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17 Feb 11 | Re: Sports entertainment earthquake

There’s no other way to say it: Finally, the Rock has come back to WWE! And if you don’t follow professional wrestling (unlikely, I know, but remember that this blog can be read by people all over the world) then it is going to be hard for me to bring home just what an incredible event this is, in the world of professional wrestling.

Even if you are not a fan, you might enjoy watching his return here. You can possibly skip the first six minutes or so, which are mainly applause.

Incredible. I honestly think that serious public speakers like politicians and teachers and clergy could learn a lot from the Rock’s timing and ear for a memorable quote. He also has a way of taking lines that are borderline ridiculous and delivering them with absolute conviction, so that when he says “John Cena you look like a big bowl of fruity pebbles” you find yourself laughing with him instead of at him. His speech takes on an unstoppable rhythm that gives everything far more weight than it ought to have.

In short, the Rock is a modern-day Churchill. In an age when many people are mistrustful of good rhetoric, as though it’s an unfair box of tricks that can only mislead, we should look at the Rock as a beacon of oratorial skill turned to the benefit of all. That’s in the medium term. In the short term, I need to plan how I’m going to get to watch Wrestlemania.

Posted by DOINK THE CLOWN at 18:56

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