I've always enjoyed storylines that follow a reasonably coherent path. Sunday night's Royal Rumble win for The Rock did not follow that path and fell flat because of it. For those who didn't see it on pay-per-view or live, let me give you the quick recap.
Previously on Raw, Vince McMahon told CM Punk that if The Shield interfered in his championship match with The Rock, that he would be stripped of the title. OK, makes sense so far.
After a slow start to the match that featured a very bipartisan crowd (I was in attendance), both competitors got extremely unlucky when the Spanish announcer's table broke beneath them. Not long after, The Rock used his Rock Bottom on the floor instead. Still so far, so good.
Then, once CM Punk was down in the ring and Rock was about to use his trademark "People's Elbow", the lights went out. This has been the way that The Shield has interfered in the past, and the live crowd was able to see just enough to realize that it was, indeed, The Shield.
After a three-man powerbomb through the other announcer's table, Rock was left prone and Punk swooped in. After dragging him into the ring, it wasn't long before the referee counted one-two-three and the match was over. Here is where the logical hole starts.
McMahon interrupted the celebration and actually acknowledged that he didn't know if it was The Shield that interfered, but he was going to strip Punk anyway. So, he's going to end a 434-day reign because he thinks it was The Shield.
Then, things got worse as The Rock interrupted him. Rock informed McMahon that he wanted to beat Punk for the title and the match should continue. It makes sense that Rock would want to win the title "fair and square," but it makes no sense that McMahon would simply agree to that stipulation on the fly.
It didn't make Rock look any stronger as a champion and didn't make Punk look any better in defeat. While I have my reservations about a part-timer being champion, I can accept that Rock is a big draw and is worthy of a title.
What I can't accept is they didn't really put him over strongly. If they were going to go this route, they should have shown The Shield on TV and let Rock get some offense in. Instead, he looks like a chump.
Don't forget, we just saw John Cena tear up seven guys at the same time in the Royal Rumble match. Yet, Rock is going to get instantly laid out by three guys and not get any shots in?
The only explanation is that Punk can claim he was unjustly screwed out of the title. With no proof that The Shield interfered, Punk can argue he deserves to have another championship match against The Rock. Could he edge his way into the WrestleMania 29 match to make it a three-way with John Cena vs. The Rock vs. Punk?
Wherever this story goes, they have to book Rock stronger than they did Sunday night. They aren't going to have much time with him, so they won't have time to make up for many more mistakes.
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