Cena has his "5 moves of doom", and so does Orton, HHH, and so on and so on.

[PedigreeTHE619Chokeslam]

This is contantly being brought up by all the Cena haters out there. Don't get me wrong your aloud to have your own opinion, but have a better reason of he only has 5 moves. Yes he does usually do the same moveset over and over again, or close to it, and so do people like Orton, Triple H, and some more. I actually think Orton is worse then Cena. Yet I don't hear people complaining about there "5 moves of doom". I would love to hear everyones opinion on this and please dont spam. And NO!, I'm not a 8 year old Cena lover. I'm 18 and like Cena, not love him.

 

[UltimateHitman]

I agree. I agree that most people in top positions have a moveset. Actually, I would also agree that Orton is far worse than Cena. About the only thing I see him do is drag somebody almost all the way back into the ring and ddt them, pound his fists like a spoiled 4 yr. old, and hit the RKO.

I think you said it simply and to the point. People complain about Cena because they don't like him, yet mark out over people that do the same thing Cena does. I think it's more of a dislike of the character/individual, and they just find something to complain about because it's a convenient reason if confronted by the question "Why?"

But again, you're right, they all seem to do routine movesets with the exception of a few people. I even remember before RVD became "commercialized" and streamlined in the big leagues, he interested me more. It was nice to see him succeed at the next level, but he quickly became a formulaic moveset w/Rolling Thunder, split legged moonsault, and the 5 star frog splash. Sure he threw Van Daminator in there once in a while and on a special occasion a Van Terminator, but you get my drift.

I do think it's a cop-out excuse though. Especially in this day and age where it seems the majority of the roster is placed into this category with a couple exceptions.

 

[xBANEx]

1. Orton is head and shoulders above Cena.

2. It's EVERYONE in the WWE, minus the jobbers. It's the WWE style. The promotion is for entertainment, not wrestling. Want to see a larger moveset? Watch some puro or ROH.

 

[H33LTurn]

Everyone has a certain style and signature moves, but sometimes it does feel like Cena is incredibly limited. Even guys like Orton work new things into their in ring work every now and then, but the last new thing Cena did was a dropkick, which really doesnt flow into his style.

 

[LSN80]

I tend to agree with the OP. All wrestler's have the moves they use consistently. They're protected moves, or more commonly known as signature moves.

When a wrestler "protect's" a move, its generally not used by other wrestlers. It's done even moreso with the popular wrestler's to make them more identifiable. As a result, the fact that the wrestler does said move is far more noticeable. In a TV match more then anything, there's less opportunity for "creative" moves, and signature moves become a necessity. They pop the crowd, and enhance the pacing of the match.

So yes, each wrestler you speak of has their signature moves. Cena has the shoulder blocks, the rocker dropper, the five knuckle shuffle, among others. Orton has the inverted backbreaker, the belly to belly suplex, and the hangman's ddt. HHH has the running high knee, the spinebuster, and the facebuster. HBK had the flying forearm, the knipup, and the elbow drop. Without these moves, known of these wrestlers would be as recognizeable as they are, nor as iconic. I could list more examples, but I think the point is sufficiently made.

So signature moves are good thing. They help identify the wrestler, pop the crowd, enhance the pacing of the match, and solidify a said wrestler's moveset. I really don't see the negative to it at all.

 

[JDX]

While I agree with the general point that everyone has a specific moveset, what I think sets people off about Cena is that the "5 moves of doom" are done in a certain order at a certain point in the match. Orton, HHH, HBK, Rock, Austin, and any other guy you can think of do the same thing but none of them do/did the move like Cena does. Sorry for any incorrect names.
Shoulder block, shoulder block, weird suplex thing, 5 knuckle shuffle, AA or STF

You never see those moves (except AA or STF) anywhere else but at the end of the match right before he wins or get cheated or whatever. HHH hits the spinebuster and running knee at multiple points in macthes. Same with Orton's ddt, backbreaker, limb stomp, and snap powerslam (actually once i looked at all those moves I saw that it was impossible to string them together like Cena does unless the opponent gets up at least three times which starts to break the realism). Same with a lot of guys. They have their personal moves but if you see one you don't have to see the others immediately follow.

Hogan did the same thing with the clothline, big boot, leg drop. Now that I think about it, I have to ask a question of my own: do the "5 moves of doom" refer to people's belief that Cena only knows 5 moves or the he uses to end match with?

Bottom line is that they give Cena a hard time once you see that first shoulder block, everyone knows what the next five minutes are going to entail and that kills the kayfabe for alot of people. Its possible that if Cena breaks up that sequence the IWC might lighten up on his in-ring chops a bit.

 

[JJ15776]

1.Orton's head and shoulders aren't even above Cena's feet. There is literally not one thing when it cmes to wrestling that Orton does as good as Cena. Except putting people to sleep.

2.It's very true that Cena's movemet is just as good as anybody else in the WWE. But the people who hate Cena simply aren't very smart, so ripping his movement is the best they can come up with. Trying to compare one wrestler to another is just too complicated for them and they get confused.

It's the WWE style. Has been long before Cena, and it will be long after Cena.

 

[MarkoMan]

i have no problem with 5 moves of doom if there was legit wrestling to be had prior to said moves.

i think it was particularly worse with cena, however, because he would constantly get owned throughout the month, constantly get owned in the ppv match, and then suddenly pull out the 5 moves of doom and hold on to the belt. Opponent after opponent would trash cena for 28 days, then on day 30 or 31, Cena pulls a victory out his ass.

The thing that upsets me with it is that I've seen these guys with the 5 moves of doom actually wrestle and actually put on good shows... so it's like, come on, dont run that bs by me and expect me to be entertained.

 

[MizFit]

I agree with the OP.

Of course stars are going to use the same manuevers, that is how we identify them. They use moves that we are accustomed to seeing, moves that we enjoy seeing the star use. Yes, its nice to see variety in a move set. But that doesn't mean wrestlers shouldn't use their moves on a weekly basis.

 

[gbaby_steve25]

actually if you think about it the rocks "5 moves of doom" were done at the end of the match... the ddt thing, the flying clothesline thing, the somoan drop, the peoples elbow, then the rock bottom...with austin they werent in order all the time, but u still always knew when that kick to the gut was coming then the stunner... hell even the undertaker does the same things to end matches... big boot, chokeslam, tombstone... shawn michaels in most matches... slam, diving elbow, scm.... i think this comes back to Cena is long over due for a never gonna happen heel turn... in which case he will be able to broaden his move set a bit and really take out the 5 moves of doom... but remember the WWE portrays him to use as a come from behind, raise our hopes, superhero.... i think this just goes to the whole most people are tired of cena as the superhero, and also you have to remember, the WWE is not trying to put his moveset into our hearts and minds they are trying to put them into the minds of 10 year olds who have to have something a bit more simple to remember. Kids can not remember like we can and that I actually now after writing this, believe is the reason why it is the way it is... cause 10 yr olds can see it and go John Cena is Going to Win!!!!

 

[holdingholder]

the op rightfully calls the the haters out for unjustly accusing Cena of using five moves of doom, so them n they further increase the lack of logic by saying that its because he always does it in the same sequence at the end of every match. Thats just plain ignorance. Unless its a squash match, WWE matches NEVER end like that, especially on ppv. Superstars ALWAYS reverse the first finisher attempt so if you tell me you saw a ppv match where Cena did his five move sequence at the end in order your full of crap. Matches always end on some type of reversal into the finisher.

 

[CerebralViper96]

Cena has the STF,Throwback,a variety of suplexes,5 Knuckle Shuffle,Leg Drop type manuever,and the almighty,Attitude Adjustment

Orton has the DDT,clothesline,the Boot,and RKO

Yeah,Orton has a more limited moveset and I dont think he cares or even trys different moves while Cena actually trys to improve.Since people like Orton more,they dont notice

 

[HiddenInPlainView]

I agree that almost everyone does have the signature moves and there really isn't a problem with that. The propblem i think people see with Cena is that the moves are always the same every time. Cena gets beat up the whole match then the opponent misses a move which allows the shoulder blocks. The shoulder block leads to his little sidewalk slam type move, which leads to five knuckle shuffle, which leads to FU (sorry, i'm still rated tv-ma). Depending on whether or not he hits this leads to either a pin or an STFU. There you have almost every Cena match.

I think that is why people have kind of grown tired of Cena. Yes he is great on the mic and has the ability to put on a decent match. But even if you ate Filet Mignon everyday for almost ten years it would get kind of old.

 

[SyndicateSaint]

In the end, the WWE believes that people wanna see certain moves. Photo ops you know? It also helps that everyone knows the "trademark" moves of a wrestler so as to take them better and without much "beforehand" going over them.

I also think the "5 moves of doom" is in reference to guys who do the same 5 moves AND THAT'S IT! Using Hogan as an example, rarely did he do anything other then the boot, legdrop, punch comeback, atomic drop, and a back rake. I've seen Hogan in Japan, and he CAN do other things. But for his US incarnation, he sticks with the few crowd pleasers *if you can call a damn back rake a crowd pleaser*. Cena I'm sure can do more. SCSA at one point wasn't allowed to punch, and he showed us some of the ECW and WCW style he used before he got really popular. RVD and Eddie Guerrero did amazing stuff before WWE and when they got there, they had their moveset limited to a few more spectacular ones. On a side note about them though, I remember both saying in interviews that at PPV's and house shows they liked to do something different then they used on free TV for the fans.

 

[Heartbreak_Kid_707]

Im defintly not a Cena fan, BUT im not a Cena hater (actually my 3 year old nephew idolizes Cena) but even i have to say in the last 6-8 monthes he HAS gotten a little better. he still is no Miz, but hes gettin better. Orton isnt terrible either.

Actually my 5 year old niece watches raw with me every monday and she has her favorites to, The Miz like me and like i mentioned my 3 year old nephew loves Cena. My niece can name every entrance music there is. But at thier age they care about a set of moves yet.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm not a huge John Cena fan, but it's true that Cena does often get unfairly and hatefully singled out for something that's quite common in pro wrestling. Most wrestlers have a certain number of signature moves and that's nothing new.

Ric Flair had his own "5 Moves of Doom" back in his day that included the reverse knife edge chop, standing vertical suplex, the knee drop, flipping upside down in the corner & the figure four. At one point or another, Ric Flair would work in every single one of these into virtually every match that he had. More often than not, you'd see him at least some of them multiple times during a match. Like Cena, Flair would also do other moves during his matches but he also has a certain handful that you can expect to see in all of his matches.

Yet, Ric Flair is consistently hailed as arguably the greatest pro wrestler of all time. What the IWC sees as shortcomings in the likes of John Cena aren't applied to Ric Flair. I think that one reason for that has a lot to do with nostalgia. As with many other instances of wrestling we watched as children and as teenagers, I believe many internet fans see and remember things as being better than they actually were. If you read some of the threads and posts concerning activities, matches, wrestlers, factions, feuds, promos and so on that took place between the 80s and the early 2000s, you'll come away with the idea that every match was an epic encounter between titans, every promo had the mark of Shakespearean greatness and every feud was some the stuff legends were made of. That's looking at the past through the heavy veil of nostalgia rather than things exactly as they were. If you were to erase Ric Flair's past and put him at 30 years of age in the WWE today, you'd be shocked at how much criticism and outright hate he'd get. He'd be criticized for much of the same reasons that the IWC uses for John Cena & The Miz.

 

[The Shockmaster]

the problem with cenas 5 moves of doom is that they always come in order the is never anything to break the flow of his doom-set and if his opponent breaks out of the FU then the handy 6th move aka the STFU comes into play.

Orton has his 5 moves but switches it up every now and then. Sometimes he'll drop the ddt outside the ropes before he does the back breaker or the scoop slam, sometimes after. Recently he stopped doing the foot stomp thing so much and the last two nights he even whipped out the Angle slam(if you payed attention). Though he might have the 5 moves he atleast changes up the order.

Undertaker my favorite wrestler also has the a doom-set. Those moves are oldschool, snake eyes, choke slam and tombstone(or last ride/hellsgate). However undertaker breaks the flow of his moves by throwing in pins after snake eyes or the chockeslam every once and a while. Breaking up the flow of it and alternating between when he does it in matches make people not notice as much.

QUESTION- This really bugs me. Why does every wrestler have the sudden urge to throw a punch after cena shoulder blocks them 2 times and miss or get up after cena gives them a 5 knuckle shuffle. If i just got slammed to the floor and then punched right in the forehead the last thing i would want to do is stand back up.

 

[Undar8d]

QUESTION- This really bugs me. Why does every wrestler have the sudden urge to throw a punch after cena shoulder blocks them 2 times and miss or get up after cena gives them a 5 knuckle shuffle. If i just got slammed to the floor and then punched right in the forehead the last thing i would want to do is stand back up.

Because it's scripted wrestling. You think you would stand up if Orton just did that little snap slam on you, then DDTed you from the rope and started banging the mat like a 4 year old behind you?

Moving on, I agree completely with the OP. You can make all the excuses you want, when it comes right down to a move set, every main event wrestler follows a similar format. It's just unfortunate that Cena gets all the heat about it.

 

[The Shockmaster]

Because it's scripted wrestling. You think you would stand up if Orton just did that little snap slam on you, then DDTed you from the rope and started banging the mat like a 4 year old behind you?

I get your point...but at least they act hurt. They stay down for a different amount of time every time he does one of these moves. Sometimes he vipers up and hes doing it for 5 seconds. Sometimes he's viper-ing up so long he stops doing it and gets up and waits.

The problem I have with Cena's case is that every person gets up immediately after he hits them. It never fails and just once i would love to see a wrestler stay down off the 5 knuckle shuffle.

PS- I know its Scripted. Everyone on this site knows it scripted. Im just looking for some logic behind this stupid shit i see every week.

 

[BestForTheBusinesso9]

I'm really not a huge fan of Cena but for the most part I agree that way too much is made of Cena's move set. One poster before mentioned that his problem was the lack of wrestling skills preceding the five moves. I won't agree or disagree with what he is saying but I think one point needs to be made. In wrestling history, the best wrestlers have never been the best draws. Sure having a solid skill set and being able to put on a good match is necessary, but being the best means little to nothing. The people regarded as the greatest "wrestlers" are nowhere near the best wrestlers. The problem is that by the time the match is over and people determine how good of a match was had at a PPV, it doesn't matter. The financials for the WWE are already determined based on who bought the PPV beforehand. The three best wrestlers of all-time in my opinion are Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, and Bret Hart. As much as I hate to admit though Cena is a bigger draw than all three, and there is no doubt about that.

 

[Rammsteinerteen]

I actually don't mind his 5 moves of doom. I personally hate his gimmick. I hate that ******ed nice guy attitude. Hes so predictable. All of his feuds are shit and boring. Hes charismatic, but he's very boring also. The Nexus storyline is boring because of Cena making the Nexus look like *****es. He honestly only ever says thing that impresses his younger fans. I honestly don't see how the hell even his fans like listening to that garbage. Otherwise, Cena is capable of making great matches. He never fails to entertain me in his long matches. I just think his gimmick is stupid.

 

[titadab05]

Cena has the STF,Throwback,a variety of suplexes,5 Knuckle Shuffle,Leg Drop type manuever,and the almighty,Attitude Adjustment

Orton has the DDT,clothesline,the Boot,and RKO

Yeah,Orton has a more limited moveset and I dont think he cares or even trys different moves while Cena actually trys to improve.Since people like Orton more,they dont notice

Oh snap, Cena has a "variety of suplexes" and Orton can't even do one suplex. Nevermind the fact that the snap suplex and belly to back are vintage orton. Heck, let's also forget the sky high dropkick, inverted backbreaker and so on.

I like how you can't name a type of suplex so you go to the "variety of suplexes." Cena is good, that's a given, but they might as well change his name to Hulk Hogan because the WWE is CLEARLY using him in the same manner.

BTW, to call Cena a better wrestler than Orton is absolutely absurd. A better entertainer? Absolutely, but a better wrestler? You have to have lost your mind.

 

[titadab05]

I actually don't mind his 5 moves of doom. I personally hate his gimmick. I hate that ******ed nice guy attitude. Hes so predictable. All of his feuds are shit and boring. Hes charismatic, but he's very boring also. The Nexus storyline is boring because of Cena making the Nexus look like *****es. He honestly only ever says thing that impresses his younger fans. I honestly don't see how the hell even his fans like listening to that garbage. Otherwise, Cena is capable of making great matches. He never fails to entertain me in his long matches. I just think his gimmick is stupid.

It's simple, think back to when you were young and listening to Hulk Hogan. It's pretty much the exact same thing. Hulk had Hulkamania, Cena has the Cenation. Hogan could never lose and was a powerhouse wrestler, Cena can never lose cleanly and is a powerhouse wrestler. Bandanas, armbands. Hogan was fired and came back in a mask. You remember the pics of Juan Cena, right?

The point I'm trying to make is if you were youngster during hte Hulk days (as I was) you can easily see why kids buy into it. Everyone loves the superhero and as a kid, you're just naive enough to believe the world has some superpower out there protecting it against all the evils of the world.

 

[Jeremy_TakerFan_17]

I'd have to agree on the fact that every wrestler has their own moveset. It's what makes them stand out as a superstar. As far as Cena goes, his moveset does really suck and it's the same thing everytime, but that's how Vince wants it. Cena is the Superman of the WWE. All the kids look up to him. Cena even said it himself a few weeks back when he was saying his farewell. he wanted all the kids and women to chant his name and the men over 18 to chant Cena sucks because that's how its is. kids love him women thinks he's hot and the men that have grown up watching the WWE since attitude era, much like myself, despise Cena. I do despise him but i give him credit for everything he has done for the WWE. One thing I would like to see happen is Cena turning heel I think he would make a monster heel, but that if it does happen wont be for a long time. Cena and Orton are supposed to be the Rock and Austin of the PG era and its really obvious. Cena is comparable to the Rock because the Rock had the 5 moves of doom as well always got his ass kicked and kicked out of everything and came back with the same 5 moves. Orton is comparable to Austin in the way that he is the Viper, Austin was the Rattlesnake. They both have the DTA (dont trust anybody) attitude, but are loved by the fans. They switch up their move orders, but have the same moves. Either way Cena has the 5 moves of doom for a reason he's supposed to be the guy that gets his ass kicked and and kicks out of everything and comes back with the win. Plain and simple, he is Superman.

 

[jkenyon81]

yeah, everyone has their signature moves but it's what happens between them that gets fans peeved.
Orton is solid. He is almost perfect with the basics. When you see him do his suplex, clotheslines, and dropkicks you can tell he worked on being a great wrestler before being a showman. He doesn't add new moves to his set until he knows he can sell it.
Cena, i'll admit, is adding moves but hes doing it before he knows them. I was shocked when he started doing a release fisherman's suplex, which he uses all the time now, but it is clumsy and awekward.
It's not the "5 moves of doom" that people hate. Even the most bitter have accepted them because they have too. It's the lack of basic skill and rythem that turn us "haters" away...... and the clumsy moves. Maybe he shouldn't wear jean shorts in matches, that cant help coordination.