The BEST Wrestling Moment Every Year (1989 - 2026)

15. 2012 | Work, Shoot, Whatever

2012 was a very decent year by 2010s WWE standards. 

The Rock and John Cena packed megastar magic and an intoxicating sense of real competitive ego on the road to WrestleMania 28, which will forever remain the most-purchased traditional pay-per-view in pro wrestling history. (In an honourable mention, the Rock had a fabulous time burying and throwing away John Cena’s horrendous line of merchandise.) 

There was never a fundamental problem with a storyline that was always destined to generate ridiculous sums of money, but the Rock walked into the feud as, by far, the coolest guy (even if some of his stuff was closer to Cena’s worst than his Attitude Era best). 

Cena was booed mercilessly by half of the audience anyway. There was no risk in any of this - but given that this was intended as a meeting between the two respective biggest stars of their generation, it was less than ideal. Until Cena either stepped up big time, or WWE concocted an inspired work. 

Cena and the Rock traded shots in a face-to-face segment. Cena “noticed” that the Rock had etched notes for his promo on his wrist, which he gleefully pointed out. This was fantastic. In bringing back that smug Doctor of Thuganomics attitude, Cena shook the Rock. Rock genuinely looked pissed; in a shocking surprise, Cena shed his reputation as a gurning idiot who would recite the worst Vince McMahon verbiage like a good little boy then and there. 

This wasn’t a mismatch anymore; Rock Vs. Cena became everything that WWE insisted it was.