WWE Raw: Analyzing John Cena's Borderline Shoot on the Rock, and What It Means

John Cena, the often-criticized golden boy of the WWE, took to the microphone Monday night on Raw to lay down a surprisingly good, borderline shoot promo on his WrestleMania opponent, The Rock.  

This bold style, absent of lame jokes and pandering to his preferred demographics, saw a dead crowd that clearly supported The Rock turn into a mass of fans buzzing for their WrestleMania showdown.  

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Before I was interrupted by the skankopotamus, I was out here to talk about WrestleMania.  I was out here to talk about The Rock.  You know, the guy who's not here this week.  But wait, wait, the guy who's going to be here next week to address me, that's going to be a fun time.  

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This short intro did a few very important things.  Cena made it clear, immediately, that this was about WrestleMania and his opponent, The Rock, so everything to come out of his mouth afterwards goes towards building the biggest WWE pay-per-view of the year.  

Cena also plugs The Rock's appearance on Raw next week, so you know that if you want to hear The Rock's retort to everything Cena is about to say, that's when to tune in.  

These two not-so-subtle tools are key to crafting a promo that is worthy of air time in the wrestling business, a promo that will draw ratings and money.  

The crowd began to chant "Rocky" and Cena, with his plugs out of the way, really got started.

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I used to love that chant, it's tough for me to even call him The Rock anymore, because I used to love The Rock just like you guys, and then he morphed into to Dwayne, and became a disciple of "Team Film It." 

You see, Dwayne is no longer The People's Champion, Dwayne is a champion with people.  He's got an entourage of his little goons.  He's got Bryan, you saw his picture on the Tonight Show, the guy who writes all of his jokes.  He's got Hiram, the guy that I got to talk to talk to the other guy to even get close to Dwayne.  Then he's got a crackpot staff of rent-a-cops to make sure that no one messes up that million-dollar smile.

This is the part where I'm supposed to say I look forward to WrestleMania because I personally respect The Rock.  I don't.  I respect and congratulate Dwayne Johnson for what he's done, multiple global No. 1 box-office hits!  He convinced the WWE that I have a mangina.  And he can make his boobs bounce.  

But through all of that comedy shtick, I have a legitimate beef with Dwayne Johnson, and its been the same problem I've had with him for seven years.  Next week, he should show up, raise an eyebrow, hold the millions in the palm of his hand like only he can, and then kick it back to Hollywood.  Because I got news for you, that is exactly what's going to happen.

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Shoot names are a great way to make the crowd shut up and think a wrestler is getting "real" with them, and it works.  Although all fans should realize that this is just a work, you'll find few who don't appreciate the line between kayfabe and reality being blurred.  It makes for great entertainment, especially paired with legitimate points and arguments against The Rock.  

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Dwayne, I want you to listen, this is not a movie promotion for me.  For those who saw The Reunion, there's not going to be a Reunion 2, and for those of you who begged to watch 12 Rounds, after halfway through you were like, man, probably should have gone three rounds, tops.

But the thing I'm most proud of, the thing that makes me sleep at night, through all that BS, I always showed up, and I never left.  When it comes down to Dwayne, the first time he got a taste of the bright lights of Hollywood, he was out of here faster than I could say "Rocky, don't go." 

Then a year ago, he came back; I remember it like it was yesterday.  Finally, the Rock has come home, and he's never leaving again!  Then he left, again.

Vince is probably going to fine me for this one, but the reason he came back in the first place was to promote Fast Five and launch his Twitter account.

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So, it's a little hypocritical for Cena to talk about not doing sequels to bad movies when WWE Studios is working on The Marine 3 and other sequels, but his point stands.  Most fans were also aware that when The Rock first came back around, there was no plan in place for him to return to action, but for casual fans and younger viewers, that could be a factor that never crossed their mind.  

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April 1st means everything to me.  Because I'm not just fighting for me, I'm fighting for every person behind that curtain whose dream was to be in this ring.  I'm fighting for every person behind that curtain whose dream was to be a WWE Superstar, and stay a WWE Superstar.  I fight at WrestleMania for the very small percentage of people that walk this planet and say I am proud to be, I'm sorry, a professional wrestler.  

You know what the greatest thing about April 1st is going to be?  April 9th, the Monday after, when I'm at Monday Night Raw, and Dwayne is on a movie set sipping a mai tai and laughing at his stunt double.

This got real real quick, I want you guys to enjoy all of this.  We've got 41 days to WrestleMania, and it is going to be one hell of a ride.  But I promise Rocky, as entertaining as you're going to be, as much as you're going to try to bring it, as many boots as you want to put to as many asses, you don't got the club in the bag, son. 

I'm here, I've been here, I'll always be here.  You're going to have to kill me to beat me. The headline reads, John Cena defeats Dwayne Johnson in the biggest match in history, in his hometown, Miami, Florida, at WrestleMania 28!  I'll see you next week, movie star.

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To seal the deal with the fans, Cena dropped the words "professional wrestler", a surefire way to win over some of the hardcore fans who despise him.  Whether that actually worked remains to be seen, but this was a great promo.  

Cena always kept his eyes on the prize, WrestleMania, and he gave The Rock plenty of material to work with for his appearance on Raw next week.  

This promo is a great sign to wrestling fans, as it means that we're not going to see John Cena play nice against The Rock, he's not holding back on these promos and I hope it translates to Cena not holding back in the ring, either.  

It also means that writers and fans can stop all of this nonsense about Cena turning heel.  WWE is determined to have at least a portion of the WWE Universe supporting Cena at WrestleMania, and that's not going to happen with a heel turn.  

The question going forward from here, is how will The Rock react, and can Cena keep the quality of his promos at this level all the way until WrestleMania?  

Personally, I'm expecting fireworks from here on out, all the way to April 1.