Ok, I get it. John Cena isn't everyone's cup of tea. His body mechanics are clunky. His promos containing the word "poop" can be cringeworthy and heat killers. And he's been pretty much the same guy in the same position for a decade.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion and everyone is free to like or dislike whoever they feel compelled to. But the polarisation of Cena is often used as evidence of his talents or, more often, the lack there of. The marketing appeals to kids, but 'smart' fans see through it and him. I guess that's the gist right?
Like I said, it's understandable. I'm not trying to get grown men to denounce their citizenship and emigrate to the Cenation, but I do think Cena is, by many, the most under rated and under appreciated wrestler around. And one day it'll change.
Let's not forget, once upon a time John Cena was cool. He was charismatic. He was edgy. He got popular. Really popular. And he was changed in order to cater to the populous. To carry the company. Witty innuendo was replaced with clichéd slogans and merchandise a grown man would be embarrassed to wear in public, other than for fancy dress or general ironic social commentary.
Therein lies the dichotomy of John Cena. Vital to the survival of a company who's most faithful fans are alienated specifically from him. Kinda like the other JC carrying his cross. That's right, John Cena is a bloody martyr.
Ok maybe not. But what would the WWE (née the mainstream wrestling industry) meant opportunities for other people to be positioned and protected as the top guy, would any have broken out and been more successful than Cena has been? Any answer is hypothetical. But what I would say is it's not like there would have been a different roster to consider. Hypothetically, had Steve Austin come around in 2010, and made the same undercard waves he did in '96-'97, do you think he would have been made stoop for Cena's glass ceiling?
To this day Cena is still the most certain ratings and box office draw on the roster. While emphasis on WWE as the key the brand somewhat guarantees (although not always a benefit) a relatively stable ratings environment, Cena is still the guy who consistently affects business metrics positively.
Yes, Cena appeals to kids. How old were you when you first got drawn to wrestling? New fans and kids in particular are the lifeblood of the wrestling business. We wrestling fans probably don't want to hear this, we're forced to defend our love enough as it is. But I don't mean it's a business for kids only. Today's WWE caters for a broader demographic audience than any wrestling company in history. But it's rare for the roots of an individual's wrestling fandom not to originate in their childhood.
Quite simply, John Cena has brought WWE more new fans over the last ten years than anyone else. It's not even close. Without him the company wouldn't be dead. But I think the baseline for success would be lower. Maybe a guy like CM Punk would have been given a proper run sooner and stronger. Maybe in the absence of the spectre of Cena, as the true number one guy, someone else would have flourished in the role. The evidence suggests there's a bottom line difference between appealing to a new fan base and being popular with an existing one that isn't going anywhere.
But enough amount money. People who think Cena Sucks don't care if 900,000 extra people will tune into Raw for him and not Punk. And neither should they. But John Cena doesn't suck as a worker. In fact he's really rather good.
John Cena is a fantastic babyface. Yes he can look awkward, often when bumping, but he sells better than anyone. And he an absolute pro at connecting and interacting with the crowd. Watch him on the apron in a tag match. He works his ass off getting the crowd into the story of the match. Apart from knowing I'd be
jobbing if our team was losing, I'd pick him as my tag partner everyday of the week.
And he has a lot of really good matches. I challenge anyone to give me a list of guys who have had more 3.5+ star matches over the last ten years. Stylistically he's best suited to drawn out brawls (most recently with Bray Wyatt) where the emphasis is on selling and storytelling.
Is he Shawn Michaels? Of course not. Is he limited? Absolutely. Is a match with Kane a guaranteed stinker? He's only human. But he can go. Antonio Cesaro didn't carry Cena in their match before Elimination Chamber, he knew how bring out the physical, dramatic best in Cena while supplementing with his own talents.
One way or the other, Cena is always over. And one way or another his matches usually get over too. Which makes the claim that he's stale an interesting one. I equate staleness with apathy. The kids aren't apathetic. And everyone else seems to ferociously hate the guy.
Indeed, WWE seems to have been settled on how Cena is to be presented for a while, trying to cater to the Lets Goers while still manipulating his heat and rewarding the Cena Suckers with pay offs for their guys (think Punk at MITB, Bryan at Summerslam, even RVD at ECW) or, more recently, playing up to them with
Wyatt.
One of the most disappointing aspects of the Wyatt feud was the heavy handed, set piece orientated approach to the premise of fans gravitating towards Bray. They knew where the feud would go (think cellphones and sing alongs) but the feud was hollow. Bray was brilliant, and the association with Cena raised his stock. But the story told be Cena wasn't natural. It didn't grow and just felt phony.
As with the aforementioned "poop" promos, sometimes Cena's material does indeed suck. When Cena said he was scared of Wyatt, before anything had really happened between the two, it was an example the superficial, set piece and sound bite approach to booking and presentation WWE often takes. Maybe one of the reasons WWE highlight videos are so great is because angles are designed for SportsCenter moments rather than as narrative functions.
What's frustrating with the bad Cena material is he himself is capable of delivering such an intense, engaging promo. There's catering to kids and then there are shit promos. Poop = Shit. Can we blame him for bad material or angles? He could say no I suppose. But without knowing the man or the political situation maybe it's a little unfair to pass judgment. I think most would agree poopless Cena is usually a good to great promo.
By now you've probably assumed I'm a huge mark for Cena. I'm really not. If you're a wrestling fan you mark out for good stuff that has intrinsic appeal to you. So I don't mean that term negatively. I was a mark for The Shield. I wanted them to win. Always. I'm not a mark for Cena. I just think he's totally under
appreciated.
One day this will change. One day people will start using the word respect. Respect for Cena's talent. Respect for his work ethic. Respect for the respect he has for the business. Respect for asking to work with new guys.
Can the Cena Sucks crew be won over as things stand, while kids are still perceived as his target audience? Maybe not. While he may get an occasional standing ovation after a great match, Cena Sucks is a permanent part of the show. It's a contrary reaction to the PR of the Cenation.
A heel turn isn't happening in the foreseeable future. Not until a proven replacement comes along, and even then the stain of the Austin turn may weigh heavy. When one guy is so solely responsible for attracting a certain demographic, will turning him just alienate away his current fans and not bring in any new ones? The hardcores may be more entertained by his performance but they were watching anyway.
So maybe it can't happen until Cena's full time career is over. When there is no perception of being over pushed or in the way. Nostalgia and a change in perspective can make a believer out of anyone.
And if nothing else we've got all those kids to grow up and write their version of wrestling history.
The bandwagon will be picking up steam sooner or later so hope aboard today. Send a postal order for £50 (Sterling) to The John Cena Appreciation Society, PO Box 578, UK and receive your JCAS certificate, fridge magnet and tie clip.
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