The Rock Proved That Not Every Great Promo Has to Be a Pipe Bomb BY KME

 I, like many of you, thought the promo battle last night between the Rock and CM Punk was epic. I thought that both men delivered on the microphone and both men played to their strengths. I actually thought that one interaction between the two of them was better than all of the Rock/Cena promos combined. However, this morning, I woke up to a firestorm of Internet wrestling fans that are either brain dead or have their heads up their butts. The sad thing is that it's not even most Internet fans. Just a very small, but vocal minority.

If you are familiar with my articles, you know that I am a vocal supporter of the Internet Wrestling Community (IWC). I always look at the IWC as comic book fans. If a big studio is gonna make a big budget movie about Thor, then fans of the Thor comics must like it for it to truly make waves. Take the Green Lantern movie, for instance. Yes, it was a modest hit for Warner Bros. But the fans of Green Lantern comics hated it. As a result, the movie was not able to live up to its full potential.

I have always said that WWE is wrong for overlooking us Internet fans and treating us like we don't matter. After all, I feel that we are the ones who get stuff over. CM Punk would not be the star he is today if it weren't for the IWC. Hell, even John Cena got over with the IWC before he got over mainstream with all his “Doctor of Thuganomics” stuff.

With that said, however, I have no clue what some of you expect from WWE. After Rock and Punk had what I thought was one of the most compelling segments in recent memory, I see many of the fans degrade the Rock and say he did not hold up his end. Again, this is a very small minority but a minority that is extremely vocal.

What you fans who criticize the Rock do not seem to understand is that the Rock and CM Punk are two very different animals. It is not Rock's job to go out there and drop pipe bombs; that is Punk's shtick. The Rock went out there and cut a very serious promo on Punk. Did he have a few catchphrases in there? Of course he did! HE IS THE ROCK! Expecting the Rock to not use his catchphrases is like going to a Rolling Stones concert and expecting them not to play “Angie” or “Sympathy for the Devil.” People want classic Rock lines! 

The Rock did not rely on catchphrases, though. He used them to emphasize his point and that point is that he is going to beat Punk up at the Royal Rumble. The Rock would be out of place if he goes out there and tries to cut work-shoot promos like Punk does. HHH tried doing that and it really didn't work for him.

I personally like what the Rock did. He was able to be funny, while at the same time being very serious. Unlike Cena, who never takes his opponents seriously, Rock let it be known that he takes Punk seriously as an opponent. He even recognized his toughness and talent. Simply put, he was great.

Punk was great, as well. While he might be smaller than the Rock, when he opens his mouth, they are the same size. Punk was smart in that he wasn't trying to be funny and one up the Rock. Punk was just simply trying to get across the fact that Rock will not just come back and take the title from him.

What is my point? Well, my point is that SOME (not all) Internet fans do not know what it means to make a compelling program. If you think a couple of guys going out there shooting and cutting insider references at each other is what people want to see, then you are seriously mistaken. I think that the WWE looks at this small portion of Internet fans that have this backwards thinking and stereotype all of us in the IWC in this manner.

Bottom line; Rock and Punk's promo war was great television. It was not about one-upmanship with words. It was about two guys conveying the point that they are going to kick each other's asses at the Royal Rumble. I, for one, am looking forward to an epic feud...oh, and don't be surprised if the WWE gets an ice cream deal with Carvel after Rock used that Cookie Puss line on Cena. 

The Euro Step

Over the past few years two words have become very prominent in the basketball community. Not "the decision" and not "super team." I'm talking about Euro Step. The first time I hear the term was at Penn Wood high school in Lansdowne, PA, and one of the teams top players was trying to demonstrate for me the Euro Step. Well, I had no idea of what he was trying to show me. I was looking for an extra step being taken or something like that. Nope thats not what it was at all. The Euro Step is a change in direction with your steps as you pick up your dribble when driving to the hoop. Really, thats all it is. But what it has become is another weapon for people that love driving to bucket. You can't find a guard in the league now that hasn't added it to their arsenal of moves. James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo, and Derrick Rose, have some of the best Euro Steps in the league. Most recently Manu Ginobili an Argentinian, has been credited with bringing the move to the NBA from the Italian league. But go back a little ways you can remember a star European player, a Lithuanian, named Sarunas Marciulionis have a huge impact on the NBA with that very same move that at the time didn't have a name. 

These days the Euro Step is being taught as a fundamental part of the game in camps and clinics all over the world. If you haven't added it to you game I don't know what your waiting for. The world will pass you by! Who knows by the time you add it to you game the rest of the world may be working on the Asia Dribble or the South American No Look Pass. So step ya game up!

THE NBA IS IN FULL SWING!!!

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The 2012-2013 NBA season has absolutely started with a BANG! Even before the season started the fire works were shooting. Starting with the excitement of the New Jersey Nets becoming the Brooklyn Nets and moving into their new digs in Brooklyn's Barclays Center. They also made a big splash in the free agent market by signing All- Star shooting guard Joe Johnson. Then there was the biggest splash of the scorching hot summer was made when the LA Lakers acquired disgruntled Orlando big man Dwight Howard in a three team trade that sent All-Star 7-foot center Andrew Bynum to Philadelphia, Lakers also acquired 2-time MVP point guard Steve Nash during the summer.