Is the WWE Sabotaging The Rock to Make John Cena Look Better?

On most occasions, conspiracies turn out to be absolute, misguided fallacies.

Sometimes, though, they can turn out to be true.

In such cases, the possible motives of a third party are not only crystal clear, but strong enough to compel insidious plotting. Not to mention, if there is past precedent to suggest the possibility, then all bets are off.

In this scenario, The Rock and John Cena are two starring "actors" in a play that will culminate at WrestleMania 28. The WWE, spearheaded by Vince McMahon and now Triple H, is the acting third party behind the curtain.

Vince, his son-in-law and the writers at their behest ultimately pull the strings and have the power to influence any storyline that transpires under their auspices.

While The Rock and Cena are two wrestling warlords with undeniable clout, they too are at the mercy of the WWE's machinations.

John Cena, however, as the last seven years has shown, is (and will be) the WWE's golden ticket until he is literally unable to fulfill his obligations.

The Rock, in contrast, has only been back intermittently since last year—a pattern that is likely to continue until at least WrestleMania 29. Suffice it to say, his function is to be more of a stopgap than a long-term asset the WWE can continually rely upon.

Obviously, Dwayne Johnson is not a contracted employee in the way Cena is, who is the WWE's top star on a full-time basis.

Going further, Mr. "Hustle, Loyalty and Respect" represents the WWE like no other wrestler as he proudly carries the red, black and white company flag to various cities around the globe.

There is no disputing the fact that Cena, in addition to being a relatively lucrative act, represents the immaculate public image the company wants to put out there.

The WWE, in turn, has reciprocated its loyalty to the West Newbury native by not only protecting his character, but never giving up in its pursuit to ensure that he is universally accepted by all wrestling fans.

Of course, that edict has not come to fruition yet, but with The Rock back in the picture, it gives Vince and Co. the opportunity to finally cement Cena's legacy even if it comes at the cost of undermining "The Great One."

But on the surface, it doesn't really make too much sense, does it?

Why would Vince McMahon go through all the trouble to sign Rock to a high-priced deal only to cut him down, little by little, week after week?

Delving deeper, the reason being is that, while he still makes appearances here and there, The Rock's core responsibilities lie on film sets as opposed to in the ring.

Thus, McMahon is likely to view The Rock as an occasional special attraction who, despite inimitably wooing crowds, has little bearing on the WWE's future, unlike Cena.

The Cena-Rock feud, in particular, affords the perfect means to an end; that is, to portray Cena on-par, if not head and shoulders above his arch-nemesis, The Rock.

As a result, to do so has required that The Rock be hammered down a notch in lieu of the impossible tall order of elevating Cena up to the stratosphere "The People's Champion" occupies.

For instance, as the last several episodes of Raw have shown, The Rock has been put in situations where home runs have been very difficult to come by.

Even worse, his fabled character has taken hits, staggering his untouchable image in the eyes of fans.

Sadly, this has been done by design to make Cena look better, who, spurred by a suspicious makeover, took it one step further by going off script to bring up The Rock's wrist notes.

Never mind the fact that The Rock has been asked to do 25-minute promos, whereas Cena has been able to save all his best material for a pithy interview or rap. Realistically, how would Cena fare if he had to fill an exorbitant amount of air time?

Ironically, when The Rock came out on the March 5 episode of Raw to confront his rival, and deliver a short but earnest promo, Cena inexplicably grinned the whole way through, making himself and his WrestleMania opponent come across as veritable jokes.

Then, on the March 17 Raw, when The Rock seemingly redeemed himself during his concert, the cringe-inducing finale—a bumbling tribute to Queen's "We Will Rock You"—abruptly undid all the good faith he won back from the viewers.

It begs the question: whose idea was it to have The Rock betray his character by singing half-baked karaoke, conveniently read from "notes" on the jumbo screen?

Moreover, why did it seem like Rock wasn't as familiar with the altered lyrics as he should've been?

In actuality, who knows—this could all be either planned or a very curious coincidence, but accept one final piece of food for thought: Vince has a history of turning business into a personal vendetta (i.e., Randy Savage, refusing to have any WCW wrestlers go over during the infamous "Invasion" storyline).

It's not beyond the scope of reason to think that Vince is being ruthlessly petty by begrudging The Rock for not only leaving the WWE eight years ago, but becoming bigger than the WWE brand itself.

Compounding the grudge factor is the torture McMahon's ego has likely been subjected to, knowing he now needs The Rock, who, for all intents and purposes, would've been better served leaving the WWE behind for good.

Adding credence to this theory is the mounting backstage discontentment aimed at The Rock, which has been all-too-happily sidestepped by the WWE Chairman because it's good for business.

Don't forget the omnipotent Triple H, either, who has for whatever reason never been on the friendliest terms with The Rock.

Taking all these circumstances into account, one can't help but ponder if Cena, besides being rewarded for his steadfast service, is also being used as the ultimate chess piece by the WWE to checkmate The Rock.

Like a trusted member of the Mafia, Cena, as he alluded to during an in-ring promo, would be doing it not for the fans, but for all the people backstage.

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