Some thoughts on Rock being in GI Joe 2

[zedhatch]

Some thoughts I was having earlier about the Rock:

Not sure how many follow wrestling (but I have noticed a bunch of joe fans do, beside the point really), but Rock has a really big match at Wrestlemania against John Cena. This match has been building for a year almost (Cena and Rock taged together in Surivor series as well) and many feel this match is the "passing of the torch" to Cena from Rock much like Hoagn did for rock a decade earlier.

HOWEVER, many others feel this is Rock trying to appeal to his old fan base (and it's working) because his movie career went a tad south (it did) and he is rebuilding his stardom back where he started. Rock has always been a "go to" guy with WWE so it's not a stretch to figure the favor is getting returned (Listing that would be too long but trust me the relations with Rock and WWE have always been pretty tight).

So what is speculated is that the match will be for the title (Cena keeps saying as much but doesn't hold it right now, rumor is Rock will get it before mania, but no one is sure). But there is a thought that Rock could come out of mania with the belt.

So what does this mean for GI Joe? Well either way I will bet WWE will put some of it's weight behind GI Joe retaliation. What this could do is open the door of GI Joe to a group of fans who do have a passing knowledge but are not the hardcore Joe fans as are here(ie most wresting fans remember Sgt. Slaughter).

If rock is champ (a possiblity since he appears to have a few years before he might need to "pass the torch") this would be even a bigger boost (WWE and Vince have a history of loving cross promoting like that).

Will it work, well WWE does have a long history of failiers with movie crossovers, but there are also tons of winners (Many movie buffs believe They Live might have faded into obscurity were it not for the promoting of WWF at the time for Roddy Piper).

And there is no promotion that can hurt a film.

[ArbcoCeo]

Man, forget They Live, Mr. Nanny is where the crossover magic happens. Suburban Commando anyone? Roadhouse.

[The Commander]

Like you said Zedhatch, a little promotion doesn't hurt us Joe fans. The more $$$ drawn in from wrestling fans watching GI Joe 2 because of the Rock, I'm all for it because it benefits me and the hobby I love.

[zedhatch]

Man, forget They Live, Mr. Nanny is where the crossover magic happens. Suburban Commando anyone? Roadhouse.

Roadhouse never got promoted by WWF/E cause A. Terry Funk wasn't a wrestler there at the time and B. Funk didn't have any speaking lines in the movie, he just hung out in the background.

And Suburban Commando was a work of Genius I don't care what anyone says ;-)

[Griff]

Well I can't speak for anyone else, but Dwyane Johnson has shown himself to be not only a compitent actor, but a diverse and thoroughly enjoyable one. I have yet to see a movie where I did not like the rocks performance. Gi joe 2 may or may not be a good film, but The Rock's performance will be solid and enjoyable

And They Live was an awesome flick!

[dgnr82]

the only problem I see with this is that WWE is under contract with another toy manufacturer. Now I realize you aren't talking about toys, and I stated when Rock came on board that it was a great thing because of the potential marketing, but I'm sure their is some red tape there.

[Adamantite]

Retaliation's tie to the WWE through the Rock can in my opinion only bring good. The amount of people who follow the WWE around the world is astonishing, they hold all kinds of records for ratings, attendance to events and now even social media. Yes, we want as many of those fans seeing the movie and hopefully grabbing some toys. I sincerely believe bringing the Rock into GIJoe was the smartest thing Hasbro has done for the brand in a long time.

I can understand though how people who do not like wrestling are not thrilled with his involvement. All I can say is, it's not like they are turning GIJoe into something it is not. Sgt. Slaughter has always been there (and more recently, Roddy Piper).

If the movie does well, which I think it will (in no small part because of the Rock's involvement) I wouldn't be surprised to see another wrestler involved in the 3rd one. Stone Cold as Gung Ho? Or maybe one of the younger wrestlers.

[zedhatch]

Actually I doubt there is red tape at all. WWE is only in contract for WWE merchandice, outside that is a whole entity unto itself. Promotion of a movie isn't the same thing here. While a line can be drawn, the fact is retaliation is still a movie.

As for Rock himself, he is a big enough star that He probably negotiated a second contract just for him and probably has ten tons of loopholes for his appearences in movie related lines. This is not an uncommon thing for merchandizing in pro wrestling. Lots of the big names go this route to protect thier likeness rights and I am sure Rock has done so as well. He was a big enough star to do this long before he broke into movies.

So seriously there is no red tape. Add in that WWE is pretty tough about licenceing out and know they are a high demand brand, I doubt they would let anyone tell them what to do, Vince don't bend that way.

[Akunin]

not a wrestling fan myself, I just hope "Joe 2" doesn't end up like "Doom"

[luigi]

the only problem I see with this is that WWE is under contract with another toy manufacturer. Now I realize you aren't talking about toys, and I stated when Rock came on board that it was a great thing because of the potential marketing, but I'm sure their is some red tape there.

unless hasbro struck a deal with mattel(they make the WWE toys right)or WWE

[Darkfire]

Faster and Fast 5 were the shit!

[blayze5150]

I was a hardcore wrestling fan for years (To this day I can list every WWE Champ from memory). I know the power of getting the WWE machine behind a product. I've watched many a movie because I saw constant previews on WWE Raw, and even a few I saw on WCW Nitro back in the day. This is a good thing.

[Flint071]

I believe there are suggested correlations here that do not exist.

[zedhatch]

I believe there are suggested correlations here that do not exist.

Care to elaborate?

[mattyS197]

And Suburban Commando was a work of Genius I don't care what anyone says ;-)

Here I thought I was the only person on the planet who liked that one.

[zedhatch]

Here I thought I was the only person on the planet who liked that one.

I seriously thought suberban commando was a laugh out loud riot. Sure it's stupid, but it's a comedy as well. it wasn't meant to be taken seriously. I thought it was just funny as hell.

[SonOfMindbender]

Whatever keeps me getting more figures!!

[Colder Soldier]

People still watch wrasslin'? Don't the know it's all about MMA now? Quentin Rampage Jackson would've made the perfect Roadblock!

:D

[Bushmaster72]

People still watch wrasslin'? Don't the know it's all about MMA now? Quentin Rampage Jackson would've made the perfect Roadblock!

:D

And, Bob Sapp as Big Boa!

[MLos1]

The Rock...

not Rock...

Even better...Dwayne Johnson...

[ThreeHGame]

First there is no way a title will be involved and if by some long shot it does become a title match then Cena wins. There wear many inside the WWE that did not want the match to happen at WM in Miami and have remained critical of it for over a year now. The Rock has been torn apart both on screen and off for how little time he has put in since his "return" and I doubt he can commit to a schedule that allows him to wrestle more than 2 or 3 times a year. Cena was filming a movie and flew into Raw every week and they took the belt off him because only working Raw was to few dates.

I see so much working against the Rock in the WWE and only the ratings reports working for him so I say they blurb about the movie or someone (CM Punk most likely by pointing out the Rock plays a rhyming black man and does it poorly) mocking his acting skills, other than that I see G.I. Joe 2 being an after thought to the WWE.

[zedhatch]

First there is no way a title will be involved and if by some long shot it does become a title match then Cena wins. There wear many inside the WWE that did not want the match to happen at WM in Miami and have remained critical of it for over a year now. The Rock has been torn apart both on screen and off for how little time he has put in since his "return" and I doubt he can commit to a schedule that allows him to wrestle more than 2 or 3 times a year. Cena was filming a movie and flew into Raw every week and they took the belt off him because only working Raw was to few dates.

I see so much working against the Rock in the WWE and only the ratings reports working for him so I say they blurb about the movie or someone (CM Punk most likely by pointing out the Rock plays a rhyming black man and does it poorly) mocking his acting skills, other than that I see G.I. Joe 2 being an after thought to the WWE.

See here's the problem, most of that is based off rumors from the "insider" sites which are not always reliable (for 6 years those same sites predicted Bret Hart's return to WWE before it finally happened, they still say Sting is coming to WWE, and they were also the ones who said CM Punk's running off with the title was legit when it turned out ot be a storyline only).

I have to say if people in WWE are apossed to Rock vs. Cena, they are stupid cause the audience has already voiced thier opinon (I could care less, but the crowd seems to be really behind the idea). And yes it's a wrestlemania level match.

ALSO why not for the title, it will be the main event reguardless, and no one wants to repeat the mistake of 18 (Having the main event before the title match) it's not a stretch to toss the title in there as WWE WANTS the title to be the main event at Mania.

Granted a vast majority of what I said is conjecture, but so is everything else that was said soooooo.

[DrFever]

Funk didn't have any speaking lines in the movie, he just hung out in the background.


He had lines. Not much. But he spoke.

"what the XXXX you talking about"
"you XXXXXX"
"what am I suppose to do"
"you're a dead man"
"mind your business dad"

[ThreeHGame]

See here's the problem, most of that is based off rumors from the "insider" sites which are not always reliable (for 6 years those same sites predicted Bret Hart's return to WWE before it finally happened, they still say Sting is coming to WWE, and they were also the ones who said CM Punk's running off with the title was legit when it turned out ot be a storyline only).

I have to say if people in WWE are apossed to Rock vs. Cena, they are stupid cause the audience has already voiced thier opinon (I could care less, but the crowd seems to be really behind the idea). And yes it's a wrestlemania level match.

ALSO why not for the title, it will be the main event reguardless, and no one wants to repeat the mistake of 18 (Having the main event before the title match) it's not a stretch to toss the title in there as WWE WANTS the title to be the main event at Mania.

Granted a vast majority of what I said is conjecture, but so is everything else that was said soooooo.

No, the anti-Rock info comes from a close friend who works in the corporate side of WWE who said there is real tension between people there and the road crew over the idea of Cena/Rock. The idea of the face of the company going out and being booed by the Miami crowd is short-sighted and could hurt Cena's image post WM, when the Rock is gone making movies.

I don't know what dirt sheets you look at but the ones I saw during the Punk angle were laughing at WWE stealing ROH story-lines using the same ROH talent to pull them off.

[zedhatch]

No, the anti-Rock info comes from a close friend who works in the corporate side of WWE who said there is real tension between people there and the road crew over the idea of Cena/Rock. The idea of the face of the company going out and being booed by the Miami crowd is short-sighted and could hurt Cena's image post WM, when the Rock is gone making movies.

I don't know what dirt sheets you look at but the ones I saw during the Punk angle were laughing at WWE stealing ROH story-lines using the same ROH talent to pull them off.

So your saying you know a guy who knows a guy, ok that is always a solid source [/sarcasim]

Seriously, Cena has gotten booed for years, long before the Rock was a factor. You think no one ever noticed?

and road crew, really? (to quote Miz). Last I checked they weren't really that influental to the overall dynamic of the company, maybe I missed something. But I wouldn't quote them as being "many inside the WWE" since thier role in the direction of the company is minimal on it's best level.

Dirt sheets, last time I checked any of them was during Punk, and I saw nothing like what you say, but they were still going off about Sting going to WWE (ie the undertakers promos being for Sting at the last WM), that has been a running rumor since 2000 (after WCW shut down) and still has never come to pass, I've seen it on every "dirt sheet" rumor site ect since then, and if it ever happens I'm sure they will scream "SEE WE TOLD YOU SO!!"

But there are tons and tons of things that happen in WWE that those sheets never catch to begin with.