As part of a very in-character interview with ESPN, WWE Superstar Randy Orton takes John Cena’s side in the storyline feud with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Bringing attention to the same issues as John Cena, Orton criticizes The Rock for his lengthy pro wrestling absence and for his “via satellite” approach for interacting with the fans.
Says Orton, “You see the interviews that The Rock does and he says that he doesn’t want to be known as a wrestler. He doesn’t want to be known as a sports entertainer or a performer with WWE or a WWE superstar. He wants to be known as an actor.”
Questioning Rock’s supposed return to WWE, he adds, “Now all of a sudden he’s back in our world telling the fans what they want to hear. He’s telling them, “I promise that I will never go away again. I promise that I’m back for good and that I’m here to stay.” He said that, what, six or seven weeks ago? Have we even seen him live since then? No. Via satellite.”
One of the most intriguing aspects of the Rock-Cena feud has been fans’ interest in weighing in on who is “winning” the promo exchanges. Even though the feud is an entirely-scripted vehicle designed to promote WrestleMania (and possibly some shows after the fact), fans feel inclined to assess how John Cena, WWE’s current top star, stacks up to The Rock, one of the best “promo guys” in the history of pro wrestling.
Orton feels Cena takes the cake, both in terms of promo skills and wrestling ability (Orton feels Rock will have “ring rust” from not working with WWE over the past seven years).
“I think Cena will own The Rock [on RAW],” predicts Orton. “I think Cena is wittier and can go off the cuff. Cena writes his own stuff, while The Rock has stuff written for him. It just all comes down to who you are in the ring and what kind of performer you are in the ring, and I think Cena is 10 times the performer in the ring that The Rock is. This Monday in Chicago, he’ll prove it.”