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| John Cena; the time is now | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 21 2014, 03:59 AM (576 Views) | |
| MPH | Jul 21 2014, 03:59 AM Post #1 |
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OMAHA!
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This is inspired in no small part by the last two WWE PPV events, but more than that it is a reflection of my personal feelings on one John Cena. John came into the limelight of WWE from OVW after paying some dues early in his career in the SoCal wrestling scene. The guy actually used a gimmick of being a monotone machine, wrestling under the moniker The Prototype. this is not shocking to me as I have come to see John time and again deliver emotionless, uninspired promos. Don't get me wrong, the man has charisma in buckets, but he tends to turn it off from time to time. He made his debut in a short feud with Kurt Angle. I have heard more than a few people state that John can wrestle, and these early matches with Angle did impress me, but I don't think anyone should ever confuse avergae or decent with good or great. John went on the beat the Big show for the US title in 2003, and later that year we started to see the rise of what is now the Super Cena. This brings me to my first dislike of John Cena the character. As an aspiring fiction writer, I understand the importance of developing complex and compelling characters, because without them, the story will not amount to anything. John Cena has been the same character for the most part for almost ten years. even if someone started watching wrestling at the age of five like I did, that means they are now fifteen, and ten years of seeing the same character constantly is stale. It's boring. It promotes apathy towards the character. John made one hell of a heel early in his career, and it would be great to see the "greatest" star of our era follow in the footsteps of the man I liken his career to, Hulk Hogan. This naturally leads me to my second dislike of John Cena. We are constantly fed this unbelievable garbage that John Cena is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Numerous titles, big time matches and feuds, the man is no doubt a WWE Hall of Famer. The only problem is that to most wrestling fans, John is no where even close to the top of that prestigious list. to merely mention John Cena in the same sentence as a Ric Flair when it comes to career comparisons is absolutely ludicrous. Even my own comparisons to Hulk Hogan leave a bad taste in my mouth, yet the parallels are there. When was the last time one man seemingly held the spot as the top man of the WWE/F for so long? Austin? He was THE man from about 1998 to 1999, possibly 200 at best. even then you had the development of The Rock and Triple H. HBK? 1996 to 1998 when he passed the ball to Austin. The only guy that I can think of is Hulk Hogan in the 80's, and like Hogan in the 80's, after so many years the fans got tired and wanted a change. This brings me to probably the overall problem with not only Cena, but WWE in general. There is a lack of innovation. when the fans tired of the red and yellow of Hulkamania, the company started to flounder. Things started to pick up a little when the focus was on the New Generation, but things really took off in the Attitude Era. Why the boom? Competition. I don't need to tell anyone this, but that competition bred a desire to innovate, and even more than that, a propensity to take chances. When vince bought WCW in 2001, the last of any type of competition was gone, and that void has not been filled. Sorry, TNA does not and has not counted. The company relied on the developmental talents they had (Batista, Cena, Orton, Lesnar) and the repackaged stars and holdovers from the Attitude Era, as well as a small influx of guys from the defeated competition. The lack of competition has allowed WWE to win a one horse race no matter what they do. For those of us that want to see big names, big production values, and big time wrestling, there is only one option. they know this, and because of that, they can play it safe. Instead of featuring guys that have an exciting moveset, we get watered down versions of Indy stars, and guys like Cena that feature a moveset that is for the most part going to lend itself to not getting injured. Added to that is the fact that, whether by bad luck or some other force, Vince and company have been burned too many times. they tried to get Jeff Hardy over and he had a drug problem. they tried moving the belt to RVD and he decided to get high. Even the most recent push with Daniel Bryan ended with them going back to the safe bet in Cena because of a shoulder injury and what is likely multiple surgeries. The last thing I want to say, and probably the number one things that I dislike about John Cena is how he is booked. In a word, he is booked poorly. Just counting the last 5 years of his "epic" run, I can only count one man that he has feuded with in which he made that guy a star. First up is The Miz. Yes, Miz beat Cena at WrestleMania to retain the title, but the booking afterwards completely ruined The Miz. How about the I Quit Match? The one where Miz and Riley beat the crap out of Cena for almost the entirety of the match, only for Cena to get the win after hitting a handful of moves. the Miz was incredibly over as the kind of heel people loved to hate, and I would argue that his career has amounted to nothing since that very moment. He's done some movies and won a few secondary titles that no one really cares about anymore. even a pairing with Ric Flair could do nothing for The Miz. I love The Miz, but the feud with Cena completely killed all of his credibility. What about Cena's feud with the Nexus? A group of pretty talented guys, and a program that was as hot as anything I had seen in a while. How much times have these guys gotten at the top of the card since this feud? The hilarious thing is, Cena would get two of these guys later once again. the most recent once is Bray Wyatt. I would argue that Bray was the biggest heel in the entire company during the first part of this year. so Cena gets the young heel Bray and beats him at WrestleMania (what harm would it have done to Cena, who has to overcome all odds, to lose this match?), drops a match to him at Extreme Rules (after Cena took out three men and lost because SHENANIGANS!), and then beat him in a Last Man Standing match to end the feud. Why? Again, what harm would it have done to the Cena character? If he loses that match, are his fans going to forget the last 10 years? Or are they going to rally behind their champion? The company should be booking Cena to be strong, yes, but they should also be using him to establish talent. they seem to be doing this with Roman to some extent, but Roman won't go over on Cena, no. He will likely be feuding with Triple H soon, a man that for all of the complaints he has gotten, does in fact make stars from time to time. and this, for all of the ill will I feel towards John Cena, is where the problem ultimately lies. It isn't with John Cena, but in the booking of his character. I understand the company pulling in the kids and building their mega hero for a new generation of fans, but hopefully soon, very soon, they'll realize that the time is now to start using John Cena the right way. |
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| Mofoticon | Jul 21 2014, 08:07 PM Post #2 |
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EBL Commissioner
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It comes down to a few things about why Cena has had a decade at the top 1. Durability. Even when he has major injuries, he heals at a superhuman pace. This allows the WWE to push him and feel like they are never going to lose him for any extended period of time. The same can't be said for many others throughout the years (unfortunately, Bryan right now) and having the reliability of Cena being there is very big for the WWE. 2. Merchandise. Whether we like him or not, he is by far the #1 seller in WWE merchandise. Kids love him in every way, shape and form. You mentioned Cena turning heel as a possibility...never gonna happen. Not with the make-a-wish stuff and the merchandise. Turning Cena heel would be bad for business ultimately. He is too big an inspiration to too many kids. 3. Big game matches. Cena is actually a very good wrestler when he has a good opponent. Him and Punk could put on 5 star match after 5 star match. Cena/Bryan was top notch at Summerslam. He's gotten good matches out of guys like Umaga, Brock Lesnar, Shawn Michaels, Triple H...so on. This isn't Hulk Hogan putting on his 3 moves and slow pacing. Cena has stepped up for the WWE a lot throughout the years. The way Cena is booked is very frustrating of course but I'm over it. I go into feuds expecting him to win and I just enjoy the build up (if its good) and the matches. For this reason, I've enjoyed Cena a lot more the last year or two than ever before. But I get the frustrations and complaints and they will always be there until he retires, because Cena is not changing gimmicks ever. |
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| MPH | Jul 21 2014, 08:15 PM Post #3 |
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OMAHA!
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The only one of those that really matters is durability. Merchandise has nothing to do with Cena. He sells the merchandise he does because of the way he is presented. If Cena was booked like Cesaro has been, he would not be selling the merchandise he does. Also the fact that he's a walking billboard doesn't hurt either. And the whole big matches when he's had a good opponent. I would never say he's among the worst wrestlers in the world, but those big matches he has had were exactly because of why you said; his opponents. The only match I have seen Cena in in which the two guys involved weren't top notch but pulled off a great match is when he faced Umaga at the Rumble a few years back. |
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| Mofoticon | Jul 21 2014, 08:23 PM Post #4 |
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EBL Commissioner
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I disagree on the merchandise. CM Punk was WWE Champ for 434 days and didn't come close to Cena in merchandise. Bryan was the most over guy in the company with new merchandise every week and he didn't come close. Cena sells because young kids love him. Nobody will ever be as over as he is with kids and therefore won't be close in merchandise. I think having a great opponent does help Cena, and he does not get the most out of some guys (the first 2 matches with Wyatt sucked), but I think overall he is an above average wrestler. Brock's best match since coming back was vs Cena (and he's fought Taker, HHH and Punk) so Cena has the ability to carry wrestlers at times. If my memory were better I'm sure I could come up with many more good Cena matches throughout the years but I'm pretty sure he's had a lot of success with good and bad wrestlers alike. |
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| MPH | Jul 21 2014, 08:35 PM Post #5 |
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OMAHA!
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Again, look at how both of your examples were booked compared to how Cena is booked. How many events was Punk booked as the main attraction or in the main event that didn't involve John Cena during that reign? Look at how Bryan was booked the short time he had the title. Bryan gets Kane? Meanwhile Cena gets fed the most over heel in the company. Yeah, that makes tons of sense... |
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Jul 21 2014, 11:28 PM Post #6 |
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Tyler
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You can look at what CM Punk did for why John Cena is at the very top and has stayed there. He's a loyal company man and still a huge draw. While I agree WWE should take some chances (and they did with Bryan) they don't really have to. Up until this year they were just fine as a company with little, if any risk of financial ruin, and no booking of anyone was going to change that with the Network risk. Cena never gets a DUI, never threatens to leave the company, never walks out. He's a true company man, arguably the greatest company man in wrestling history. And that matters. He's not gonna make movies like Rock, walk out like Austin or Punk, or get in trouble like Orton. It's a big reason why HHH was positioned as the top guy for so long too. I wrote on EWB the biggest WWE problem is all the other veterans. I love the Undertaker, but with theatrics and entrances and the match, he and HHH took up a quarter of the entire Wrestlemania show in 27 and 28. Chris Jericho, again, as big a fan I am, hasn't really done anything worth taking a roster spot from a younger star since he left in 2010 has he? I mean many were disappointed with the Punk feud (even though I liked it). Why is Kane still here? Batista? Did Batista's comeback draw an extra dime? But the one that ultimately matters? John Cena. He is supposed to be the bridge to the next generation, and to be fair, he tried. He put Punk over multiple times in 2011 and 2012, and was a huge reason Bryan became the megastar he became (he picked him AND put him over clean at Summerslam) and had a huge hand in getting Dolph Ziggler over. It's not his fault Punk left and Bryan got hurt, or even that Ziggler didn't care enough. (or that Del Rio was also booked like crap, or that RVD smoked pot, or that Edge got hurt etc. etc.) I don't deny Cena's booked like crap 95% of the time. But with so many TV hours to fill Cena's gotta wrestle someone, and beating him clean is one of the few things that matter anymore. As much as I hated the Wyatt feud, I do get it, I guess. Someone needs to be a compelling character, connects with fans, good to great in the ring (Cena is an underrated worker to be fair, he's no different than The Rock really), can get people over, not even threaten to leave the company, not get in trouble and not get injured if they want to replace Cena. So far no one has done all of those things. John Cena still does. If John Cena stops getting reactions, maybe WWE will move onto someone else. |
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| MPH | Jul 22 2014, 01:17 AM Post #7 |
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OMAHA!
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When I center my ire at John Cena, I do mean the character that is booked as he is. You mentioned him bridging the gap and that he has tried, but I disagree with that notion. Yes, Punk and Bryan got the rub from him, and Ziggler as well. Regardless of what Cena has done in the past, look at where these guys are now. Ziggler? Jobbing for the most part. Punk? He wen't home because he got tired of it all. Bryan? Before he got hurt he was in a feud with Kane while Cena was burying the biggest heel in the company. It all comes down to what the WWE wants to present and who they want to get behind, and the only person they seem intent on doing that with is John Cena because he's the safe established guy. I guess in the end I can't really blame Cena for taking advantage of what the company wants to do with him. |
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Jul 22 2014, 01:46 PM Post #8 |
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Tyler
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I too talk about Cena the character...mostly. The person seems to be tremendous, and to be honest that's part of it. CM Punk walking out because he's tired of it all? He was WWE Champion a year prior and was slated to wrestling HHH at Mania, a sure fire high profile spot. Vince thinks about Hogan in 92 and 93 (something that nearly killed his business when Hogan took off in WCW). He thinks about Austin in 02. He thinks about Brock in 04. John Cena is loyal. Vince needs to trust his top guys. I am also not sure how Bryan, Punk and Ziggler's (well, an exception on Ziggler to be fair since I do remember Cena beating him on an early 2013 RAW) issues post-Cena is Cena's character's fault. Cena make Bryan look like a million bucks at Summerslam. Punk beat Cena clean at MITB 11, beat him at Summerslam, I believe lost by DQ on RAW 1000, and drew him at NOC 12 (to be fair, there's a RAW Cena beat him post Summer of Punk, right?) |
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| MPH | Jul 22 2014, 01:59 PM Post #9 |
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OMAHA!
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It's not really Cena's fault. It all lies in that safe booking. No one seems to remember that when wrestling was at it's high point, you had a very good mix of top guys that were credible. That doesn't exist right now. There are several reasons as to why, but I still feel the biggest part of that is the way the book Cena. I mean, look at SummerSlam. They are going with the very easy Brock Lesnar. It's like Bryan got injured and they automatically just said fuck it, let's do Cena and Lesnar. It seriously all comes down to that safe and easy booking instead of taking some chances and swinging for the fences. |
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| luvs2spoog | Jul 22 2014, 02:03 PM Post #10 |
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Magus
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I agree that WWE needs to take some risks and mix it up. But then like mofo said I'm not their target audience it's the kids love of cena that keeps him where he is. |
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Jul 22 2014, 02:11 PM Post #11 |
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Tyler
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That's actually not true either. At wrestling's high point Stone Cold Steve Austin never lost, and when he did it was bs means. Foley never beat him without tons of ridiculousness. Rock never beat him...really ever. He didn't even put HHH over until after he won the title in 1999. Even in main events, Austin was the main of IYH Rock Bottom and St. Valentine's Day Massacre...AND King of the Ring 99 if I am correct. All those matches the World Title was secondary. The mix of top guys either got themselves over (Foley, Rock) or were connected to the already over Undertaker. I mean if you watch Austin vs. Rock at IYH DX, that's a burial if I ever saw one. Austin then HANDS Rock the title. A lot of this is true of Hogan too. Did Randy Savage EVER beat him (I don't think so)? Only the Warrior. Even Undertaker couldn't get a non bs win. Those mixes of top guys got themselves over and put themselves in position to be further elevated by Hogan/Austin. |
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| Hajjhowe | Jul 22 2014, 02:54 PM Post #12 |
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Halfcourt Heroes
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In that Rock/Austin late 97 match, Austin was on his way to the world title while Rock was still in the midcard. His win probably should have been big and having him just hand over the belt was a safer way of losing it without having to lose and hurt his momentum (Although they probably should have just had a NOD run-in or whatever). I think the real difference between Cena and guys like the Rock/Austin is the booking for sure. Rock and Austin would lose at various points and even if they got those wins back, the person they beat would usually sustain some semblance of a push after. With Cena most of the time when he's done winning his feud his opponent just falls off a cliff booking wise. When you look at a guy like Danile Bryan who was booked entirely differently the fans were attracted to him for that along with his obvious talent. Bryan would actually lose his matches and you felt he really was overcoming the odds, not just being told so by Michael Cole or Jerry Lawler. He was booked as someone that had to actually seem like he was earning his spot instead of Cena were it's almost become a formality that even when he does lose during a feud he IS going to get the win back in the end and his opponent is probably not going anywhere after. |
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| MPH | Jul 22 2014, 03:36 PM Post #13 |
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OMAHA!
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The only person I can think of that has ever, and I mean ever, gotten himself over contrary to the booking he was getting from the company was Zack Ryder. Or course, as soon as Cena attached himself to that it lost all it's flavor for me. I saw a post on some message board the other day that had an entire list of every single main event match in WWE history.
This was only up until May of last year, so I filled it out up to date. John Cena 35 Triple H 29 Undertaker 24 Stone Cold Steve Austin 20 Hulk Hogan 19 Shawn Michaels 18 The Rock 17 Randy Orton 14 Batista 12 Bret Hart 11 Brock Lesnar 9 Edge 9 This is only main event wins, not appearances. Cena had his first main event win in 2005, and has had 35 in a span of 9 years. I'm sure if Hogan had been working during a time of monthly PPV's, he'd have a crap ton more. |
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| MPH | Jul 22 2014, 03:43 PM Post #14 |
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OMAHA!
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Also here is an interesting look at John Cena, PPV's, and main events. |
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Jul 22 2014, 04:01 PM Post #15 |
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Tyler
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So Stone Cold won 62% of the main event matches John Cena won in 35% of the time? |
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