Is John Cena really the one to bring the WWE into its next era?
How is it that McMahon still sees fit to keep John Cena as the man
that represents the WWE when the 'white rapper' gets partially
booed everywhere he goes, including his own hometown?
The booing may be because of his extremely limited moveset, and the
fact that his old gimmick of being a ruthless, venom-spewing
gangster has been abandoned in favour of the 'traditional face'
gimmick. They seem to be trying to make him into a modern-day Hulk
Hogan. Hulk's era is over. Nobody wants to see a person get beat
down for 95% of the match, throw a couple of punches,
shoulderblocks, hip tosses and finally finish up with the FU, and
sometimes the STFU (i have no idea why they called it the STFU
though, I know the announcers said that Cena was performing the
STF, but that looks more like the STS to me). This certain chain of
moves that he performs around this time has been coined as 'The 6
Moves of Doom'.
His mic work is average, formerly spewing out a bunch of rhymes,
but now all he does is look serious and imply that everybody is
gay. He has the charisma of Giant Gonzales. His slogan has gone
from the spoonerism 'Ruck Fules' (spoonerism means you replace the
first letters of the 2 words) to 'Hustle, Loyalty & Respect'.
What does 'Hustle, Loyalty & Respect' have to do with a bad ass
gangster who disses everyone in his path? Exactly. Nothing.
He can't wrestle, he's not good even as an entertainer, and has to
win every single match because it will make money off the little
kiddies who ask their parents to buy them John Cena merchandise
because 'they want to grow up to be just like him' and they can
relate to him because he stands for 'Hustle, Loyalty & Respect'
just like they do.
People may argue that a champion has to look good, but if
championships were decided on looks, Torrie Wilson and Maria would
hold the Tag Team Championships with Candice Michelle holding the
world title.
Another argument for the Cena cause is that you do not have to be a
good wrestler with a moveset akin to someone like Kurt Angle's to
make millions. True, most of the time, wrestling ability has
nothing to do with how much money a person makes. However, let's
look at the facts:
Stone Cold Steve Austin : Fans loved him. He was anti-authority,
and was, simply put, a badass sonofabitch. He did not wrestle much,
but fans loved him because of the fact that he was the bad-ass,
beer drinking, trash talking redneck. Cena is a man who turned the
championship belt into a spinning pizza plate, only insult is to
call everyone gay, and whose gimmick has gotten stale.
The Rock : I will even go as far as to say that The Rock's in-ring
ability is almost comparable to John Cena's. However, the main
thing that draws a huge line in between John Cena and The Rock is
that the Rock is a god on the mic, and that he practically oozes
charisma. The Rock did not get popular because of wrestling
ability, he got popular because he spouted off catchphrases like
'Do you smell what The Rock is cookin?' and 'Check your ass into
the Smackdown hotel!'. Cena's only skills on the microphone are
spouting off ridiculous raps (he does not do that anymore) and
calling all his enemies gay.
Hulk Hogan : Mr. America himself. Captain America, if you will. The
Hulkster got popular in his era, not the Attitude era. People loved
his size and physique, and how he was always defending America.
Cena's in-ring abilities are slightly better than Hogan's, but this
is not the 1980s anymore, this is the 2000s, and wrestling has
changed since Hogan's time. Cena could have been massively popular
back in the 80s, he had the physique and looks, and the right
gimmick (the 'Hustle, Loyalty Respect crap), but not in the
2000s.
Cena cannot even match up to any of the people here. Sure, you can
sell merchandise if your wrestling skills are not 'perfect', but
you have to have something else to compensate, like gimmick or mic
skills. Cena was able to have some good matches in the past with
people like Kurt Angle when he was still using his heel gimmick,
but that was then, and this is now.
I have no idea why McMahon, even after clearly hearing all the
negative responses that Cena has been getting from the crowds,
still wants to keep Cena as his top-tier face. Cena would have
nuclear heat and draw just as much money (if not more) if they'd
turn him full-blown heel. Millions of people want to see him get
his ass kicked, which, according to all of the greats, is how a
successful heel draws the big money, so Cena can capitalize on
that. I always wonder if Vince is just being stubborn and refuses
to accept that Cena might not be his babyface of the future, or if
he thinks that he's worth more as a "controversial champion" than a
heel. Either way, I think a heel turn is in order.
