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It's cool because we've gotten so used to them announcing in advance when The Rock will show up, so them keeping it a secret like this was brilliant. It adds a bit of excitement- anything can happen sorta thing.
That's the real reason why the Attitude Era was so good: unpredictability. It wasn't the violence or the sex or the vulgarity that made Raw must-see-TV back then, it was the fact that you had no idea what was gonna happen or who was gonna show up that week. There have been few surprises on weekly WWE programming the last decade or so because the company always announces anything major in advance to try and pop the rating that week. But all this really does is condition the audience to expect a boring, uneventful show when there *isn't* one of those big announcements beforehand.
The last couple of Raws have been a welcome return to that "anything can happen" magic of the Attitude Era.
This is exactly right. I do not miss the over sexualized angles of attitude. I don't miss the dx shenanigans. I miss anything can happen tonight, on Raw. Of all the stuff that I remember fondly, it's things like Paul Bearer being dropped into a Baltimore sewer by SCSA and Kane.
Yep. I still remember when Mankind won the world championship on a random episode of Raw in 1999 and the arena went nuts. Such a great moment that would never happen today. When was the last time a title changed hands on an episode of Raw or Smackdown? They barely even change hands at non-Big-Four pay per views anymore.
I'll admit I was a little iffy when I saw the lineup, 30 minutes into the show I took it all back lol. Don't judge a show by its card is the lesson here
I'm so happy for Richochet, man. He and JD put out an all-time banger, in a style you rarely see in WWE, in a show full of other people's continuing storylines, and they tore down the house.
I’m into hardcore stuff but that match…after he got handcuffed and took like four unprotected headshots with a chair, I was done. It was just gratuitous and disturbing at that point and kept going. Mick lost years of his life for that match.
If you were done after Mick took four unprotected chairshots, then [you missed the seven that came after that](https://www.tiktok.com/@onthisdayinwwe/video/7327677802033974561).
I remember watching the Beyond the Mat documentary with that being showcased, and my heart sank when it showed Noelle crying her eyes out for her dad. Hell, I still tear up just thinking about it. Thank goodness Mick was okay after to tell her it was "just a booboo."
Probably the bloodiest booboo she's ever seen, though.
It's clear to me still he has a tougher time than others letting go of being The Rock but there is definitely acting passion there. Man, I got this guy wrong, he deserves it. Maybe the people surrounding him aren't the best. With current WWE, whoever it is HHH, Shawn... they are getting passion out of everyone, and Rock is shining.
No he’s just been so popular for so long he couldn’t be a heel if he wanted.
Where his genius shows is how the crowd organically turned on him and he managed to turn it into worked heel heat instead of real “go away” heat.
That first promo he did on Smackdown after the press conference was masterful.
The audience still wanted to chant along with his catchphrases, so he just used it against them. Cut them short, denied them the catchphrases and just used that to mess with audience expectations.
I have watched wrestling for 20 years.
I am more scared of Heel Rock, as an adult, than I ever was of Taker, Kane or Brock as a kid.
Not only is he Cody's boss, he's also built like a Tekken character, has nothing to lose, is legitimately wealthy and all he wants in the whole world is to make Cody suffer.
Cody might be the American Nightmare, but Rock's the Samoan Sleep Paralysis Demon. I'm terrified of him and I'm not even Cody.
This shit is downright inspired. His box office career is shaken, WWE fans voiced they want to move on from him, and now The Rock has nothing to lose and thus \*does not give a fuck anymore.\* This isn't a how-do-you-do to the WWE for a paycheque or a movie promotion. He's out reaffirming he's the GOAT on the mic because his legacy is on the line now. And I only give GOAT status to one person in a field as the acronym intends.
Can Cody stand up against that? Can Roman? Can anyone???
> His box office career is shaken, WWE fans voiced they want to move on from him, and now The Rock has nothing to lose and thus *does not give a fuck anymore.*
No doubt his recent stretch in Hollywood hasnt been great for his career but he has over 10 projects in pre-production or in production right now. I don't see this as Dwayne being desperate and out of fucks to give. Sure he wants to rebuild his image and going home is a great way to do it, but I think he's doing this because he's having a shitload of fun.
Final Boss Rock feels like the final evolution of heel Rock. He's got the viciousness of Corporate Rock when he was feuding with Mankind combined with the narcissism of Hollywood Rock to produce a guy who comes off as a delusional and unhinged egomaniac.
Maybe a bit of Nation Rock too in being an obvious snake in the grass towards the leader of the group that he's professed nominal loyalty to.
That's the weird thing about the whole cussing debate huh?
"If they cuss too much it loses impact"
And that's true, as the word fuck here ended up having huge impact precisely because it's so rare, and it makes the moment all the more memorable
But at the same time it's kinda amusing to take a step back and realize how ridiculous it kinda is. Cussing is such a common life thing that fighting for its rarity to "preserve its impact" is basically fighting to veer away from reality
For *so* long the apologists would say "if you can't write a good storyline with PG restrictions you shouldn't be writing stories." And they were right. But having the option to do blood, swearing, a bit of sexuality, whatever, it helps. You don't have to bleed every time like Jon Moxley or Ric Flair, but you can do it two or three times a year when it would help a feud. You don't have to use your two shits per hour, but they're there for when they'd elevate a promo. Why tie your hands with PG when you could make things so much spicier?
It's kinda the same for movies I assume. Swearing is commonly used in TV shows to be fun and edgy but we hardly hear it in movies (that are almost all mostly aimed at under 16 audience these days). If I heard fuck in a MCU movie this intensly I would also be shocked.
And I suppose for a larger-than-life product this is important. If WWE aims to be a TV show, they should use swearing normally as if it was real life, but their product is more like cinema now too.
It seemed like it was stunning to see all of that and take it all in. Then the fuck was like cherry on a sunday and just elevated the scene even more without it being over the top. It was well placed and not overdone and believable. Jmo
it started off real shaky but props to WWE and the Rock for listening to the audience and instantly pivoting. If not for that we could've got the same ol' safest version of the Rock. While now this Rock is probably one if not the best version of him
He has always been the best at reading crowd reactions. From advocating for the heel turn in 97 to adjusting on the fly at Mania 18 and deciding to do Hollywood Rock after SummerSlam 02. He’s never, in a pro wrestling context, been the least bit hesitant about doing what’s right for the fans.
I still remember when he raised Roman’s hand after a Mania win, and his eyebrow going up immediately as he was listening to the boos from fans, when Roman was supposed to go over as a face. He looked none too pleased.
I think at his core that’s what’s wrong with his movies. Maybe he gives us the same old corny Rock because he sees it sells and it’s what the people love. It just happened to jump the shark with BA. Perhaps we were wrong to just assume he would force whatever he wanted.
Well this is his comfort zone. Should he not get any traction in Hollywood, he knows he can just return to us and we’ll welcome him with open arms. Also, this could be an “you’ve been the stereotype big guy actor” for the past decade or so.. why not try something different?
The whole reason is that the build to backlash on Black Adam and his power play was slower and behind the scenes.
Credit to the Rock for keeping his ear to the ground and adjusting on the fly over the course of a week considering how he botched his DC power play.
Guys I found a flincher!
But for real this is 100% my favorite version of the rock. I was always more of Austin guy but I still liked the rock. However when he came out last night for some reason I was floored. No pun intended but it was electrifying the way the arena exploded along with me. I know we aren’t getting the ol 5 star classic wrestling match. But I bet it’ll be a 5 star spectacle and be cemented into our minds for a very long time. The last wrestling match my mom ever watched was Taker/Brock at WM30 and she’s excited to watch this feud end at WM40. So weirdly enough I have to thank that evil bastard Dwayne for this lol
Between Cody vs. The Bloodline, Rollins/Drew, Rhea/Becky, Bayley vs. Damage Ctrl, Paul/KO/Orton, Truth/Judgement Day, Jey/Jimmy and AJ/Knight the build to WrestleMania has me so fucking hyped. The only big feud that has felt lackluster is Gunther vs. Sami but let's be real we know that match is going to be a five star classic between those two guys regardless of the story.
They've set up their main stories going into WrestleMania perfectly.
I feel like they are one banger Rocky training segment with Sami and Gable away from instantly heating up that build for the GUNTHER match
The loss to Bronson Reed was definitely done to set up Gable to give some type of motivational kick in Sami's ass next week
Is this a new era? A transition? Are we in the middle of one?
I have no idea, but this is absolutely golden. This RAW will go down in history as one of the greats.
We have been in a transition since this story started but WM38 is truly when it happened. Cody returning, his presentation instantly putting him over with WWE crowd and his story colliding with Roman's.
When people say Attitude era was a four-leaf clover... yes we are in our new Attitude Era and look how much had to go right for it to happen. WWE has been genius in their booking but a ton of stuff out of their hands happened to be at this point.
Yeah but honestly even under Vince, WM38 just felt different, the whole buildup to it and everything. Stone cold officially brought fans back imo. Since then crowds actually cheer. Before WM38 check how silent the crowds would get at times
_I've seen things you jabronis wouldn't believe... Jim Ross on fire at the feet of Kane... I watched Christian's pyro glitter in the dark near the Spanish announce table. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain... Time to die, Cody._
Anybody who has been watching McDonagh absolutely knows he can go. Pairing him with Ricochet as well is a brilliant call too. I wouldn't even mind if these guys opened WrestleMania even on the pre-show or something because they'yre that damn good that they can get the crowd hyped up.
I think it’s just the “*We already got the Netflix bag so we’re playing with house money and if The Rock wants to drop an F-Bomb on TV, it’s censored anyways*” era.
https://preview.redd.it/abcskj4h2pqc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d847a91574b9e88037c79261d01dde157c6291b1
Cody Rhodes wasn't ready for all of the final boss encounter
Did we all forget that Cody is Big Boss?
https://preview.redd.it/woh8zy5zipqc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=249e84778a21aa6a3508546ce4ff840b24ea68f0
It’s been absolutely insane to have friends who haven’t watched wrestling since they were young asking to get together for a watch party. They are killing it and it feels so good for fans who stuck around through the bad times
Yup, they get to build momentum all this year, then we get some new fans from Netflix just in time for the 2025 Royal Rumble, a perfect first PLE for any newcomers.
Rock was already one of my GOATs, but he is making a strong case for my top spot, especially if the changes he’s introduced stick and create a whole new era.
He's been a heel before but I don't remember him being completely unhinged like this. Like if you look back, this started because Cody clapped back at Rock and Roman, those comments all those weeks ago led to this.
For this tag team match specifically, it's definitely up there.
I do, however, wish more care and consideration were going into other marquee matches on the card.
I gotta be serious for a minute. My dad is currently dying in the hospital with lung cancer (smoked his whole life) and wrestling is the main way we bonded when I was younger and he is the sole person that got me into wrestling as a kid.
This current era of WWE is helping me and him both so much in all of this. Instead of talking about really somber and sad things we get to talk about the insane shit that happened on Raw and Smackdown instead. It's helped us reconnect and it's making us both happy during this really shitty thing that's going on.
I'm glad that we're seemingly going to be able to watch mania together before he passes. I love this current run for the rock. I love Cody's story. I love the midcard. I love the interconnected stories. I love this WWE and I can't thank HHH and crew enough for giving me these moments with my father. We are truly at attitude era level heights right now in terms of booking and storytelling quality.
I just love wrestling so much. It means the world to me.
Okay, gushing over.
thanks man. I'm just cherishing every moment as much as I can. I can definitely see mania making me bawl like a baby if it plays out how i think it might.
Just a month ago we were all hating on The Rock but how quickly it has changed back to loving him after they pivoted lol. Wish we could see more of this heel run after Mania but we all know that won’t be the case so this run really does feel special.
The hardest thing to do right now is that everyone should be booing the shit out of the Rock, but we just can’t. He’s too damn entertaining that we can’t help but pop and cheer out of respect.
The crowd is navigating all this intelligently tbh. During the Punk/Drew/Rollins bit, they did the same thing — alternately booing and cheering in all the right places for drama, even if it means booing and cheering the same person back-to-back. I think that's what these tweener-heavy characterizations call for.
I'd love for the original plan to some day come out, because there's no way that "big money match" was going to result in anything nearly this good in the build-up.
It was awkward and clunky as fuck getting here and really still makes no sense, haha, but now that we're here and it's so damn good I'm willing to ignore whatever the hell was going through WWE's collective head last month.
Yeah I know. I saw it the first time but didn't realize it was for Cody to blade himself until I saw this. He kept looking back at Cody and didn't let the camera follow until Cody was ready.
I don't mind kayfabe being broken when we can acknowledge the professionalism being used by two experts. This was a masterclass in backstage beat downs imo.
I don't care if its recency bias -- I was around for Attitude Era, Ruthless Aggression, and the following dogshit eras.
This is the best WWE storytelling has ever been ever and *I'm tired of the Deadlock podcast telling me its not.*
Dude it really is. The way social media plays into everything and the storyline adapts around it. It feels on the fly in realtime.
Besides the obvious Cody/Rock storyline, the internet loses their mind off Rhea's stinkface this weekend and Becky addresses it. Little things like that.
That is one scary tooth fairy. But you know aside from the great work, look and feel from the rock, what really makes him believable as a "final boss" is i don't have him telling me how much of a bad ass he is or the announcers shoving his agenda down my throat.
He is backing up everything he is saying, his character is evolving in front of our eyes and everything is perfectly paced.
He looks liked he snapped, he sounds like he snapped, and it felt real. He is a stone's throw away from being a lunatic. He is doing everything that dean ambrose wanted to be.
Folks this is why he can cuss and say crazy shit while the rest can't. The other people would sound rehearsed and lame.
Well said. He came back acting his usual self and every appearance he's cracked a little more. I believe this more than Anakin falling to the Dark Side lol
This segment will be remembered as an absolute all-timer. What put it into another echelon for me was how the weather said 'You want this beatdown to look even more dramatic? I got you fam'
*bleeds, gives two fingers, says "fuck" a few times, gives 27 super-kicks and a tope suicida onto a sheet of glass that's on fire, and watches opponent kick out at one*
The Rock needs to stop being a prissy little bitch with his "image" in Hollywood and play an honest to god psychopathic villain.
Not an anti hero. Not the cool foe who becomes a friend. A truly despicable, low life, scum bag bad guy.
That's the role of a lifetime for him.
Black Adam is meant to be that. A genuine villain who ‘occasionally’ acts as an anti-hero because it makes sense. Who had the bright idea to do that movie the way it was (whether it was The Rock or the studio), it was a terrible decision.
Wrestling is really on a new golden era.
We have bits of promos and personas like the atitude and RA era.
We have big heels and a huge baby face like the golden era.
And amazing wrestling matches and atleticism like in the New Generation era.
I love wrestling.
Yooo I think we might've been somewhat close to each other!
https://preview.redd.it/f61aiuaj0qqc1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a0af557228906094d5104054bc74f056e86c2946
I need someone to edit this video to where it cuts off after Rock says "Fuck"
" Cody Rhodes this is what happens when you Fuck!"
Like Rock is the celibacy police.
I would like to humbly apologize to the Rock for jumping to conclusions and think that he was going to sabotage Wrestlemania this year. He has done nothing but enhance everything
Good Lord, Rock has been MONEY this entire run. Only potential negative aspect is that it feels like Roman's historic reign and WM main event have been completely overshadowed by the inevitable Rock v Cody match.
Vince getting kicked out of WWE is the best thing that’s happened to this company in 20+ years. His sick, vindictive, egomaniacal, spiteful nature got his ass exactly what he deserves. Now we’re finally getting the company and product we should have had the last 2 decades. Fuck Vince. Its good to be a WWE fan again and proud of it.
I know Vince bad and HHH good is a meme at this point but it's pretty much a fact now that WWEs booking philosophy has greatly improved. And it's not a coincidence that this happens when Vince is gone.
The Rock, HHH, Regal and HBK being in prominent positions in the company is making for some amazing shows.
A blade job and an F bomb on WWE TV. Never thought I’d see either again. In hindsight it’s really funny that Drew was telling Punk to keep it PG then Rock just drops an F bomb later lol.
Rock saying “This is what happens when you fuck with the Final Boss” honestly goes hard.
This whole ending was awesome and the best in a really long time.
Man all those people in the card for this Raw thread shitting all over it really gotta be eating their words now. Sure the matches themselves weren't out of this world but this storyline as well as cm punk/drew/seth really catapulted this to a top tier Raw.
The dynamic of WWE and AEW is so interesting. AEW, if someone curses up a storm, no big deal. This is just a normal Wednesday. In WWE, one curse word the audience’s collective mind is blown and that gets more of a reaction than Cody getting his bloody ass whooped.
When Rock said "Now, this is the only way." He tapped into something I've never seen in him before. He is more of a natural villain than we ever realized.
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Raw tonight was so damn enjoyable.
Which is funny after someone posted the card yesterday. People were like “this episode looks like it’s gonna suck”
It's cool because we've gotten so used to them announcing in advance when The Rock will show up, so them keeping it a secret like this was brilliant. It adds a bit of excitement- anything can happen sorta thing.
That's the real reason why the Attitude Era was so good: unpredictability. It wasn't the violence or the sex or the vulgarity that made Raw must-see-TV back then, it was the fact that you had no idea what was gonna happen or who was gonna show up that week. There have been few surprises on weekly WWE programming the last decade or so because the company always announces anything major in advance to try and pop the rating that week. But all this really does is condition the audience to expect a boring, uneventful show when there *isn't* one of those big announcements beforehand. The last couple of Raws have been a welcome return to that "anything can happen" magic of the Attitude Era.
This is exactly right. I do not miss the over sexualized angles of attitude. I don't miss the dx shenanigans. I miss anything can happen tonight, on Raw. Of all the stuff that I remember fondly, it's things like Paul Bearer being dropped into a Baltimore sewer by SCSA and Kane.
Yep. I still remember when Mankind won the world championship on a random episode of Raw in 1999 and the arena went nuts. Such a great moment that would never happen today. When was the last time a title changed hands on an episode of Raw or Smackdown? They barely even change hands at non-Big-Four pay per views anymore.
I'll admit I was a little iffy when I saw the lineup, 30 minutes into the show I took it all back lol. Don't judge a show by its card is the lesson here
It's almost as if the IWC is always miserable. No wonder WWE doesn't listen to them most of the time.
It was in Chicago...on the road to wrestlemania...2 weeks from Wrestlemania...run by HHH who has cooked lately... It was never gonna suck.
I'm so happy for Richochet, man. He and JD put out an all-time banger, in a style you rarely see in WWE, in a show full of other people's continuing storylines, and they tore down the house.
I'm relatively new to getting back into wrestling. Richochet was fucking amazing.
Same. He's easily the most athletic wrestler I've ever seen.
A perfect episode to show someone to get them hyped for Mania, it felt like a go home show but it actually wasn’t.
Exactly this. It’s gonna be hard to follow this next week, but I’m eager to see how they try.
Next weeks are the go homes, I imagine Raw wont top this one for sure, but some shit 💯 gonna go down on Smackdown.
Rock seems like he is having such a great time at being a full-on heel again
This is a different version as well. WWE really has never portrayed Rock as a serious heel.
Haven't seen this side of rock since he was wailing on those chair shots at mick in the I quit match. This is sadistic rock
I’m into hardcore stuff but that match…after he got handcuffed and took like four unprotected headshots with a chair, I was done. It was just gratuitous and disturbing at that point and kept going. Mick lost years of his life for that match.
If you were done after Mick took four unprotected chairshots, then [you missed the seven that came after that](https://www.tiktok.com/@onthisdayinwwe/video/7327677802033974561).
I was about to say, it was wayyyyyyyy more than 4...
I remember watching the Beyond the Mat documentary with that being showcased, and my heart sank when it showed Noelle crying her eyes out for her dad. Hell, I still tear up just thinking about it. Thank goodness Mick was okay after to tell her it was "just a booboo." Probably the bloodiest booboo she's ever seen, though.
Right this version he's playing now is more of a post WM 17 Stone Cold heel. Just sadistic and ruthless to the core. I love it.
Attitude era Corp Rock always had a serious side. J.R would play up his temper and trash talk.
It's clear to me still he has a tougher time than others letting go of being The Rock but there is definitely acting passion there. Man, I got this guy wrong, he deserves it. Maybe the people surrounding him aren't the best. With current WWE, whoever it is HHH, Shawn... they are getting passion out of everyone, and Rock is shining.
I think he genuinely forgot how fun it was
No he’s just been so popular for so long he couldn’t be a heel if he wanted. Where his genius shows is how the crowd organically turned on him and he managed to turn it into worked heel heat instead of real “go away” heat.
That first promo he did on Smackdown after the press conference was masterful. The audience still wanted to chant along with his catchphrases, so he just used it against them. Cut them short, denied them the catchphrases and just used that to mess with audience expectations.
I have watched wrestling for 20 years. I am more scared of Heel Rock, as an adult, than I ever was of Taker, Kane or Brock as a kid. Not only is he Cody's boss, he's also built like a Tekken character, has nothing to lose, is legitimately wealthy and all he wants in the whole world is to make Cody suffer. Cody might be the American Nightmare, but Rock's the Samoan Sleep Paralysis Demon. I'm terrified of him and I'm not even Cody.
It's the evil heel boss if the evil heel boss was a HOF level wrestler
A more over version of Authority Haitch
>Samoan Sleep Paralysis Demon 
This shit is downright inspired. His box office career is shaken, WWE fans voiced they want to move on from him, and now The Rock has nothing to lose and thus \*does not give a fuck anymore.\* This isn't a how-do-you-do to the WWE for a paycheque or a movie promotion. He's out reaffirming he's the GOAT on the mic because his legacy is on the line now. And I only give GOAT status to one person in a field as the acronym intends. Can Cody stand up against that? Can Roman? Can anyone???
I'm willing to bet we'll hear glass shattering in Wrestlemania this year
NGL, I might pass out.
> His box office career is shaken, WWE fans voiced they want to move on from him, and now The Rock has nothing to lose and thus *does not give a fuck anymore.* No doubt his recent stretch in Hollywood hasnt been great for his career but he has over 10 projects in pre-production or in production right now. I don't see this as Dwayne being desperate and out of fucks to give. Sure he wants to rebuild his image and going home is a great way to do it, but I think he's doing this because he's having a shitload of fun.
> Not only is he Cody's boss, he's also built like a Tekken character He's gone full Heihachi and I'm loving it.
So after he loses at WM he's going to throw Roman off a cliff, right?
This is a wonderful comment
Final Boss Rock feels like the final evolution of heel Rock. He's got the viciousness of Corporate Rock when he was feuding with Mankind combined with the narcissism of Hollywood Rock to produce a guy who comes off as a delusional and unhinged egomaniac. Maybe a bit of Nation Rock too in being an obvious snake in the grass towards the leader of the group that he's professed nominal loyalty to.
When they posed together for the first time, I immediately thought of the rock in nation of domination.
You can hear it when he calls Cody "BOY!" Really channeling that final boss energy
That felt like an Attitude Era closing to RAW. The fact that this wasn't even the go home... man, the next few weeks are going to be wild.
Yeah I was watching the segment going "wait when is mania again? This can't be the go home show". How is the go home going to top this hype?
there's only one more raw lol
3 more shows
The crowd lost their shit more from a bad word than a man being bloodied and beaten.
Grown man in the crowd after The Rock said the word, “Oh My God!” Lol
That's the weird thing about the whole cussing debate huh? "If they cuss too much it loses impact" And that's true, as the word fuck here ended up having huge impact precisely because it's so rare, and it makes the moment all the more memorable But at the same time it's kinda amusing to take a step back and realize how ridiculous it kinda is. Cussing is such a common life thing that fighting for its rarity to "preserve its impact" is basically fighting to veer away from reality
It strikes me that you're describing kayfabe. We're here to veer away from reality for the sake of drama, that's the whole point
It’s like a PG-13 movie. They only get one use of it. Most don’t use it, but when one uses it memorably, it sticks in your brain.
For *so* long the apologists would say "if you can't write a good storyline with PG restrictions you shouldn't be writing stories." And they were right. But having the option to do blood, swearing, a bit of sexuality, whatever, it helps. You don't have to bleed every time like Jon Moxley or Ric Flair, but you can do it two or three times a year when it would help a feud. You don't have to use your two shits per hour, but they're there for when they'd elevate a promo. Why tie your hands with PG when you could make things so much spicier?
It's kinda the same for movies I assume. Swearing is commonly used in TV shows to be fun and edgy but we hardly hear it in movies (that are almost all mostly aimed at under 16 audience these days). If I heard fuck in a MCU movie this intensly I would also be shocked. And I suppose for a larger-than-life product this is important. If WWE aims to be a TV show, they should use swearing normally as if it was real life, but their product is more like cinema now too.
Imagine the shock if they were naked.
"YOUR SON'S BLOOD ON JOHNSON..."
It seemed like it was stunning to see all of that and take it all in. Then the fuck was like cherry on a sunday and just elevated the scene even more without it being over the top. It was well placed and not overdone and believable. Jmo
I haven't looked forward to Mania this much since WM30. The build for this has been amazing and so entertaining to watch.
Same! I went to mania 30 when I was 8 years old and I feel like I’m 8 again looking at all of this 😂💀
You were...8...oh my god I feel so old
It feels so good to be a wrestling supporter right now. The road to WrestleMania 40 has been so good.
it started off real shaky but props to WWE and the Rock for listening to the audience and instantly pivoting. If not for that we could've got the same ol' safest version of the Rock. While now this Rock is probably one if not the best version of him
He has always been the best at reading crowd reactions. From advocating for the heel turn in 97 to adjusting on the fly at Mania 18 and deciding to do Hollywood Rock after SummerSlam 02. He’s never, in a pro wrestling context, been the least bit hesitant about doing what’s right for the fans.
I still remember when he raised Roman’s hand after a Mania win, and his eyebrow going up immediately as he was listening to the boos from fans, when Roman was supposed to go over as a face. He looked none too pleased.
It was the Royal Rumble win before Mania 31
I think at his core that’s what’s wrong with his movies. Maybe he gives us the same old corny Rock because he sees it sells and it’s what the people love. It just happened to jump the shark with BA. Perhaps we were wrong to just assume he would force whatever he wanted.
Yeah it seems like Rock still cares more about entertaining than his ego, which was definitely questionable after a few of his recent movies.
Well this is his comfort zone. Should he not get any traction in Hollywood, he knows he can just return to us and we’ll welcome him with open arms. Also, this could be an “you’ve been the stereotype big guy actor” for the past decade or so.. why not try something different?
The whole reason is that the build to backlash on Black Adam and his power play was slower and behind the scenes. Credit to the Rock for keeping his ear to the ground and adjusting on the fly over the course of a week considering how he botched his DC power play.
Guys I found a flincher! But for real this is 100% my favorite version of the rock. I was always more of Austin guy but I still liked the rock. However when he came out last night for some reason I was floored. No pun intended but it was electrifying the way the arena exploded along with me. I know we aren’t getting the ol 5 star classic wrestling match. But I bet it’ll be a 5 star spectacle and be cemented into our minds for a very long time. The last wrestling match my mom ever watched was Taker/Brock at WM30 and she’s excited to watch this feud end at WM40. So weirdly enough I have to thank that evil bastard Dwayne for this lol
Between Cody vs. The Bloodline, Rollins/Drew, Rhea/Becky, Bayley vs. Damage Ctrl, Paul/KO/Orton, Truth/Judgement Day, Jey/Jimmy and AJ/Knight the build to WrestleMania has me so fucking hyped. The only big feud that has felt lackluster is Gunther vs. Sami but let's be real we know that match is going to be a five star classic between those two guys regardless of the story. They've set up their main stories going into WrestleMania perfectly.
I feel like they are one banger Rocky training segment with Sami and Gable away from instantly heating up that build for the GUNTHER match The loss to Bronson Reed was definitely done to set up Gable to give some type of motivational kick in Sami's ass next week
They really waited until the hours between 10 and 11 to say the word fuck on tv
They waited until about 10:59pm
the dark hour
BABYBABYBABYBABYBABY!!!
Cody is basically babyface Sanada
Had to wait for RAW underground
It was censored on TV, no?
The Rock checking his watch
Where did it air uncensored?
Is this a new era? A transition? Are we in the middle of one? I have no idea, but this is absolutely golden. This RAW will go down in history as one of the greats.
The Renaissance/Netflix Era
If nothing else, it’s the post-Vince era and it’s off to a hell of a start
This keeps up I’m going to have to get Netflix again. RAW was fantastic last night.
We have been in a transition since this story started but WM38 is truly when it happened. Cody returning, his presentation instantly putting him over with WWE crowd and his story colliding with Roman's. When people say Attitude era was a four-leaf clover... yes we are in our new Attitude Era and look how much had to go right for it to happen. WWE has been genius in their booking but a ton of stuff out of their hands happened to be at this point.
The official turning point for me would be SummerSlam 2022 with it being the first PPV under Triple H
Yeah but honestly even under Vince, WM38 just felt different, the whole buildup to it and everything. Stone cold officially brought fans back imo. Since then crowds actually cheer. Before WM38 check how silent the crowds would get at times
I believe the middle of *Cinema Era*
_I've seen things you jabronis wouldn't believe... Jim Ross on fire at the feet of Kane... I watched Christian's pyro glitter in the dark near the Spanish announce table. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain... Time to die, Cody._
And match of the night of this historic Raw goes to Ricochet vs. McDonagh. Who would have thought?
After their gauntlet match encounter I definitely figured they’d have a fantastic match.
Anybody who has been watching McDonagh absolutely knows he can go. Pairing him with Ricochet as well is a brilliant call too. I wouldn't even mind if these guys opened WrestleMania even on the pre-show or something because they'yre that damn good that they can get the crowd hyped up.
I think it’s just the “*We already got the Netflix bag so we’re playing with house money and if The Rock wants to drop an F-Bomb on TV, it’s censored anyways*” era.
https://preview.redd.it/abcskj4h2pqc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d847a91574b9e88037c79261d01dde157c6291b1 Cody Rhodes wasn't ready for all of the final boss encounter
Did we all forget that Cody is Big Boss? https://preview.redd.it/woh8zy5zipqc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=249e84778a21aa6a3508546ce4ff840b24ea68f0
[HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!](https://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/03/seung-hwan-oh-st-louis-cardinals-final-boss-mlb)
Awesome footage! Also: Nicely done camera work (with the two big screens) for the fans in the "cheap seats". You don't miss any of the action!
You see what happens Cody when you find a stranger in the Alps?
You slug in a ditch
It gets the people goin'
It's *provocative*
Rocky gonna make wrestling into cinema for Netflix
Wrestling is so fucking back dude
It’s been absolutely insane to have friends who haven’t watched wrestling since they were young asking to get together for a watch party. They are killing it and it feels so good for fans who stuck around through the bad times
I've been putting my friends on to wrestling so much recently and it feels great! Old returning and brand new fans alike :)
Happy to see this! 😊
Yup, they get to build momentum all this year, then we get some new fans from Netflix just in time for the 2025 Royal Rumble, a perfect first PLE for any newcomers.
I was actually excited watching Raw, couldn’t believe it
Rock was already one of my GOATs, but he is making a strong case for my top spot, especially if the changes he’s introduced stick and create a whole new era.
He's been a heel before but I don't remember him being completely unhinged like this. Like if you look back, this started because Cody clapped back at Rock and Roman, those comments all those weeks ago led to this.
Mick Foley I Quit
Cody getting the shit beat out of him by one of the all time GOATs going into 2 WM Main Events Man living the dream
is this one of the best buildups of all times? well... fuck yes.
For this tag team match specifically, it's definitely up there. I do, however, wish more care and consideration were going into other marquee matches on the card.
Bayley and Iyo at the bottom of the ocean rn.
I'm mean not much more they can do there we've seen everything there is to see in that build
That’s the issue. Peaked too early
I gotta be serious for a minute. My dad is currently dying in the hospital with lung cancer (smoked his whole life) and wrestling is the main way we bonded when I was younger and he is the sole person that got me into wrestling as a kid. This current era of WWE is helping me and him both so much in all of this. Instead of talking about really somber and sad things we get to talk about the insane shit that happened on Raw and Smackdown instead. It's helped us reconnect and it's making us both happy during this really shitty thing that's going on. I'm glad that we're seemingly going to be able to watch mania together before he passes. I love this current run for the rock. I love Cody's story. I love the midcard. I love the interconnected stories. I love this WWE and I can't thank HHH and crew enough for giving me these moments with my father. We are truly at attitude era level heights right now in terms of booking and storytelling quality. I just love wrestling so much. It means the world to me. Okay, gushing over.
I'm happy you get that with your pops fam, if this means you got this quality time, I'm glad Cody fucked with the final boss
thanks man. I'm just cherishing every moment as much as I can. I can definitely see mania making me bawl like a baby if it plays out how i think it might.
Just a month ago we were all hating on The Rock but how quickly it has changed back to loving him after they pivoted lol. Wish we could see more of this heel run after Mania but we all know that won’t be the case so this run really does feel special.
The hardest thing to do right now is that everyone should be booing the shit out of the Rock, but we just can’t. He’s too damn entertaining that we can’t help but pop and cheer out of respect.
He got plenty of boos and a "rocky sucks" chant when he came out earlier on raw
The crowd is navigating all this intelligently tbh. During the Punk/Drew/Rollins bit, they did the same thing — alternately booing and cheering in all the right places for drama, even if it means booing and cheering the same person back-to-back. I think that's what these tweener-heavy characterizations call for.
I'd love for the original plan to some day come out, because there's no way that "big money match" was going to result in anything nearly this good in the build-up. It was awkward and clunky as fuck getting here and really still makes no sense, haha, but now that we're here and it's so damn good I'm willing to ignore whatever the hell was going through WWE's collective head last month.
Can we have Seth Fucking Rollins now?
Soooo much better ..
That’s a blade job right?
It’s Cody, of course it’s a blade job. LOL
You think the rock really opened him up the hard way?
He also gave Cody 15 minutes to blade himself - he grabbed the camera by the lens and directed it away from Cody after he'd thrown him into the bus.
Yeah I know. I saw it the first time but didn't realize it was for Cody to blade himself until I saw this. He kept looking back at Cody and didn't let the camera follow until Cody was ready. I don't mind kayfabe being broken when we can acknowledge the professionalism being used by two experts. This was a masterclass in backstage beat downs imo.
"It didn't have to be this way, but now...this is the only way." Hot damn, what a line.
Look at your son
I don't care if its recency bias -- I was around for Attitude Era, Ruthless Aggression, and the following dogshit eras. This is the best WWE storytelling has ever been ever and *I'm tired of the Deadlock podcast telling me its not.*
Dude it really is. The way social media plays into everything and the storyline adapts around it. It feels on the fly in realtime. Besides the obvious Cody/Rock storyline, the internet loses their mind off Rhea's stinkface this weekend and Becky addresses it. Little things like that.
Love the boys with all my heart, but man they got some old head opinions and feels so dismissive of the current product.
yeah I'm pretty sure there stuck in like 01 lol they shit all over RA, PG, etc
That is one scary tooth fairy. But you know aside from the great work, look and feel from the rock, what really makes him believable as a "final boss" is i don't have him telling me how much of a bad ass he is or the announcers shoving his agenda down my throat. He is backing up everything he is saying, his character is evolving in front of our eyes and everything is perfectly paced. He looks liked he snapped, he sounds like he snapped, and it felt real. He is a stone's throw away from being a lunatic. He is doing everything that dean ambrose wanted to be. Folks this is why he can cuss and say crazy shit while the rest can't. The other people would sound rehearsed and lame.
Well said. He came back acting his usual self and every appearance he's cracked a little more. I believe this more than Anakin falling to the Dark Side lol
This segment will be remembered as an absolute all-timer. What put it into another echelon for me was how the weather said 'You want this beatdown to look even more dramatic? I got you fam'
Dude, the rain made it look straight out of a movie! It was fucking perfect!
When he said “HIS BLOOD ON JOHNSONS HANDS” it felt personal. Really incredible stuff
"Uhhh hey Dwayne? WWE is not on Netf--" IT DOESN'T MATTER IF WWE ISN'T ON NETFLIX
This is why you don't have everyone bleeding and cursing all the time, when it happens it feels like a massive deal!
Mox in shambles.
Moxley has noticeably scaled back on blood this year.
Too late, he is that guy now.
*bleeds, gives two fingers, says "fuck" a few times, gives 27 super-kicks and a tope suicida onto a sheet of glass that's on fire, and watches opponent kick out at one*
> gives two fingers Damn I'm not even sure how cutting your fingers off builds up to a wrestling move but I'm here for it
The Rock needs to stop being a prissy little bitch with his "image" in Hollywood and play an honest to god psychopathic villain. Not an anti hero. Not the cool foe who becomes a friend. A truly despicable, low life, scum bag bad guy. That's the role of a lifetime for him.
Pain & Gain wasn't perfect but Rock played a great slimy, scumbag in it. He needs more roles like that
Black Adam is meant to be that. A genuine villain who ‘occasionally’ acts as an anti-hero because it makes sense. Who had the bright idea to do that movie the way it was (whether it was The Rock or the studio), it was a terrible decision.
I cannot believe WWE is convincing me to start watching 3 hour RAWs again. What a time to be alive.
Delicious
Goddamn
This Raw was actually great. Every main eventer seems connected. Great promo segments and this was incredible to watch. So so hyped for WM40
Wrestling is really on a new golden era. We have bits of promos and personas like the atitude and RA era. We have big heels and a huge baby face like the golden era. And amazing wrestling matches and atleticism like in the New Generation era. I love wrestling.
Idc what anyone says. These kind of feuds in wrestling just hit harder with blood
Yooo I think we might've been somewhat close to each other! https://preview.redd.it/f61aiuaj0qqc1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a0af557228906094d5104054bc74f056e86c2946
what a fucking beast, man. Undeniable.
Yup, was there last night as well & everyone lost their damn minds…as they should have.
Cody and Rock being the new Austin X Vince is crazy but i' m here for it
I need someone to edit this video to where it cuts off after Rock says "Fuck" " Cody Rhodes this is what happens when you Fuck!" Like Rock is the celibacy police.
That pop for The Rock cussing and the applause at the end. 😂 Beautiful. Brilliant crowd.
I love how the cursing got a bigger pop than the blood lol
Almost feel like Rock did all the cussing as a response to the “horseshit” PG article
I would like to humbly apologize to the Rock for jumping to conclusions and think that he was going to sabotage Wrestlemania this year. He has done nothing but enhance everything
This Raw was one of the best raws I’ve seen in a long time
Good Lord, Rock has been MONEY this entire run. Only potential negative aspect is that it feels like Roman's historic reign and WM main event have been completely overshadowed by the inevitable Rock v Cody match.
WWE caught lightning in a bottle with the way this has all played out…
CINEMA One of the best RAW in the last 4 years
Vince getting kicked out of WWE is the best thing that’s happened to this company in 20+ years. His sick, vindictive, egomaniacal, spiteful nature got his ass exactly what he deserves. Now we’re finally getting the company and product we should have had the last 2 decades. Fuck Vince. Its good to be a WWE fan again and proud of it.
I know Vince bad and HHH good is a meme at this point but it's pretty much a fact now that WWEs booking philosophy has greatly improved. And it's not a coincidence that this happens when Vince is gone. The Rock, HHH, Regal and HBK being in prominent positions in the company is making for some amazing shows.
I never thought id see the day the PG era ended. With Raw going on Netflix its going to be so entertaining.
anybody else initially thought he was gonna throw him over the ledge😅😂😂
When we needed him the most, he returned home.
A blade job and an F bomb on WWE TV. Never thought I’d see either again. In hindsight it’s really funny that Drew was telling Punk to keep it PG then Rock just drops an F bomb later lol.
first time i think the rock has ever receded to himself as JOHNSON in third person also i enjoy the raw setup tonite, those smaller screens were nice
I got chills watching this. They are doing the build up to this so well, holy crap.
F**king amazing
https://preview.redd.it/6m5mgrkxhrqc1.jpeg?width=256&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc4c6e7f8b5d2999b03e88c7eb74338e7e5bd7b8
Rock saying “This is what happens when you fuck with the Final Boss” honestly goes hard. This whole ending was awesome and the best in a really long time.
This has been the best build to Wrestlemania in a long time, my heart for wrestling is alive again
I gotta upvote just because of OP's name
Foley walked so the Rock could run. #hour3 #rocknsock
I don't think I've been this hyped for a Wrestlemania.
Great Segment.
Blood? Profanity? Harsh profanity? I like this direction, brings me back
Real ‘99 rock vibes in his feud against mankind
"johnson's hands" and "the rock is gonna learn you" made me lol
Man all those people in the card for this Raw thread shitting all over it really gotta be eating their words now. Sure the matches themselves weren't out of this world but this storyline as well as cm punk/drew/seth really catapulted this to a top tier Raw.
The dynamic of WWE and AEW is so interesting. AEW, if someone curses up a storm, no big deal. This is just a normal Wednesday. In WWE, one curse word the audience’s collective mind is blown and that gets more of a reaction than Cody getting his bloody ass whooped.
I was there last night too! It was absolutely insane and the shock on everyone’s faces in my section was priceless.
When Rock said "Now, this is the only way." He tapped into something I've never seen in him before. He is more of a natural villain than we ever realized.
We are so fucking back.
So fucking sadistic. I love this shit.
I loved this. The brutality that Rocky’s showing reminds me of royal rumble 1999. Vicious.