John Cena

[Ron Simmons]

If we're not just talking about headline names, Chris Jericho would definitely be in the running as the least selfish main eventer.

 

And if we are just talking headliners and "faces" of companies, does Ric Flair count?

[King Pitcos]

Technically he created Wade Barrett too, but I don't think either of them ever cleanly pinned him, did they? Again, I'm not blaming Cena for this or calling him selfish. I just genuinely don't remember a non-established/up-and-coming wrestler pinning him cleanly.

Khali beat him cleanly and with a foot pin about four years ago to build up to a title match.

 

How many top babyfaces are ever pinned "cleanly" by heels anyway?

[air_raid]

Its not up to cena its up to vinny mac and the writers

 

Ultimate say so is up to Vince, obviously, but from Hulk Hogan to Stone Cold to Triple H, you often hear stories of top tier guys protesting / refusing to lose to (or in some cases even work with) other talent.

 

I've never read anything like that of Cena.

[Ron Simmons]

Technically he created Wade Barrett too, but I don't think either of them ever cleanly pinned him, did they? Again, I'm not blaming Cena for this or calling him selfish. I just genuinely don't remember a non-established/up-and-coming wrestler pinning him cleanly.

Khali beat him cleanly and with a foot pin about four years ago to build up to a title match.

 

How many top babyfaces are ever pinned "cleanly" by heels anyway?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing him, or the way that he's booked. I just couldn't remember him laying down cleanly to any unestablished star - certainly not to the point he could be called "the most unselfish main eventer ever."

 

I think the guy is seriously underrated to a degree, it really annoys me when people say he's "terrible" even now, I read in a TV report on prosrestling.net a writer saying that "Dolph Ziggler has improved in ring to the extent he's even carried John Cena to a great match" and just thought "what utter bullshit." Cena's arguably the most consistant WWE performer of the past five years. Since winning the WWE title for the first time I honestly can't remember seeing a bad Cena match. That doesn't mean I enjoyed them all, some of them have been stale, but they've certainly all been of a good quality.

[Carbomb]

I don't think anyone can ever really call Cena "selfish". Perhaps he's never really been put in a position where he has had to politic, but he's never struck as the type who would. He never really loses any feuds, even if he loses a match. The only feud I can think of which he lost, to a certain degree, is his mini-feud with face Batista.

 

It's one of the things I find the most boring about him - he's been on top, proportionally, longer than Hogan ever was, and it's just gotten old. He needs freshening up, and I'm not even saying it has to be a heel turn (even if that would be the most interesting thing to do): he NEEDS something new.

 

EDIT: To answer the question, no. I think The Rock is probably the most unselfish main eventer ever. His feud with the Hurricane, the job to Lesnar (he made him look like the apocalypse), the work with Angle as well. Perhaps he's comparable to Foley, but the main difference was Foley, whilst good at making people look good, spent the coin of his main event credibility too often to make his jobs look monumental. The only major job I can think of that really registered as an establishing moment was Triple H at the Rumble 2000.

[Ron Simmons]

I don't think anyone can ever really call Cena "selfish". Perhaps he's never really been put in a position where he has had to politic, but he's never struck as the type who would. He never really loses any feuds, even if he loses a match. The only feud I can think of which he lost, to a certain degree, is his mini-feud with face Batista.

 

It's one of the things I find the most boring about him - he's been on top, proportionally, longer than Hogan ever was, and it's just gotten old. He needs freshening up, and I'm not even saying it has to be a heel turn (even if that would be the most interesting thing to do): he NEEDS something new.

I reckon a move to Smackdown could do both him and the brand a world of good. There's a good number of top stars who could fill his vacant RAW spot, and he'd have a whole new show to inflict his zany brand of humour on.

 

And do you know what, it'd probably increase their ratings. A Cena move coupled with a change of night could do wonders for the blue brand.

[King Pitcos]

I reckon a move to Smackdown could do both him and the brand a world of good. There's a good number of top stars who could fill his vacant RAW spot

Like who?

 

JC moving to Smackdown would obviously be good for Smackdown, but Smackdown's ratings are nowhere near as important as Raw's ratings, to either WWE or NBC Universal. Cena's the top star and there's nobody even close to being able to fill his shoes. I think everyone involved would have a hard time justifying him switching brands to shareholders.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

And do you know what, it'd probably increase their ratings. A Cena move coupled with a change of night could do wonders for the blue brand.

They dont care about Smackdowns ratings anymore. Raws ratings and PPV buys have dropped to the point where Smackdown isn't even on the radar. During these current times, they cant just send the biggest star in the business of to a brand they could give a toss about. They could put Cena on both shows if they cared that much about it. I'm sure he wouldn't mind.

[Ron Simmons]

I reckon a move to Smackdown could do both him and the brand a world of good. There's a good number of top stars who could fill his vacant RAW spot

Like who?

 

JC moving to Smackdown would obviously be good for Smackdown, but Smackdown's ratings are nowhere near as important as Raw's ratings, to either WWE or NBC Universal. Cena's the top star and there's nobody even close to being able to fill his shoes. I think everyone involved would have a hard time justifying him switching brands to shareholders.

I think from an investment and share perspective it's a good thing to have two shows that are doing well ratings wise. As far as merchandise goes, absolutely, there's NOBODY on the RAW roster who could fill his shoes. What I mean is that from a ratings perspective having the likes of Triple H/Orton/maybe Undertaker on the show would fill the void behind. The blurry brand split could allow Cena to appear on RAW when they felt the need for him to, and they could still sell Cena merchandise at RAW shows. He only needs to be on the Smackdown brand for a year for his stint there to be effective. They could then move him back, hopefully leaving behind a stronger show with higher ratings. He'd also (hopefully) be a fresh enough addition to the RAW brand for him not to feel stale anymore.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

I think from an investment and share perspective it's a good thing to have two shows that are doing well ratings wise.

Raw's doing low 3.0's at the minute. Raw's ratings aren't exactly doing smashing as it is. If they moved the company's biggest draw to the B-show, you probably wont have two shows doing well ratings wise. This time last year, WWE had Batista, Michaels, Undertaker, Triple H and Jericho. They dont have them anymore. They cant just fuck about with the stars on the roster. Putting him on Smackdown is unthinkable.

[ThePhenom]

I reckon a move to Smackdown could do both him and the brand a world of good. There's a good number of top stars who could fill his vacant RAW spot

Like who?

 

JC moving to Smackdown would obviously be good for Smackdown, but Smackdown's ratings are nowhere near as important as Raw's ratings, to either WWE or NBC Universal. Cena's the top star and there's nobody even close to being able to fill his shoes. I think everyone involved would have a hard time justifying him switching brands to shareholders.

I think from an investment and share perspective it's a good thing to have two shows that are doing well ratings wise. As far as merchandise goes, absolutely, there's NOBODY on the RAW roster who could fill his shoes. What I mean is that from a ratings perspective having the likes of Triple H/Orton/maybe Undertaker on the show would fill the void behind. The blurry brand split could allow Cena to appear on RAW when they felt the need for him to, and they could still sell Cena merchandise at RAW shows. He only needs to be on the Smackdown brand for a year for his stint there to be effective. They could then move him back, hopefully leaving behind a stronger show with higher ratings. He'd also (hopefully) be a fresh enough addition to the RAW brand for him not to feel stale anymore.

They did that with Triple H 3 years ago, and it was exactly the same really. It's not the star talent missing from Smackdown, it's the terrible writing ideas for the talent they have on the show already (Edge, Rey Mysterio and Kane come to mind).

[Ron Simmons]

I think from an investment and share perspective it's a good thing to have two shows that are doing well ratings wise.

Raw's doing low 3.0's at the minute. Raw's ratings aren't exactly doing smashing as it is. If they moved the company's biggest draw to the B-show, you probably wont have two shows doing well ratings wise. This time last year, WWE had Batista, Michaels, Undertaker, Triple H and Jericho. They dont have them anymore. They cant just fuck about with the stars on the roster. Putting him on Smackdown is unthinkable.

Fair point I guess, but I don't think it would harm the RAW rating as much as you suggest. I think the 3.0 audience is a core WWE audience who'll watch RAW regardless of what happens. If they keep up the current trend of compelling television I'm sure the rating will prop up again.

[Ron Simmons]

Plus I think there's merit to argue that low ratings are partly BECAUSE of stale superstars/feuds like John Cena on the RAW brand.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Plus I think there's merit to argue that low ratings are partly BECAUSE of stale superstars/feuds like John Cena on the RAW brand.

So your thinking is, improving the ratings would be to just remove him from the show all together? He's the company's biggest star, no matter what your preference on his ability in the ring. The initial Nexus storyline certainly wasnt stale. Neither was the Batista feud last year. The Cena/CM Punk angle is pretty good as well. In fact, he's done some good stuff the last 12 months. Using Cena as an example of stale feuds isn't really relevent. He's had a good year.

[Tapout]

I do not think its fair, all this CENA hate its unreal. John Cena is just a employee and hes told what to do and how to do it. John is told when to talk, eat, sleep, shit like many other employees. Don't hate the player hate the game (not HHH either).