WWE, Ric Flair, HHH says The Rock has gone "to Hollywood"?

A lot of users here have misunderstood (and still do) my opinions about Dwayne Johnson. Let me see if I can clear up some of the confusion. During the Attitude Era my three favorite wrestlers were Sting, Stone Cold, and The Rock (changed from week to week depending on which I found more entertaining).

Those three kept me tuned in every week in spite of how bad the rest of the shows may have been (even when WCW was swirling down the toilet). Didn't matter who they were working with, they were always very entertaining and fun to watch. WCW ended and that meant no more Sting (even though Vince teased that he would sign him).

So I focused on Stone Cold and Rock; I loved watching those two try to out-do each other every week. It brought back memories of the early 80's and seeing Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes at the tops of their game trying to out-do each other every week in WCW. The rest of the show could "suck" but Flair and Rhodes always made it worth the wait to see them.

So it was with Austin and Rock. Then Austin went down with accumulated injuries and had to retire from the ring. Damn.

That left just The Rock. If anybody deserved the top spot in the largest promotion in the world, it was Dwayne Johnson. Charisma by the truckload, creative as anybody has ever been, and endlessly entertaining.

I still watched the WWE mostly just to see The Rock. The rest of the show could "suck" but The Rock would come out and make you forget that. The Rock was the Man.

Dwayne Johnson got the chance to do a couple of movies. Cool! Lots of pro wrestlers have gotten that chance.

But maybe this time Johnson had the charisma, acting talent, and universal appeal to make it where those before him failed. Turns out some powerful people in Hollywood believed he did. Johnson "retired", said his goodbyes to the WWE fans, and we all wished him the best of luck.

One of our own was going to Hollywood to be a big star! We were all pulling for him. He got to Hollywood, had some success, and let it go to his head.

Wrestling was no longer "cool" to Johnson and he didn't want to have anything to do with it or the fans. He even stopped using "The Rock" and just referred to himself by his given name (as did the movie credits). He did what he could to separate himself from the WWE and WWE fans.

WWE fans felt rightfully "used"; we made him a star then he forgot where he came from. Maybe it's just a coincidence, maybe some bad choices for roles, but "Dwayne Johnson" wasn't as successful as "The Rock" in Hollywood. Pretty soon Dwayne was heading down the Disney TV movie dead-end.

So he started calling himself "The Rock" again and stopped ignoring WWE fans. His movies started doing better at the box office. Now he's "The Rock" again, former WWE Champ, etc etc everywhere he goes.

He doesn't try to separate that anymore. He's "The Rock", former WWE Champ, current Hollywood actor. Which he should have been all along.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "sellout" as: to betray one's cause or associates especially for personal gain. Dwayne Johnson did that when he "traded up" wrestling fans for movie fans. Hogan never did that.

Stone Cold never did that. Jesse Ventura never did that. Roddy Piper never did that.

Neither has any other pro wrestler who's ever done movies or changed careers. Bruno Sammartino is very bitter about the direction pro wrestling has taken, hates Vince McMahon and the shows he produces, but never, not even one time, has Bruno ever forgotten about the wrestling fans to made him a star. They've all freely acknowledged and thanked the wrestling fans who made them stars, and never renounced them or the business that gave them the chance to be stars.

For a short while, yes, Dwayne Johnson was the very definition of a "sellout". He renounced all ties to the WWE and it's fans, even dropping his famous stage name (The Rock), to distance and separate himself from the very thing and the very people who made him a star TO get the chance to go to Hollywood. He did indeed "trade up", replacing us (wrestling fans) with movie fans.

He has since apologized for that (without compromising the "coolness" of The Rock); in my book he's forgiven and the "sellout" stigma no longer applies. You don't see ME referring to Dwayne Johnson as a "sellout". We can debate Johnson's real motives for returning to the WWE last year forever, but "no passion for the wrestling business"...no.

If he had no passion he would never have become a big star. "Growing up in the business" doesn't guarantee passion; I've seen quite a few second-generation wrestlers who were only in the business because they had famous last names and figured that was all they needed. I've never questioned Johnson's passion; he obviously has it or he would never have progressed above the "Rocky Sucks!" mid-card level.

It's there opinion, It's not a fact that The Rock is the best! Other people have differen't opinions. I do agree that people shouldn't tell The Rock what to do.

If they had a dream to be a movie star, they wouldn't blow it. They would go for it, even I would do that. But I know that The Rock has done it all in the WWE, he is a legend, from 1996 (the day he debut) he was really awesome, He has WWE in his blood, he loves the WWE, And he earned my respect.

Love him or hate him you have got to respect him. BQ: Possibly Dolph Ziggler.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.