WWE Brewing Thoughts: The Return of The Great One, The Rock

We are just two days away from Elimination Chamber this Sunday, and three days from the culmination of the 2.21.11 promos. It will be a big finish to what has become a a huge week in the WWE Universe.

As we all know, Monday's edition of Raw concluded with the guest host of WrestleMania XXVII being revealed. Reports late last weekend brought Bob Barker's name to the masses, but most of the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC) had a pretty good feeling The Rock would be announced as the official guest host of WrestleMania.

And what an announcement it was. The capacity crowd in Anaheim nearly blew the roof off of the arena when The Rock made his return to WWE after a seven-year absence.

Clearly, The Rock Hasn't Lost "It"

Seven years worth of rust fell off The Rock before he made his way onto the entrance stage in Anaheim Monday. By the time The Great One made his way to the ring for his return promo, he was in top form.

The Rock had everyone listening in the palm of his hand. He electrified the crowd in attendance, and the millions of fans watching his return around the world on their television sets. He even electrified himself, as goosebumps were clearly visible on his arm during his delivery of his, "Finally ..." catchphrase.

If he ever wanted to return to the ring, it's clear The Rock would step immediately to the front of the line as the best entertainer the company would have. His promo blew anything John Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H, or The Undertaker could deliver completely out of the water.

It was great to see The Rock return to WWE programming. While it almost certainly won't be on a full-time basis—or anything close to that—it was good to see a piece of old-school WWE come back Monday night.

Seeing that promo highlighted one of the biggest problems Vince McMahon is set to face with his current roster, though.

The Current Roster Is In Trouble

The thousands upon thousands of 20-somethings like me received a throwback to the Attitude Era Monday night, the kind of pro wrestling we grew up on, when The Rock electrified WWE programming for nearly 25 minutes to end Raw.

Unwittingly, The Rock pointed his historic finger at the biggest problem the WWE roster has going forward: Nobody currently on the roster can touch the type of work The Rock did during his promo Monday night.

There are a few superstars who are pretty good. CM Punk is probably the best of any current superstar  on the mic. John Cena has his moments, as do Randy Orton and The Miz. But their work is nothing compared to the likes of The Rock, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels.

While those three men are some of the best of all-time, nobody on the current roster stands out as a true headliner.

Cena has been forced down our throats while pandering to the children in the WWE Universe. He's no Hulk Hogan, and he never will be.

Orton is the latest anti-hero in the WWE Universe, but can he really ever come close to being the type of superstar the original anti-hero, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, was?

The Miz continues to improve on the mic and in the ring, and will likely remain atop the main event picture as long as he continues to work as hard as he reportedly does. He is a tribute to Chris Jericho, and nothing more.

Why have I made the comparisons between current superstars and older success stories? Because WWE creative is anything but—so many of the main event superstars are tributes to, or rip-offs of, past superstars.

The comparisons have been made before, but there are too many too ignore. There's Cena/Hogan, Orton/Austin, Miz/Jericho, Sheamus/Triple H, Mason Ryan/Batista, R-Truth/Booker T, Alberto Del Rio/JBL and Dolph Ziggler/Rick Rude.

Where is the creativity?

Asking for another Rock, another Austin, another Michaels is simply unfair. But is it so much to ask for a character that isn't based on something we saw 10 years ago?

Maybe we were spoiled in the Attitude Era. There were so many superstars capable of telling a great story on the mic and in the ring. The talent just doesn't appear to be there anymore.

WrestleMania XXVII Will Be Sold Out

There was some worry about WrestleMania not being a sellout this year. It doesn't appear that should be a problem anymore.

The Rock simply being in attendance should put the event over the top. The rumored main events featuring John Cena vs. The Miz and Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio don't have the drawing power of WrestleManias past, but The Rock, along with the rumored Career vs. Streak match featuring The Undertaker vs. Triple H, should be enough to sell out the Georgia Dome before April 3.

Even though we almost certainly won't see The Rock in action at WrestleMania XXVII, we may get to see a massive confrontation between The Great One and the likely new WWE Champion, John Cena.

April 3, 2011, may be a night to remember for all of the WWE Universe.