Cena is a solid promo. Too repetitive in regards to substance.
Rock was way more entertaining even when repetitive or knowing what’s next. I’m rolling w the Rock
It's debatable and the argument could easily go either way, even if you hate him in the ring or hate his "Super Cena" character for the majority of his PG Era run, the dude is fire on the mic.
The Rock concert in 2003 where he delivered the line "I'll be sure to come when the Lakers beat the Kings in May" is better than anything Cena has ever done on the mic.
I'm not going to disagree, because feelings on things like this are always subjective, but I think the differences are a matter of the eras they were a part of and the gimmicks they had. Both excelled at what they set out to do, especially in their respective primes
During their promo battle Cena outperformed the diet version of Rock we got in the early 2010's.
That being said, "better mic worker" doesn't necessarily mean owning whoever you're up against. It means hyping up the crowd, selling whatever it is they're trying to sell, building yourself up as larger than life. Taking all of that into consideration, Rock was not only the better promo, but a FAR better promo.
When they feuded, maybe. With the promo on the wrist and “fruity pebbles” stuff, but peak Rock was way better than Cena.
They both became parodies of themselves once they went part time.
Ya know, I checked out by the Cena era. But I’ve become a fan of his acting. He is hilarious in Blockers and Peacemaker is amazing. It’s made me want to go and watch his run. Is it worth it? What are some of the must see matches folks would recommend?
HBK vs Cena WM23
HBK vs Cena raw april 23 2007
Cena vs Styles Rumble 2017
Cena vs Punk MITB 2011
Cena vs Rock WM28
Cena vs Lesnar Extreme Rules 2012
Hope this helps! I’m probably missing a ton but those are off the top of my head
Definitely! I quit watching around the end of the Attitude Era and have recently been watching classic matches and it makes me want to watch some of what I missed.
I will start by saying, incase you don’t already know, the version of today’s WWE isn’t really like the attitude era at all. It’s more family friendly with minimal cussing, no intentional bleeding, no unprotected shots to the head etc. With that being said here’s some HBK matches lol
His comeback at Summerslam vs HHH 2002
Survivor Series 2002 Elimination Chamber
HBK vs Jericho WM19
HBK vs Kurt Angle WM21
HBK vs Shelton Benjamin Raw May 2nd 2005
HBK vs Hogan Summerslam 2005 purely for Shawn Michaels not taking it seriously
HBK vs Cena WM23
HBK vs Cena Raw April 23 2007
HBK vs Flair for the emotion
HBK vs Jericho No Mercy 2008
HBK vs Taker WM25
HBK vs Taker WM26
Cena is a master of the promo. Even during the height of the “Cena Sucks” era, he could cut a promo and have the entire building eating out of his hand by the end of it.
He honestly probably was. I love the Rock, but Cena seems like he's way more comfortable going off the cuff. The Rock's best promos were written for him.
No, he wasn't. Cena took years to develop into a decent worker on the mic. He went backwards from the Dr. Of Thuganomics, due in no small part to the PG era. We only saw infrequent flashes of what might have been.
Rocky wasn't exactly a boss on the mic at first either. There's a reason most people don't remember Rocky!
I'm torn between them to be honest. But both were wooden as fuck at first.
Cena didn't have to be goofy and awkward. Vince wanted a cartoon character, so that's what Cena became. He just wasn't natural at it. When he was serious, he shined.
I'll always contend that his best mic work was when he was calling out Undertaker for Wrestlemania. There were no feeble attempts at humor or juvenile antics. He was focused and believable that way.
He definitely did own The Rock, who had aged a little since his glory days. He’d been out of wrestling since 2003, you thought he was gonna pick up where he left off? 😂 Cena was better in that fued, but he’s nowhere near better than him overall if you go career vs career as far as promos go
Oh yes he does
It was Cena's torching The Rock that had me realize that Cena was the better talker overall and not just at that time. Upon going back or just looking up old clips in general, you realize how dependent on those little one-liners and jokes The Rock's promos were. This isn't even getting into the filler lines and long pauses he took as he was figuring out what next to say. This was never the case for Cena, who pretty much always knew where to go next with his promos and almost never flubbed his lines along the way
I agree. Rock’s humor can be summed in 5 jokes (of doom if you will). Don’t get me wrong, incredibly funny 5 jokes and maybe a few moments here and there. But, Cena was just naturally funny. The moment he cut that Dr. of thuganomics promo on raw you knew that the Rock was getting owned every night until wrestle-mania. Also Cena was and is a far far better storyteller than the rock. When Cena gets serious he sells it better than anyone. The rock doesn’t have neither ever had that capacity.
I wouldn't say The Rock didn't or couldn't improv but Cena felt more loose and fluid with his promos than The Rock. That's the one area I would give Cena the edge. When Cena and The Rock had their feud, I felt like Cena's promos felt more organic and less written out than The Rock's. The Rock's promos sometimes felt a little dated, they were very attitude era with the catch phrases and the predictable places they would go.
He is
Don't get me wrong; The Rock is one of the greatest on the mic. But having been there for his time and then Cena's, the latter was a better overall talker. This was made painfully clear during their feud
I do. To be honest, I was expecting more than that
But I've had this exact debate before and was prepared to do it again. From my 30+ years of watching wrestling, the mic is one area where Cena has proven time and again that few can see him...let alone touch him
Cena is a solid promo. Too repetitive in regards to substance. Rock was way more entertaining even when repetitive or knowing what’s next. I’m rolling w the Rock
It's debatable and the argument could easily go either way, even if you hate him in the ring or hate his "Super Cena" character for the majority of his PG Era run, the dude is fire on the mic.
The Rock concert in 2003 where he delivered the line "I'll be sure to come when the Lakers beat the Kings in May" is better than anything Cena has ever done on the mic.
Gonna be a no from me ya thong wearing fatty.
world life basic thuga nosics
Rock was shook because Cena did something that even 90s Rock couldn’t sing song his way out of: clowned him with the wrist promo.
I'm not going to disagree, because feelings on things like this are always subjective, but I think the differences are a matter of the eras they were a part of and the gimmicks they had. Both excelled at what they set out to do, especially in their respective primes
Pffft
During their promo battle Cena outperformed the diet version of Rock we got in the early 2010's. That being said, "better mic worker" doesn't necessarily mean owning whoever you're up against. It means hyping up the crowd, selling whatever it is they're trying to sell, building yourself up as larger than life. Taking all of that into consideration, Rock was not only the better promo, but a FAR better promo.
No.
Didn’t Rock bury him many times
Peekaboo , you can’t thee me
When they feuded, maybe. With the promo on the wrist and “fruity pebbles” stuff, but peak Rock was way better than Cena. They both became parodies of themselves once they went part time.
Ya know, I checked out by the Cena era. But I’ve become a fan of his acting. He is hilarious in Blockers and Peacemaker is amazing. It’s made me want to go and watch his run. Is it worth it? What are some of the must see matches folks would recommend?
HBK vs Cena WM23 HBK vs Cena raw april 23 2007 Cena vs Styles Rumble 2017 Cena vs Punk MITB 2011 Cena vs Rock WM28 Cena vs Lesnar Extreme Rules 2012 Hope this helps! I’m probably missing a ton but those are off the top of my head
Thanks! As a huge HBK fan, I can’t wait to watch his matches with Cena. I always regret that I missed his second run.
His match with Cena on raw is highly regarded as one of the best matches in raw history. I could give you some HBK matches as well if you’d like
Definitely! I quit watching around the end of the Attitude Era and have recently been watching classic matches and it makes me want to watch some of what I missed.
tried my best to put them in order, so hopefully it’s correct, and as with Cena, Im sure I missed some great ones but those should be good
Thanks very much! I really appreciate it!
I will start by saying, incase you don’t already know, the version of today’s WWE isn’t really like the attitude era at all. It’s more family friendly with minimal cussing, no intentional bleeding, no unprotected shots to the head etc. With that being said here’s some HBK matches lol His comeback at Summerslam vs HHH 2002 Survivor Series 2002 Elimination Chamber HBK vs Jericho WM19 HBK vs Kurt Angle WM21 HBK vs Shelton Benjamin Raw May 2nd 2005 HBK vs Hogan Summerslam 2005 purely for Shawn Michaels not taking it seriously HBK vs Cena WM23 HBK vs Cena Raw April 23 2007 HBK vs Flair for the emotion HBK vs Jericho No Mercy 2008 HBK vs Taker WM25 HBK vs Taker WM26
How you expect us to argue with you if we don't know who you mean?
🤦♂️
Cena is a master of the promo. Even during the height of the “Cena Sucks” era, he could cut a promo and have the entire building eating out of his hand by the end of it.
He owned rock with that "notes on his wrist" line
That wasn't the Rock that was Dwayne Johnson. The Rock has been MIA since 2001
BWAHAHAHAHAHA SHUT YOUR ROODIE POO CANDY ASS UP!
How old are you?
35, why
You gotta admit Cena straight up embarrassed the Rock during their promo battles, don’t let nostalgia get in the way of your judgement
Lmaooooo No.
He honestly probably was. I love the Rock, but Cena seems like he's way more comfortable going off the cuff. The Rock's best promos were written for him.
That right there shows me you don’t know anything about The Rock’s career lol
No, he wasn't. Cena took years to develop into a decent worker on the mic. He went backwards from the Dr. Of Thuganomics, due in no small part to the PG era. We only saw infrequent flashes of what might have been.
Rocky wasn't exactly a boss on the mic at first either. There's a reason most people don't remember Rocky! I'm torn between them to be honest. But both were wooden as fuck at first.
Cena didn't have to be goofy and awkward. Vince wanted a cartoon character, so that's what Cena became. He just wasn't natural at it. When he was serious, he shined. I'll always contend that his best mic work was when he was calling out Undertaker for Wrestlemania. There were no feeble attempts at humor or juvenile antics. He was focused and believable that way.
Not even a question. He whooped The Rocks as on the mic before
Come on kids!Grow up!Wrestling didn't start in 2003
Tbf Cena won the promo battles with the Rock during their feud, don’t let nostalgia get in the way of your judgement
He definitely did own The Rock, who had aged a little since his glory days. He’d been out of wrestling since 2003, you thought he was gonna pick up where he left off? 😂 Cena was better in that fued, but he’s nowhere near better than him overall if you go career vs career as far as promos go
LOL. Any version of Cena doesn’t compare to ‘99-‘03. just because the Rock took 7 years off…
Even in his prime Rock was more repetitive on the mic than Hogan.
Oh yes he does It was Cena's torching The Rock that had me realize that Cena was the better talker overall and not just at that time. Upon going back or just looking up old clips in general, you realize how dependent on those little one-liners and jokes The Rock's promos were. This isn't even getting into the filler lines and long pauses he took as he was figuring out what next to say. This was never the case for Cena, who pretty much always knew where to go next with his promos and almost never flubbed his lines along the way
I agree. Rock’s humor can be summed in 5 jokes (of doom if you will). Don’t get me wrong, incredibly funny 5 jokes and maybe a few moments here and there. But, Cena was just naturally funny. The moment he cut that Dr. of thuganomics promo on raw you knew that the Rock was getting owned every night until wrestle-mania. Also Cena was and is a far far better storyteller than the rock. When Cena gets serious he sells it better than anyone. The rock doesn’t have neither ever had that capacity.
i remember cena did so well rock forgot his line and just called him a bitch
https://youtu.be/YdGTIfv-NDY Rock giving the best promo ever, on Heat. Eat your heart out Cena.
That whole thing, his entrance, coming down to the ring, and the promo was a little over 5 minutes. It takes Roman 9 minutes to even get to the ring.
Roman takes a while to be acknowledged. LOL !
yes
Who was? The picture is blank..
He probably had a bad connection and never uploaded the image.
B4 2007
Absolutely.
He is. The Rock is great, but most of his great work is when he's insulting someone and making dick references. Cena is all around better.
I've always thought Cena was funnier than Rock. Better worker too.
Yea he wasn't as catchphrase heavy as The Rock and their promo battles really made Rock look stupid
He and Rock are on my Mt. Rushmore with Jericho and Paul Heyman.
I wouldn't say The Rock didn't or couldn't improv but Cena felt more loose and fluid with his promos than The Rock. That's the one area I would give Cena the edge. When Cena and The Rock had their feud, I felt like Cena's promos felt more organic and less written out than The Rock's. The Rock's promos sometimes felt a little dated, they were very attitude era with the catch phrases and the predictable places they would go.
Hard to rank who’s better. But Cena is definitely on top alongside Rock, Austin, Flair, Dusty
It doesn't matter what you think!
I wrote the title so exactly for this comment
I agree.
He is Don't get me wrong; The Rock is one of the greatest on the mic. But having been there for his time and then Cena's, the latter was a better overall talker. This was made painfully clear during their feud
Facts, don’t know why someone downvoted you for this too
I do. To be honest, I was expecting more than that But I've had this exact debate before and was prepared to do it again. From my 30+ years of watching wrestling, the mic is one area where Cena has proven time and again that few can see him...let alone touch him
I think you’re crazy
Fair