Rock vs. Cena: Twice in a Lifetime? The Pros and Cons of a WrestleMania Rematch

It seems the Road to WrestleMania might actually be a cul-de-sac — a 360-degree circle back to last year’s event.

The road signs all seem to be pointing toward a rematch between John Cena and The Rock — contrary to the billing of last year’s showdown as a “Once in a Lifetime” match.

The two most important results from last night’s Royal Rumble — John Cena outlasting 29 others in the Rumble match, and The Rock snagging the championship from CM Punk — hint strongly at a WrestleMania rematch between the two.

If that is indeed the plan, it’s one of the most controversial booking schemes WWE has hatched in years. Although most fans agree that the Royal Rumble pay-per-view was an entertaining show overall, that seems to be the only thing on which practically everyone can agree.

Surely countless fans would love to see another showdown between two of the most recognized, marketable and polarizing wrestlers of the past couple decades. Other fans have a “been there, done that” attitude about a Rock-Cena retread, and would prefer to see something novel. Others firmly believe a Rock-Cena  rematch is akin to wrestling blasphemy, especially because their WrestleMania 28 encounter was billed so heavily as a “Once in a Lifetime” happening.

The backlash against an apparent Cena-Rock rematch has been fast, fierce and mostly funny:

To many wrestling fans, the thought of Rock vs. Cena 2 simply stinks of lazy booking — a path-of-least-resistance approach that is a guaranteed cash-grab for WWE, rather than a main event that fans actually want to see.

But it could also be argued that a rematch between The Rock and Cena is the only suitable ending to a yet-unfinished story.

In his Ring Posts column in the Baltimore Sun, wrestling journalist Arda Ocal argues that a Cena-Rock rematch is a perfectly logical choice for a WrestleMania 29 main event:

“Before you even let it leave your lips, in no way is Rock vs. Cena 2 at WrestleMania 29 ‘lazy booking,’ writes Ocal. “In fact, we are approaching the culmination of a rivalry that has spanned three WrestleManias. Truthfully, it would be very difficult to believe that John Cena, the face of today’s WWE, would never eventually get his revenge against The Rock after losing at WrestleMania 28. If anything, be happy you predicted what actually happened and feel good about it!”

If allowing Cena to get “revenge” against The Rock at WrestleMania 29 is indeed the plan, though, it indicates that the “Once in a Lifetime” tagline was a bald-faced lie all along.

WWE has certainly lied to fans before — the company has it down to an art form — and fans would be foolish to expect “retirement matches” and “loser leaves WWE forever” stipulations to have any real validity. But this lie would be a whopper, and one that would force fans to take every bold claim from WWE with a grain of salt (which is probably wise).

Of course, this is all speculation. Maybe Cena won’t choose The Rock as his WrestleMania opponent. Maybe The Rock will lose the title between now and April. Maybe Cena will decide that the World championship is less important to him than a shot at breaking The Undertaker’s streak. Maybe WWE will concoct a triple-threat main event, or maybe Brock Lesnar will insinuate himself in the title picture.

Despite the rumors, scuttlebutt and apparent writing on the wall, a Rock-Cena rematch at WrestleMania is not yet a sure-thing. There are compelling arguments both in favor and against the rematch.

Pros: Love them or hate them, both The Rock and Cena are globally recognized, hugely marketable and consistently entertaining performers who “gel” nicely on the mic and in the ring. Their match last year drew mainstream media attention and contributed to a financially successful WrestleMania. In the logic of professional wrestling, John Cena deserves his “revenge” match against The Rock. The “back story” of this rivalry is already written, but there are plenty of interesting directions it could potentially go (depending on heel turns, match stipulations, the title picture after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view)

Cons: A large and very vocal contingent of the WWE audience believes “Once in a Lifetime” was enough, and a rematch is merely lazy booking. A rematch would mean that the “Once in a Lifetime” tagline was essentially a lie, and it would undermine fans’ trust in WWE. Many felt last year’s Rock-Cena showdown failed to live up to the hype, and was instead a slow-paced and underwhelming encounter. Been there, done that. Hogan-Andre aside, WrestleMania main events should not repeat in consecutive years.

Do you want to see Rock vs. Cena 2?  Or was “Once in a Lifetime” good enough (too much?) for you? Comment below.

Powered By DT Author Box

About The Author: Colin Hunter

Colin Hunter is a print and online journalist who was named the best sportswriter in Canada by the National Newspaper Awards in 2008. He is a longtime contributing writer (as C.F. Hunter) for Pro Wrestling Illustrated, The Wrestler and Inside Wrestling, and has been a regular writer for SLAM! Wrestling. Career highlights include drinking beer with Fit Finlay, chasing a cat with Christian in his backyard, and gluing a wig onto the bald head of the late Missing Link.

Support WNZ and Share This Post!

•