WWE: The Rock Should Not Be Given a Title Shot at the Royal Rumble

The Miz, Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes and John Cena.

They all deserve a chance at the WWE or World Heavyweight Title.

When the Rock announced he would face the WWE Champion at the Royal Rumble, I was shocked and scratched my head a bit. I have been critical in the past of The Rock’s coming and going at his leisure with the WWE, chasing big movie contracts and finding time to wrestle or appear on camera every now and then. It has become almost comical in the way Dwayne Johnson has his boot on the throat of the WWE and can basically do as he pleases.

But while covering the live Raw event last night, I was pleased to see comments which supported my argument.

Yes, the ending of Raw last night was awesome and the heel turn of CM Punk was inevitable, but how it was done and the fact that both The Rock and John Cena both were laid out in the ring at the end of the night was dramatic, poignant and made a huge statement about the direction of this company.

The only thing is, The Rock is not deserving of a WWE title shot.

The Rock brings excitement, energy and ratings and is the most beloved wrestler in the WWE of all time. But he is not the effort guy who, like a Cena or Christian or even Punk, gives everything he has to the business.

Cena was right when he said for the past 10 years, he has been there every night, fighting the good fight and representing the company while “Dwayne” has been off making movies and jet-setting.

Funny how those words mean so much right now.

Personally, I love the idea (if it were to come to this) of a Rock/Punk matchup at the Royal Rumble. I also love the idea of a Rock/Cena rematch. But the WWE is making a huge statement by leaving Rhodes, Bryan, Ryback, et al in the back seat while the company tries to cash in on what used to be.

Some times what used to be becomes a cancer that invades a company and hurts it (ask WCW.)

While the lame crowd was absorbing everything in the ring, the loss by Daniel Bryan, the confrontation between Punk and The Rock and the impending championship match that had not taken place yet, we were lost on the fact that The Rock had again pulled rank (or the company had made another bold long-range decision). I guess “Dwayne” had time in his busy schedule around the Royal Rumble to book a wrestling match.

Woo Hoo!

All it did was make us all stop and think. And for a company trying to move forward, all it did was allow themselves to be held hostage by The Rock again.

I’m sure John Cena and others will have a few things to say about that.