John Cena

[HarmonicGenerator]

2 hours ago, CavemanLynn said:

...Rock

...

2 hours ago, CavemanLynn said:

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. 

What are your thoughts on the People’s Elbow?

[Joe Blog]

Best things ever in wrestling:

1. King’s Punches

2. John Cena

It’s basic thuganomics, word. 

[ColinBollocks]

I mind when I got back into wrestling again in 2008. All I read and heard was how absolutely horrid Cena was and was loathed. Of course, roll forward a few months and I've completely fallen in love with the goof.

I could understand the frustration at some of his ropey comedy promos - they were all mostly shite. However, I'm still a little miffed at the "You can't wrestle" stuff I was hearing. He's about as good as a main event match gets in WWE.

Cena is clearly above everyone in wresting, though. Even The Rock struggled. You never need a better example of the standards falling than when Cena made Reigns look like a slow adult. Scripted or not, I lost interest in Reigns after all that. All Reigns had was calling Cena a "bitch" which always got an "ooo" for some reason.

I'm just gutted I wasn't a kid during the Cena years. I can only imagine how mighty he must appear to kids.

[Michael_3165]

21 hours ago, Porkchopcash said:

I dont know where this myth comes from. It’s all opinions i guess. I think Cena is ok in alot of areas but great in none. 

Why did he piss over Rock? What did he do to piss all over him? I dont get it. Did he make Rock look like a jabroni at all? 

Rocks returning promo against Cena is one of the best ever. Wether written for him or not, it was delivered perfectly. One of the best promos ever

In fairness Rock has used the same lines over and over again with little variation for the past 20 years. 

[Loki]

If Joe beats Styles for the WWE title, a feud with a returning Cena would be absolutely bloody amazing, and a genuine ratings mover as well I reckon.  

As for what's left for him, I don't think he's going anywhere.  He's been working a part-time schedule for years now, and can probably continue on like that for another 5 at least.

I do think his aura has faded a touch in the last few years though, and I mean that in the most positive way.  He's more vulnerable, beatable now.  It makes him a lot more compelling.  I suspect he'll be happy to put younger stars over as needed for the rest of his career in the way that Hogan/Austin/Rock never really did.

[Devon Malcolm]

Cena absolutely murdered The Rock during that feud and I say that as a huge Rocky fan. That Thuganomics promo was incredible and not just because he dropped a Cleveland steamer reference on a PG show. With hindsight, it might have been a mistake to have given them both such total control over what they were doing because it ended up being a really unbalanced feud.

[Tommy!]

4 minutes ago, Loki said:

I suspect he'll be happy to put younger stars over as needed for the rest of his career in the way that Hogan/Austin/Rock never really did

While Austin and The Wood did everything to avoid working with anyone that they thought benith them and were very protective of thier spot it's not a criticism I've ever thought of with Rock. Are there any tales on that side about him? 

[air_raid]

39 minutes ago, Tommy! said:

While Austin and The Wood did everything to avoid working with anyone that they thought benith them and were very protective of thier spot it's not a criticism I've ever thought of with Rock. Are there any tales on that side about him? 

With Rocky it was just circumstantial ; that "winding down" period of his run where he would have had chance to lose to the next generation of main eventers simply didn't happen, he went straight from "on top" to being an actor.

[Jazzy G]

Joe wins the belt, Cena is a surprise entry at the Rumble and they feud into Mania. It'd be ace.

[Joe Blog]

Cena could come into my house hump my wife and walk my dog and I would still shake his hand and be thankful, such is my love of the man. 

[CavemanLynn]

5 hours ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

...

What are your thoughts on the People’s Elbow?

Ha, yes, there's those rose tints I know I'm wearing . Rocky was 100% a member of the family, but his attitude and the whole Corporate Rock storyline at least made him feel rebellious enough to get a rise out of teenage Cave. Plus the Elbow always felt like the icing on the cake rather than mid-match theatrics. And at least he'd mix it up occasionally, either with his OTT pratting about as a heel, the incredible smart shoe skid on Bulldog, having to kick Taker back down and go for the Elbow again, Flair strutting in the middle of it, and so on. In fact, that might be it - he was still doing specifically to his opponent so there wasn't the disconnect of switching from them to the audience for a pop. That and Rocky came off as more of a cool ass kicker than Cena's smiling square dork. Even when he was selling discombobulated, Rock had that steely look in his eyes like he was just going to swing for the next person that came into focus, and had a snap and poise to himself when he did, which is miles ahead of John's blank floppy-lipped expression like a kid who's trying not to throw up after going too fast on a merry go round and his heavy but weightless swinging, inward crumpled knees and stompy running when he does come back.

It's a testament to his pacing, psychology and match structuring that I can have so many problems with his work but still concede his greatness!

[W35ty]

HHH would have to stick his ore in somewhere.

[SuperBacon]

3 minutes ago, W35ty said:

HHH would have to stick his ore in somewhere.

Nah, he lacks the minerals for that.

Cena is the GOAT. I love him so much, and my kids love him as much too. I hope he never 'leaves' to be honest.

[PJ Power]

The greatest moment Cena has had in his career has to be his entrance in the 2008 Royal Rumble. Out with a torn pectoral muscle and not expected to be back in the ring until around Wrestlemania, we're guessing who entrant number 30 is going to be, the horn sounds. Cena's music hits, his entrance video displaying, the crowd in Madison Square Garden lets out a collective gasp, and a few seconds later out comes Cena. The MSG crowd goes nuts, metaphorically blowing the roof off. Fans at the side of the entranceway are losing their shit in excitement and almost everyone in the arena are cheering because Cena's back, BABY! It's only after about 20-30 seconds after he enters the ring to join the rumble match that the audience in the MSG, with a higher smark level than is normal for a WWE show, suddenly have a moment of reflection and say to themselves "hold on, aren't we meant to be booing Cena, not cheering for him?"  It's too late. Despite them starting to boo and shout "You can't wrestle" etc. they've just realised that they've been shown up on one of the big WWE PPVs that deep down, they love John Cena! They got trolled pretty damn well.

His performance at One Night Stand 2006 had already helped build Cena towards being more than just a pretty boy who could do decent raps and play Super Cena at PPVs when he handled the most IWC of crowds brilliantly, but this moment at the Royal Rumble 2008 made the neckbeards, fatarses and pencil-thin geeks that go around everywhere wearing "We Hate Cena" t-shirts come off as gullible losers. They never recovered from that. While crowds would still turn up at WWE events and do duelling chants of "Lets go Cena! Lets go (opponent)!" the war had been lost. Great matches involving him against Umanga, Brock Lesnar, Shawn Michaels (specifically that 45 minute bout on Raw), the 5* MITB PPV bout against CM Punk, and even against the Great Fuckin' Khali, has cemented Cena as perhaps the greatest all-round WWE performer post-attitude era. The only thing missing in that time has been a credible heel run, but when the boss is worried about the sales from their biggest merchandise seller dropping like a stone in a TV-PG WWE era by doing so, that's not really Cena's fault.

When John Cena's eventually inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, the applause and noise from the audience in attendance at the event will beat even that from when he appeared in that Royal Rumble in 2008. Even if they don't like to show much of how they enjoy seeing him in the ring, for many of the stereotypical male basement-dwelling wrestling fans that love to take pops at Cena he is really their secret guilty pleasure.

[LaGoosh]

The thing I hate most about Cena over the past few years: when his opponent inevitably kicks out of the AA (like everyone does) and he sits there, eyes wide open, jaw dropped for minutes like a complete wanker while the commentators go on about "how did they kick out the AA? John Cena is shocked and wondering what he's got to do to put them away!". Why's he always so shocked? Everyone kicks out of his finisher! Also, why's he just sitting there? Either lie down and sell like Austin or Rock would, or immediately get back on the attack like Austin or Rock would. This genuinely happens in about 90% of his matches.