pointing out the fact that John has carried the ball for WWE. They should be building each other up, heading into the so-called "biggest match of all-time" and instead, they are tearing each other down. If Dwayne is as smart as most of his die-hard, loyal fans claim he is, he should know better.

Perhaps the most telling of all is the reaction of the other WWE Superstars, many of whom grew up idolizing The Rock. In an interview with the New York Daily News, CM Punk called the former WWE Champion out for his diva-like attitude and actions.

“You know, the thing about that is, he’s not around. It does not help morale when the guy goes right from his limo to the dressing room to the dressing room to the ring. He’s very bourgeois Hollywood.”

When asked if he considers The Rock to be a diva, he responded.

“I can’t say that. At least the WWE Divas say hi to me in the halls.”

As recently as this week, more reports have indicated that those in the locker room are not happy with "the Great One's" return. The fact that he has his own private dressing room, does not interact with the young stars who could benefit from advice or from a conversation with one of the best in the history of the business, is troubling. It is further proof that The Rock has returned for himself only and not to better the wrestling business. If Hulk Hogan or any other major Superstar (Triple H, perhaps) would act in this manner, they would be harshly criticized and taken to task.

There will be those of you, the readers, that continue to side with The Rock. This article was never about getting you to side against him. Some will say The Rock has earned the right to act in such a way. That is your opinion.

This article, more than anything, was composed in order to expose the fact that The Rock is, and has been, getting a pass for things others have done in the past and been heavily scrutinized for. He has this passionate fan base behind him who has not separated their love of him from what he has done since returning. He is alienating a locker room and his insincerity and phoniness is blatant for whoever wishes to see it.

Is it all The Rock's fault? No. He was asked to come back, has been paid well to come back, and he decided to do so. But it is time that he receive his fair share of blame for his words, his actions, and his attitude, all of which are ignored by those still refusing to acknowledge them.