John Cena

[Fatty Facesitter]

When you take into account the longevity of his run, the money he’s drawn in that timeframe, the way he’s helped WWE open up to new markets, his absolutely relentless work ethic, his promos, the consistency in terms of the quality of his matches and how he effectively took the torch from the difficult post-Attitude era transition years between early 2002-2005ish, how can he not at least be in the coversation about WWE’s all time greats?

He’s been an absolute trooper for them. We’d all like to see him apply a bit more pressure on an STF and yes, it’s a shame Nexus got shat on that time at Summerslam when they could have gone over, but every performer has their idiosyncrasies and imperfections and things they’d have done differently with the benefit of hindsight. 

If he goes down the HHH/UT route of a couple of matches per year, there’s still plenty of material for him to sink his teeth into in the coming years. Joe would be amazing, but wait...WAIT until he feuds with this guy when he gets called up...

Shitting money.

[The King of Old School]

Cena/Dream right now is a money match.

Cena/Dream after Dream has been on the main roster for three years trading wins with Ziggler & Roode? Not so much.

[Fatty Facesitter]

1 hour ago, The King of Old School said:

Cena/Dream right now is a money match.

Cena/Dream after Dream has been on the main roster for three years trading wins with Ziggler & Roode? Not so much.

The dream has more charisma is his genitals than either of those philistines combined. Even placed into that whirlwind of shite I think he’d make it work. He is a completely unique specimen. 

[Accident Prone]

Cena vs 'Taker was the match I really wanted back when the streak was intact. I'm glad I got to see some variation of it live but we'll never get that guaranteed incredible match.

I wouldn't say Cena was the only reason I stopped watching WWE on a weekly basis but he was part of the problem, at least between '06 and '11. There was enough shite going on for me to quit watching RAW/Smackdown but I also bought into the "LOL Cena Wins" mentality and I didn't like his forced comedy work.

But, talking from a perspective where I only caught his PPV matches along with his serious promos, John has always doled out the goods. His first few years as the guy had him relying on gimmick matches or getting a helping a hand from more established lads, but they were massively enjoyable never the less. When he was finally promoted to Ring General, he aced in the role.

The WWE taking the 100% all in on Cena approach may have angered the angsty male fan base, but at the point the product was swiftly being turned into family viewing, so the 'Superman' character who shrugs off losses and batterings and rarely does a clean job worked for the audience they were aiming at. It worked for Hulk and it worked for Cena. The only difference was that Hulk fucked off a few years whereas Cena stayed in the spotlight permanently for a decade. The long-term audience weren't used to that long of a cycle for a babyface champ (Austin was top guy for about 4 years, The Rock about 3? Off and on?) and rampaged against it. What about the kids and families though? They loved the man. Can't blame WWE for sticking to their cash cow during trying times and you can't blame me for looking elsewhere for my regular wrestling fix.

I love Big Match John. I love him despite his tremendously obvious spot calling and I love him for still keeping the STF looser than a wizard's pocket. I  love him for showing up The Rock during their fued. I love him for being selfless when it comes to kids and his work for charities. Despite whatever shoot interview or book comes out that lambastes Cena for some backstage bollocks (was it JTG who said that Cena put a halt to his merch line? That's real shit John, if true) I always think "Ah, but he does all that charity work, God bless him!".

[JakeRobertsParoleOfficer]

Cena is channel changing for me. Never liked anything of his work whatsoever

That said I totally respect how much coin he's made and his run at the top even though its more a result of wwe shoving him done everyones throat for the best part of 15 years 

Woman friendly :check

Merchandise seller: check

Lil kids will love him (and nag for his gear) : check 

Devout company man: check

Likely to fuck off to ufc :negative

Likely to leave for hollywood:negative

Likely to get down for drugs, or some other misdemeanor: negative

Smart move on wwe behalf.

 

 

[LaGoosh]

Cena learned Mandarin just to promote WWE in China. The guy is incredible.

...but I've never really been a fan. Especially the last few years, his matches have all followed the same formula and a shit formula at that. And I think his style of "big match" has negatively affected the rest of the card, where almost every match seems to be a carbon copy of the "big match John" style.

[Wrasslin]

I can’t believe I just read a thread debating whether or not Cena is a good promo. Fucking hell. He’s in the very top drawer. The one the kids can’t reach where you hide your weed.

The guy delivers in the ring and on the mic every time. He deserves the record breaking title run and he deserves to do it at Mania. Would love for it to be Joe. Happy for it to be Reigns. Even Styles.

[UK Kat Von D]

I reckon Cena is gonna go the same way as undertaker and in 15 years we will be wondering if this is his last Mania or not 

[Arch Stanton]

12 minutes ago, UK Kat Von D said:

I reckon Cena is gonna go the same way as undertaker and in 15 years we will be wondering if this is his last Mania or not 

They will probably need him to be, considering their absolute failure to create any new bona-fide main event stars. John being John, he will probably be willing to do it too.

[UK Kat Von D]

35 minutes ago, Arch Stanton said:

They will probably need him to be, considering their absolute failure to create any new bona-fide main event stars. John being John, he will probably be willing to do it too.

Can just imagine creative meetings in 2033, a team of 100 writers are sat around a computer with Vince’s brain in it who just keeps suggesting bringing Cena back for one more match 

[CL Punk]

I like John Cena as a person...but I hate his wrestling character. 

The way SuperCena shrugs off beat-downs and losses like it's nothing, it is really annoying.

I would love to see a heelturn before he hangs up the wrestling boots but I highly doubt we will ever see Heel Cena.

[Devon Malcolm]

inb4 @King Pitcos

[CavemanLynn]

Cena is a phenomenon and one I don't know if we'll ever see again. There's absolutely no doubt he's a wonderful human being, a superhuman athlete, charismatic, funny, driven, open, and stellar on the mic and a guaranteed great match. But my gawd, I find him tedious, smug, childish and inauthentic.

Like a lot of people on here, WWF pulled me in around 1998. Even when they were (booked as) heels, Austin and Rock were universally adored. I was getting my first taste of the world of work and my own dad was winding down into a well earned early retirement (I .e. giving less of a shit every day!) so Stone Cold hooked me completely. Not only the character, but the fact that his matches felt real - it didn't matter that they were "just" brawls because that's what Stone Cold did, and that's what you wanted him to do. There was an energy and a feeling that even before the bell you knew Austin was going to go full pelt at his opponent so it could end at any time. The whole package worked,  the look, the style, the promos.

I've never had that with Cena. Maybe it's my age or awareness or something else, but John has always to me been a bland, smirking jock from a rich well-connected family, who wrestled like he was playing Smackdown instead of fighting for his life. I think that's why his famous match with Umaga was such a revelation - holy shit, Cena had to fight! Nothing prices the heat out of a supposed high stakes feud than a grinning Five Knuckle Shuffle after ten seconds staring at the crowd while the opponent you're supposed to HATE is lying there waiting for you. Or doing the you-can't-see-me hand wave with that stupid duck face smirk while you've got the opponent on your shoulders instead of finishing the fucker.

I've no doubt all my criticisms of John are a symptom of the era, not just the man himself. Everyone's got to sell merch, the WWE Universe is more important than the match, keep it light, wins and losses don't matter etc etc. And yes, Attitude Era heroes like the Rock and Austin did a lot of the same things I hold against Cena, maybe through rose tinted specs or greater investment in the matches from being a real fan at the time instead of the casual I am now. The rub is, a John Cena match is a HELLUVA match damn near every time, but moments later I'm deflated, annoyed, restless and hungry for something more substantial. He's Chinese food.

I see the patterns more today than I did before. I see guys getting their positions, I know when the near falls are coming, I know that whatever the angle, the match is the same. It's a powerful, entertaining formula, but it's also monotonous and unreal. I can't suspend my disbelief. I'm watching a performance of moves, a good performance, I know, but it's something I appreciate rather than feel, so there's always that distance.

John Cena is one of the greats and deservedly so, whether you rate him on promo, match quality, longevity, or company service. But I can't not see him as a middle aged man in child's clothing, pretending instead of being. Maybe it IS who he is though and I just don't "get" him. That's fine, and I salute the man.

And who knows? Maybe he'll wrestle his last match in trunks and we'll all cheer. At last! At last!

[Carbomb]

CavemanLynn has pretty much summed up my view on Cena. 

Basically: he's not for me, and he's not meant to be. He's one of the very best, and deserves the success he's had. But whilst I've enjoyed a fair few of his matches, and some of his promos (and yeah - he is a good promo; not the best to my mind, but he's bloody good), the simple fact is I hate his character. Nothing to do with his wrestling (although I still maintain I can't stand his Superman comebacks - at least fucking do a version of the Hulk-up, or make those shoulder-blocks a desperation move to knock you both down for a short while), it's predominantly down to the character. I don't like to see him on top as long as he's been, I don't see what's so likable about him, he's always looked like an uncool, all-American, apple-pie dad trying to be cool, and I think he's been a face too long - there are very few wrestlers around good enough to stay face all their career, and I don't think he's one of them; it just reeks of WWE being determined to keep going.

As I say: Cena's not meant to be for fans like me. I appreciate the guy, and have much respect for his ability, but I'll never be a Cena fan. Wasn't a Hogan fan, either, and again - that was everything to do with his character, and not his ability as a wrestler.

[Tommy!]

6 hours ago, Accident Prone said:

 

I wouldn't say Cena was the only reason I stopped watching WWE on a weekly basis but he was part of the problem, at least between '06 and '11. There was enough shite going on for me to quit watching RAW/Smackdown but I also bought into the "LOL Cena Wins" mentality and I didn't like his forced comedy work.

I've quoted you as I too started drifting around 06 giving up on raw, then gave up on ppv regular around '13 or' 14 with ppv watches slowly dwindling before calling even mania and rumble a day in the last couple of years. However Cena was never a factor for me. 

That DX run was a million times more off putting to me than anything else, in fact that skit where H3 and Candice got sucked off at a picnic might be the moment my interest died which was 06 IIRC. 

The booking of Cena was an issue though, there were only so many times I could care about him vs Orton for example. I always enjoyed both but everything felt so stale as a company at the time. Then Punk had his run and, contrary to most I'm sure, I was out because that wasn't for me and found the summer of punk a sign things had moved past me. 

Which leads me to the other thing that put me off, peoples attitude to cena which seemingly swirled with a combined rose tinted view of 98 - 03 as people clung on to something they only saw through rose tinted specs. That's not a knock at Cena or those fans, as he's not the first to get backlash, but he will always be the first time I felt that disdain to the fans who now, or at least the last time I checked in, ripple through so much it's inescapable. 

Cena was great and was fine for me to watch and enjoy. The problem was I changed and wrestling moved with the times and it wasn't for me, but there is plenty of Cena stuff out there I'd revisit because despite some flaws he generally delivered what I was after even if the company and fans made it hard to emotionally invest at times.