10 Years of John Cena

[Xero]

John Cena debuted in WWE June 27, 2002.

Discuss John Cena, his legacy, his future and your opinion of him currently.

[SammyG]

I love the guy. Don't watch too much anymore, but I think he's great. Face of the WWE, legitimately a good guy, but people just love to hate on the dude. Does everything he's asked to do, grants a bunch of wishes for those poor kids. Nothing but respect.

[MoFo]

I gotta agree w/ everyone who says he's stale.

When he first burst into teh main event he was awesome though. The Edge feud will never be topped by him, the Umaga match is one of my all time faves and the Chamber with Carlito in is the best one yet.

For a 'shitty wrestler with only 5 moves', he'll have a ton of classic matches being replayed on DVDs for yrs to come......his promos and interviews is another story though.

[SammyG]

It's funny when people call him stale and this and that. You know he's charismatic. Look at him in the Basic Thuganomics days, he was awesome then. He's mr. good guy now, he's being asked to play a role and he's doing his job...

[Anybody Thrilla]

The Basic Thuganomics Cena is one of my favorite characters ever.

He's been in some absolutely classic matches throughout his career. I like the current Cena because he's pretty much the only person on the roster that brings the crowd energy that he does to his matches. Whether people love him or hate him, the crowds have made for some truly special environments (One Night Stand v. RVD, Money in the Bank v. Punk, etc.). He's a unique talent, and I hope he stays around for another ten years at least.

[CSL]

he's the man

[dronepool]

As much as I want to say he's overused, he can be funny and he's a seemingly genuine nice guy who puts his heart into what he does.

[Lock Jaw]

He can be pretty great at times, when he is not trying to be "funny" or "cool".

I greatly enjoyed him from around his Nexus feud, up until his feud with Laurinaitis. During said period, he was pretty aces. Then he went back to trying to be funny all the time.

[RiX1024]

Loved him til he turned face. that rapper gimmick was awesome.

[Hanso Amore]

I think had they done something to keep him fresh he would be thought of as one of the greats. He had a hot start, cooled down, then got old. People started hating him.

The guy has carried the company and has had just as many classic matches as guys like Austin. But its hard to admit when you dislike the guy.

Not even Austin or the Rock, or even HBK or Flair can say they had a 8 year run at the top as a bland babyface. He has really been stagnant these last 6-7 years with the only evolution in his character being his t shirt color.

Hogan is the only one, and lets be fair, Cena is no Hogan.

In this era with so much more exposure, that shelf life is much smaller. in 1988 people were lucky to see 6 hours of WWE programming a month. And Hogan wasnt on alot of that. Now we get 12 hours of Cena dominated television a month.

[Hanso Amore]

so long story short - Cena is amazing at what he does, and prints money. But I dont think most people will give him his due because of the WWEs lazy booking.

[Anybody Thrilla]

You say Cena is "no Hogan". I dunno. I think he might be better than Hogan.

[SammyG]

No one can really be compared to Hogan, such different eras. Hogan put professional wrestling on the map, so to say, and now Cena is carrying the torch in this era. Kinda like comparing Kobe and Jordan, you really can't.

[Emperor Smeat]

Started out great but haven't liked him ever since the middle of his SuperCena run and it isn't solely just because of him. The WWE has done a horrible job of pushing anyone to be his real rival or equal. They've tried with Orton but it never worked in the long run and when it looks like there could be a potential rival, Cena ends up "over coming the odds" too early or the WWE just drops whatever they were planning.

Promo-wise, his monologue style is pretty boring but at the same time fits with what the WWE is trying to do. He can still deliver some amazing promos like the series against the Rock or against Batista but doesn't consistently do them especially once a feud is over.

Wrestling-wise, he isn't that great compared to other wrestlers but then again a lot of popular stars weren't (ex. The Rock) but once in a while he does show off some other skills and moves to freshen up his routine.

Great choice as the public star of the WWE just because of how accessible he is to the media and charities which helps the WWE a lot.

[#1-norm-fan]

A little before WrestleMania 20, he was clearly THE guy. He was the next Rock/Austin/Hogan. The guy had that feel that he could be solely responsible for the next boom period like Hogan and Austin were for their eras.

Then somewhere after his WWE Title win at WM 21, the WWE's booking as a whole became bland and Cena as "Mr. WWE" took the brunt of the punishment as far as the crowd not being pleased. Then the PG era didn't help his case. And now he's in a slow character rebuilding mode. It's an odd situation that the company has never been put in. I think eventually, all will be fine with him character-wise.

[Maya Bristow]

As much as I don't like Johnny Boy, I admit that he can put on good matches (see examples of his MITB match with Punk, matches against HHH, HBK, Edge & so on) and can cut some good promos when he isn't trying to be a stand up comic. He can get pretty damn strong reactions from the crowd as alot of people boo his goody goody ass to kingdom come (see his match against RVD in ECW ONS '06 & his MITB match with CM Punk) but however there is a huge crowd of people who'll cheer him on til the end

[K.Smoke]

I remember his beginning. I never liked the guy, he came off too cheesy. But after awhile I started to respect him admire him and then became a fan. Now, I just want him to take a break. Not because I'm tired of him because my voice is one. But because the people is tired of him. I'm not saying leave. I said take a break. Make a comeback. The out cry has gotten so great that I'm starting to hate to see him headline events just because I'm tired of hearing the complaining.

Comparing him to Hogan. I understand. He's this seemingly unbeatable figure that fights for whats right, a real american... get it.


But he's not Hogan. Hogan knew when to take an exit. Until Hogan turned, I never heard him booed. (but he may have but I don't recall it happening)

[Crimson]

He'll go down as one of the all time greats. He has been overused as previously said due to booking. Probably because nowadays their main event scene is so waterd down nobody can hold the torch as the main babyface. Whereas if the talent from say..'02 was around no way Cena would be the top dog for an extended period.

[Hanso Amore]

You say Cena is "no Hogan". I dunno. I think he might be better than Hogan.

I wont argue him being better in the ring, on the mic, etc. He very well might be.

But he is no Hogan, and he is no Austin or the Rock.

He is a good draw. But those 3 are on such a different level.

When you say Professional Wrestling to anyone in the world, non fans etc, they immediately think of Hogan and to a less extent Austin and maybe the Rock.

Cena just isnt on that level. Not that there is anything wrong with that. He is up there.

But that gap is large.

[Jura]

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[Hanso Amore]

Cena has easily made more money for vince than HBK and the Hitman combined - so dont take this as me shitting on him

[#1-norm-fan]

If we're basing it on pure talent, Cena and Hogan are pretty close. That's all I would base it on as anything after that comes down to look and how their talent is used. In which case, Hogan is miles ahead. I feel weird saying Hogan is better though based solely on their situations.

With the right booking, Cena could have been so much bigger.

[Jura]

No one can really be compared to Hogan, such different eras. Hogan put professional wrestling on the map, so to say, and now Cena is carrying the torch in this era. Kinda like comparing Kobe and Jordan, you really can't.
Because Jordan is much better.

[#1-norm-fan]

Yeah, there's way more that goes into a wrestler being good/drawing than a basketball player. That analogy doesn't work. Jordan is the greatest of all time no matter how you cut it.

[Hanso Amore]

Jordan transcends the game. Hogan Transcends wrestling.

Cena and Kobe are just great.

[Hanso Amore]

You certainly can Gretsky to Crosby, and it aint even close...

[Ruien]

You can't compare an actual sport with wrestling. Jordan and Kobe are compared via skill and rings (Rings that are not fake). You are judging Cena and Hogan on drawing (Drawing in different eras at that), mic skills, and whatever else. But everything is pretty much opinion based where Jordan and Kobe are compared on actually facts.

[Raven Reaper]

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In all honesty, I really miss the Word Life Thuganomics era Cena. :(

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[Ruien]

Why does everyone miss his thudanomic days? I don't want to hear some white guy speaking ebonics and acting like some hood rat. What the heck is appealing about that.........

[Krimzon7]

Why does everyone miss his thudanomic days? I don't want to hear some white guy speaking ebonics and acting like some hood rat. What the heck is appealing about that.........

it was significant because it was HIM coming through. He took a shit gimmick and really heeled it up. When he was asked to go face with that, it was a bit corny, but still likeable. I loved the random freestyles against 'people in the crowd'.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Cena's had some incredible matches over his tenure, and as everybody's mentioned the Basic Thuganomics Cena was just amazing. That being said, Cena can cut a serious promo with the best of them as well and it can add a different shade of "epic" to a feud.

That being said, I find face Cena constantly trying to be funny to be insufferable. He'll say something that actually makes me laugh every now and then but I mostly find it to be cringe-worthy. It's not Cena's fault, he's supposed to be a happy-go-lucky good guy, I'm sure he'd like to be edgier all the time if he were allowed but he's just playing the character he's asked to play. Unfortunately it's a polarizing character in that anybody who doesn't like it clearly must just be trying to be a smark even though it's a legitimate grievance. It's not my cup of tea and probably the only thing about Cena I don't like.

But he seems like a genuinely great person otherwise. I don't see him ever turning heel despite the constant IWC debate, at least not until they find a guy who can not only decisively replace him as the face of the company but who can also assume all of his Make a Wish and other charitable duties outside the ring. Sheamus might be that guy but he already does a lot outside the ring on his own so it's really huge shoes to fill.</font>

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>Also going forward I'm pretty positive Cena will be winning at MITB. Winning a MITB match is one of the few things Cena hasn't done yet in his career, plus he hasn't been in the title picture in nearly a year.

Could actually see him being the first guy to cash in and lose either by insisting on doing it "the right way" with a pre-announced match or somebody interfering in the cash-in causing him to lose. One of these years somebody is bound to lose their cash-in and Cena would lose no steam over it. Not like it'd be hard to give him other title matches anyway.</font>

[Jari]

Probably the hardest working guy in the business. A far better worker than people give him credit for. He has lead the WWE through a very difficult time and the anger about the product has almost exclusively been directed at him. However he has never complained and continues to do all he can to entertain the people.

Seems a genuine guy outside of the ring and I am actually enjoying him in this new, revitalised role, which all stems from that little feud with Lesnar. Sure I would like him to turn heel at some point but there's no one that can even remotely compete with him in terms of mainstream popularity and merchandise so there's no real point in hoping for it right now.

All in all, he seems a good egg.

[stultiloquy]

Didn't care for him back in the thuganomics days, care even less for him now.

He annoys me on the mic; he's either trying too hard to be funny with corny jokes, or he gets angry and goes into southern baptist preacher mode.

With regard to his ring work, he bores the hell out of me - his matches are extremely formulaic and he hardly (if ever) deviates from his 'get beat the hell up and then turn into Superman' routine.

So yeah, I find him boring, and all-in-all I just don't pay much attention to him anymore.

[Saving Grace]

Just like with any longevity face in the professional wrestling industry or with the WWE, eventually the pot runs dry from the idea pool when it comes to angles/storylines/personality that creative teams can do with a babyface. Its only natural and eventual I see and when you least expect it that Cena will do a heel run again. Its honestly long overdue, they should have turned him heel when they had a year build up with wrestlemania and the rock. It not only gives him a position to work new storylines and with new people potentially, but it gives him a chance to reinvent himself again. The days of good guys and bad guys has long been over for years. Look when Hogan reivnented his character with the NWO. The guy hadn't been heel for 15 years since early in his career, and it totally reinvented Hogan. With the new fan base in this day and age, its cool to be the heel and its proven that fans will by the merchandise and back a heel. Look how many people chant show off during a Dolph Ziggler match. The dude is a heel and he's fucking over. The same can happen with Cena and the W machine will rake in the bucks from it.