Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Why Once in a Lifetime Mattered

Wrestlemania 28, Once in a Lifetime.

Whether they do it again, which I hope not, the title stands still. That match, was not a match between the Rock and John Cena, it was a match between the Attitude Era and the PG Era and that match did happen Once in a Lifetime. What was Cena's point: the Rock leaves the WWE for the new generation and then just comes back after 8 years thinking he owns the place. What was the Rock's point: I did my job, I entertained. Whether it was football, wrestling or movies. So what if I left and came back, who are you to claim I don't love the WWE?

It was the WWF vs the WWE.

It mattered because the two did define their generations. It was Once in a Lifetime. On one hand we have all these children watching John Cena, a man they adore, a man that they look up to as their hero. A man they cry for! On the other hand we have these boys nearing twenty or thirty, crying out for what they USED to love, for what was taken from them.

When the PG Era started, we had people shouting out for the Attitude Era to come back. It's not coming back. I'm willing to accept that considering I'm from the Ruthless Aggression Era. But the Rock was still part of that era. He still defined my passion for the entertainment show. I knew that going into the match, it would not be the Rock vs John Cena, it would be 2008 vs 1998, 2012 vs 2001. The end of each generation, the start of the Reality Era.

Cena's point: other than Kane, Triple H and the Undertaker, where are the Attitude Era stars? They got what they wanted and left, meaning that they don't care about the WWE, they don't come every week to work their asses off. Hardy Boyz and the Dudly Boys, Kurt Angle and D-Lo Brown are all in TNA and it's lighter travel schedule and more lax rules. Jericho, comes for half a year and leaves for two. Mick Foley, comes every three years for four shows. Stone Cold, doesn't come on a single show but still gets promoted. And the Rock, comes back after eight years, says hes back for good and doesn't even come bi-weekly.

The Rock's point: The Attitude Era stars did wrestle every week and wrestled their hearts out for the fans. They did everything they could, and when time for change came, they adapted. You can't blame them for passing the torch on. You can't blame them for not liking what's happening now. You can't blame them for not showing up. You can't say you do it better.

This was all evident when Cena tried to do the People's Elbow. John Cena is the Champ, but he is not the People's Champ. But who are those people that the Rock represents, the people from the Attitude Era.

The match was Once in a Lifetime, and having had written this, I won't mind Rock vs Cena II, because McMahon had the Rock win: he himself admitted that the Attitude Era was better.

It wont matter if Cena wins Cena vs the Rock II, because that just means there'll be part three. And neither will be about the generations they come from.

End of discussion.

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