This is going to sound like a funny question but I recently got clued into the fact that Matt Brock was just a fictional character for the Pro Wrestling Illustrated family of magazines, so my question is, who else are/were real beyond Bill Apter? Dan Shockett? Andy Rodriguez? Stu Saks? Eddie Ellner? Liz Hunter? Bob Smith? Brandi Mankiewicz? Are these all creations or legitimate writers?
Of the people that you've listed, I've personally met Apter, Rodriguez and Mankiewicz, so they are all real people. I've spoken to Stu Saks via telephone, so he's an actual person as well. Smith, Ellner and the late Shockett were writers for the magazines, while Liz Hunter, like Matt Brock, was a character.
First off love the website; I just finished watching the new Rock DVD. I have to say that I was a bit underwhelmed as I thought that there would be more of a story to it and it felt very rushed. Plus with as many great Rock promos as he had I thought that could have been a bigger chunk of the DVD. Also there was no participation from the Rock, what gives? What are your thoughts? Are there other rock DVD sets that you would say are better to purchase than this new one?
I haven't seen the DVD, but my guess is that the company wanted to get something out to play off his Hollywood success and make money off his time working for them. Johnson was likely too busy to take part in the DVD release or wasn't interested in doing it. I own the DVD and have tried to watch it, but the level of pixelization from the WWF vs. WWF lawsuit drives me crazy, so I haven't sat down and given it another chance, so I can't really give you my personal thoughts on the release.
2. After watching the new Rock DVD I have to ask were many of those promos scripted? If not and you see the kind of response that they got why doesn’t WWE move away from scripted promos so that people can show their personality more. Is there anyone now in the WWE who if given the chance can duplicate that kind of excitement with their promos?
A lot of the promos were scripted in terms of bullet points, at least until Johnson was trusted enough to carry the ball on the mic. A lot of times now, the promos are more scripted because of a belief that the undercard and young talents can't do it on the fly like the veterans can. When someone proves themselves, usually they are trusted but for the most part, I don't believe anyone except the upper echelon of talents are improving off bullet points these days. I personally prefer the old approach. As far as duplicating the Rock's mic work, I think they try with John Cena but usually his best work is the stuff that feels original.
How would you judge the Rock in terms of his workrate? What would you say were his best feuds and why?
VERY, VERY underrated. The more I go back and watch old PPVs for whatever reason, I think people didn't appreciate him for being as good as he was, much like John Cena today. In terms of best feuds, to me, it was all about Mick Foley and Steve Austin. I think the Intercontinental title feud in 1998 with Triple H was highly underrated as well.
Last Rock question; I know in some ways Vince is trying to craft John Cena as a new Rock but it doesn’t seem to click like it did for the Rock. Why do you think this is the case? Would John Cena benefit from making the change to heel?
I think it's too soon for a John Cena heel turn, because the reality is, he's one of the few names that moves tickets and merchandise on his own. I think there are similarities between he and the Rock, but Cena, in the last year, has more or less found himself. I think he's more hindered by what's given to him creatively than by his own work.
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