On February 7, 2011, Vince McMahon returned to the WWE. Last we had seen the chairman, he was getting destroyed by the latest rogue faction in the WWE, The Nexus.
Well really, the last we saw Vince he was awakening from his coma in daughter Stephanie's dream to find that the WWE isn't what he wants it to be. He played the shocked and funny owner who also despite being "braindead" for months, was the political savvy man who shamelessly promoted his wife's Senate campaign throughout the "dream".
Bad videos and storylines aside, the chairman was back to make a major announcement. This year's Wrestlemania would have a guest host, but McMahon stopped just short of revealing who this man or woman might be. Ever the wise businessman, McMahon left us high and dry..........at least until next week.
As expected, speculation began to run rampant as to who the guest host could possibly be. The most common name floating out there was Bob Barker, but The Rock was the name that everybody had in the back of their mind. Of course, setting expectations that high and being let down would be incredibly deflating, but with no confirmation that The Rock would NOT be the host, many had hope.
Me? Of course I hoped it was Rock. This was the man I grew up idolizing, the man I grew up imitating in my basement as a young teen. Seeing my favorite superstar of all time would be incredible, but I was cautiously optimistic.
Monday night finally arrived, and due to my Monday night job, I was 20 minutes late to the party as usual. Luckily, the guest host announcement was being saved for the end of the night, so I merely missed a Cena/Punk match (which we'll discuss in the Raw HOT or NOT). Still, holding off the announcement told me that this was going to be BIG.
Raw was a fantastic show last night, with great matches from Cena/Punk (I heard) and Miz/Daniel Bryan, but it was all biding time until the announcement at the end. When Orton pinned Sheamus at 10:50 and all hell broke loose with run-ins, I couldn't help but think "STOP IT!!! We have a guest host to reveal!" Then, before the commercial, we saw legs........
Female legs, that is. As commercials that I never watch aired, my buddy SM Punk and I began to discuss who this guest host might be. Perhaps Anne Hathaway? Stacy Kiebler? Lady Gaga? Were any of these women a large enough draw to the WWE audience to make them guest host of the biggest show of the year? Something seemed off, and we began to feel underwhelmed.
Then, Justin Roberts introduced the guest host without giving a name. Considering we thought Vince would be back to introduce this person, it was even more underwhelming for Justin Roberts to do the honors. At this point, I'm preparing for Bob Barker or worse. And then it happened..........
After some very cool lighting effects, the room went dark and silent. In that moment, we all waited for some music to hit or for a name to appear on the titantron. It felt like forever until the silence was broken, and boy was it ever!
IF YA SMELLLLLLLLLLLLLL...........WHAT THE ROCK.............IS COOKIN!!!!!!!!
Just as hope about died in my heart, the familiar catchphrase ripped through the speakers and prompted the music that used to captivate the teenage version of me years ago (albeit this version being a bit tweaked). When I heard that music, I reverted back to the 14 year old version of myself and just about jumped through the roof of my friend's house.
In the wrestling business, they call it marking out. What I did may be even beyond that. I was giddy like a schoolgirl getting asked to the prom by her crush and all for the man that I grew up idolizing. It was surreal, but that man, the one that made me a wrestling fan, was actually in a WWE ring for the first time in SEVEN years!
Have you ever been on a date with someone you are absolutely in love with and you can't help but constantly smile? That's probably the closest analogy to how I felt watching The Rock show that he hasn't lost a bit of charisma or verbal ability in his time away from the WWE. All the catchphrases were back, some unique jabs as only the Rock can create were back, and even a message from Dwayne captivated us all. It was truly a moment for the ages, and I can't imagine ANYBODY not being excited for Wrestlemania knowing that The Rock will indeed be there!
He spoke for nearly 20 minutes, and the kid inside me didn't want it to end. It's like a great dream where you know you have to wake up at some point but wish you didn't have to. All good things come to an end, and as The Rock left the arena with the end credits flashing on the screen, it was the end of a beautiful moment, one that we all can cherish for a long, long time.
Luckily, this is just the beginning. The Rock will indeed be at Wrestlemania and who knows what he will come up with to electrify us that night. While many will speculate on the long term prospects of The Rock and WWE, I will take a different route. I believe that life is a series of ups and downs, and for any wrestling fan, especially Rock fans like myself, last night was a serious UP. Whether he stays around to entertain us for months on end or he simply shows up at Wrestlemania to electrify and ride off into the sunset until he gets the call for induction into the Hall of Fame, nothing moving forward will take away the moment we experienced last night. Nothing can take away the epic reception that occured in the moment his music hit and he emerged from behind the curtain. Nothing will take away that night from our memories.
For your continued enjoyment of that moment, I have provided the video of the entire appearance of The Rock last night. If the WWE shuts down the videos that aren't theirs, I will replace it with the video they put up. For now, enjoy this moment over and over. It's one of the best wrestling moments I've seen in years, if you smell what I'm cooking!
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