Cena surpassing Hulk Hogan

[stonecoldhell]

Not my words but do you agree on it. It's a Cena fans that wrote it on Facebook.

Look before you all jump on me like wolfs...

But don't you think Cena surpass Hogan soon?

Hogans run was 12 years in WWF(the first run) Cena has 12 years run now.

Cena is the biggest star in WWE. Hogan was the biggest star in WWF.

I know you all hate Cena...but ofc all of you respect your old grandpa Hogan.

But shouldn't you respect Cena also, he is the star of the WWE.

Hogan is the old grandpa that people growed up and loved. People love him because he was the childhood hero. He's basically the grandpa for every fans. He's the WWF core.

But hasn't Cena turned this business more to a WWE network, and making it popular then Hogan did right now?

Cena 12 year, 15-world titles I my add. (Look I respect Hulk, so don't jump and hate on me)

 

[MCMG]

He can't surpass Hogan. It's impossible. Hogan took wrestling to an incredible level and was the foundations for what we see today.

Cena has done a lot too. He was the face of the company when they went to a different level as well. He helped bring them into the modern day and that can be seen with all the sponsors and whatnot. You can't underestimate how much Cena has done in terms of the image as well as merch and being a draw. Moreover, he has delivered in the ring and on the mic. He even help guide the company through the trouble with Benoit and was a perfect representative at the time.

Although, I'd love to see all the combined merch sales. Cena has had so many different T-shirts and complementary shit that I do wonder. I know the Austin 3:16 is the highest selling shirt in WWE history but perhaps John Cena has sold the most merchandise all together. Given his longevity and range of items it could be a possibility.

Cena won't surpass Hogan simply because no-one can surpass Hogan. Cena's influence, however, is still mind-boggling and only Hogan and Austin can really say they have done more for pro wrestling (or the WWE) than Cena.

 

[Navi]

Like the other poster said, Cena can't surpass Hogan ever. It was a different time and a different era. And there wouldn't be a John Cena now, if there hadn't been Hulk Hogan paving the way.

Hogan is arguably the most famous name in wrestling. Casual fans, non wrestling fans, almost everyone knows who Hulk Hogan is. They do not on the other hand know who John Cena is.

And Hogan managed to do it before the internet, Twiter, Facebook and any sort of social media. He also managed to stay on top when the WWE had competition, real competition not just TNA.

If the era's had been reversed and John Cena came first, it's strange to think how the wrestling landscape would look. I can't even imagine it. Hogan was larger than life, Cena is not.

 

[TheICChampion]

If you're talking in terms of accomplishments, obviously Cena has already surpassed Hogan. And this is coming from someone who enjoys both guys, but is not a huge fan of either. Look, there's no denying that without Hogan, WWE would likely never have reached the level it has, and would most likely not be around today. Let's be honest, you hear the first few notes of 'Real American' and most likely you know who it belongs to. So, in terms of everything else, Cena won't likely surpass Hogan. But then again, Hogan's had about 20+ years of working full-time, with most of them on top of whichever company he's worked for, and Cena's only going on 13, with 10 years of being on top of WWE.

 

[LuckyLouie]

I was gonna say yes before reading some of the responses. Now im gonna say yes and no.
Maybe he will not reach the immortal icon look of hogan. The handlebar mutache and the yellow tank is a symbol of wrestling know all over the world. With that, no one will surpas hogan accept the Andre the Giant.
But in EVERY OTHER ASPECT, Cena has surpassed Hogan x10 over.

 

[WimpyKid4Life]

Hulk Hogan tried to bankrupt WWE TWICE by joining WCW and TNA. John Cena would never do that! He breathes WWE! Hulk Hogan isn't a good ambassador for the WWE, I mean look at all those sex-tape, ugly divorce, slapping his daughter's butt, etc nonsense. John Cena knows how to keep a clean image and does tons of charity work because it is who he is. Does anyone remember the BE JOHN CENA promo on Raw? It made me shed some tears to be honest. I am NOT a Hogan fan. Never have been, never will! I am a John Cena fan and I always will be. In my eyes, John Cena is 100000 times better than Hulk Hogan. Lots of people think the casual viewer doesn't know who John Cena is, but I disagree. I was at gym class and I overheard someone listening to 'Basic Thuganomics'. I asked him if he likes wrestling. He said, "What, no i'm just listening to cool rap music." I told him John Cena is also a WWE Superstar and he started watching WWE ever since. Lots of the students in my classrooms wear Cena t-shirts everyday, and when I do the 'you can't see me' hand gesture, even the non-WWE fans know that I'm impersonating John Cena. "That's that John Cena WWE guy, isn't it?" they say. People tend to think that Cena is hated by the majority. Actually, most just chant "Cena sucks!" and "you can't wrestle" because they think its the "cool" thing to do. Even Alberto Del Rio knows that John Cena is one of the best wrestlers in the world. How many times to we have to see Cena Heel Turn discussion? That shows that the people who chant "Cena sucks" actually care about him and like him, but they just want to see him evolve. It does get tiring seeing John Cena win and win and get title shot after title shot, but I will never hate John Cena as a wrestler or as a WWE Superstar because he is phenomenal at being both. John Cena spreads the WWE mojo in the music industry (best rapper in the world in my opinion) and in movies/tv show ( His foot locker commercial is great and I only saw the Fred movies because Cena was in them). I also like what he stands for in Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect with the motto of Never Give Up! His promos are one of the best in the WWE and his jokes are very funny, but he can get serious when he needs to. Watching Hogan wrestle makes my eyes hurt and his cartoonish manners/over- exaggeration as a WWE Superstar would make me not want to watch WWE. That's why I think John Cena has already surpassed Hulk Hogan in every step of the way.

 

[Reiko4Me]

Hogan, Austin and Cena all had different advantages and disadvantages. Having a Hogan T-shirt in the 80's, early 90's meant lots. Shirts were not available as much with Austin and Cena's eras. Back in the day to get a WWE shirt (80's-mid 90's) you would have to get it pretty much from a WWE event or wait 8-14 weeks (shipping). The internet sold and marketed the product to markets never thought of during Hogan's days. Austin and Cena could slap their chest and claim victory over Hogan when it comes to $$$, but it's just that It's equivalent to a modern mid tier sports athlete making $10 million a year claiming he was more a legend than Babe Ruth or Walter Payton because he made more money than them.

Hogan built WWF/E. Austin pushed the industry to the max. That said, a bad image came out of all this. The image of WWE became pretty weak following all that success. Cena pretty much has done damage control over the last ten years. As to Hogan making sex tapes, lol. I remember Cena being in the Howard Stern show like 10 years ago. There he said that he had sex with multiple women on any given night, lol. Cena went as far as to say he slept with a 300 pound woman as a challenge. Cena might be a role model on screen, but off screen he is no different than Hogan. Difference between Hogan and Cena's time in WWE is mainly the Wellness Program.

 

[FromGlasgow]

I really don't believe Cena could sell a wrestlemania main event on his own against a guy like King Kong Bundy for example for the past few wrestlemanias with Cena on top its appeared like guys such as The Undertaker, Rock, Shawn Michaels has been more of the main attractions of the Wrestlemania card than the supposed wrestler on top John Cena but back in the day there was no question who the featured main event star of Wrestlemanias was for the majority of them which was Hogan, Cena appears to mainly recieve boos in all his years on top and he's supposed to be the good guy, Maybe his longevity in the WWE or world title reigns will surpass Hulk Hogans but ask any non wrestling fans who Hulk Hogan is then ask them who John Cena is and see who most people have heard of.

 

[Navi]

Hulk Hogan tried to bankrupt WWE TWICE by joining WCW and TNA. John Cena would never do that! He breathes WWE! Hulk Hogan isn't a good ambassador for the WWE, I mean look at all those sex-tape, ugly divorce, slapping his daughter's butt, etc nonsense. John Cena knows how to keep a clean image and does tons of charity work because it is who he is. Does anyone remember the BE JOHN CENA promo on Raw? It made me shed some tears to be honest. I am NOT a Hogan fan. Never have been, never will! I am a John Cena fan and I always will be. In my eyes, John Cena is 100000 times better than Hulk Hogan. Lots of people think the casual viewer doesn't know who John Cena is, but I disagree. I was at gym class and I overheard someone listening to 'Basic Thuganomics'. I asked him if he likes wrestling. He said, "What, no i'm just listening to cool rap music." I told him John Cena is also a WWE Superstar and he started watching WWE ever since. Lots of the students in my classrooms wear Cena t-shirts everyday, and when I do the 'you can't see me' hand gesture, even the non-WWE fans know that I'm impersonating John Cena. "That's that John Cena WWE guy, isn't it?" they say. People tend to think that Cena is hated by the majority. Actually, most just chant "Cena sucks!" and "you can't wrestle" because they think its the "cool" thing to do. Even Alberto Del Rio knows that John Cena is one of the best wrestlers in the world. How many times to we have to see Cena Heel Turn discussion? That shows that the people who chant "Cena sucks" actually care about him and like him, but they just want to see him evolve. It does get tiring seeing John Cena win and win and get title shot after title shot, but I will never hate John Cena as a wrestler or as a WWE Superstar because he is phenomenal at being both. John Cena spreads the WWE mojo in the music industry (best rapper in the world in my opinion) and in movies/tv show ( His foot locker commercial is great and I only saw the Fred movies because Cena was in them). I also like what he stands for in Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect with the motto of Never Give Up! His promos are one of the best in the WWE and his jokes are very funny, but he can get serious when he needs to. Watching Hogan wrestle makes my eyes hurt and his cartoonish manners/over- exaggeration as a WWE Superstar would make me not want to watch WWE. That's why I think John Cena has already surpassed Hulk Hogan in every step of the way.

Oh too be young again. No one here is hating on John Cena, and you have to realize that.

It doesn't matter how you feel about Hulk Hogan or what he's done in his private life, he is the one of the main reasons that you have a chance to revere John Cena today. And if you asked John Cena he would probably agree with you.

Hulk Hogan for all his faults brought wrestling into the forefront and made it relevant. He and wrestlers like Ric Flair, Randy Savage, Warrior, made it so that there was an industry. You may not like him or them, but you have to respect what they did.

And also remember wrestling wasn't the huge merchandising industry that is is now. You didn't see hardly anyone wearing shirts they were very hard to get, even at live events, which were few and far between. There also wasn't shows like RAW and Smackdown. Wrestling used to come on Saturday afternoons for an hour or so and that's all we ever got to watch it. No social media or internet, and Hogan still managed to make wrestling important and make us care.

 

[ColeMc]

And there wouldn't be a John Cena now, if there hadn't been Hulk Hogan paving the way.

This, right here is all you need.

No-one else took wrestling from house shows and gymnasiums and made it a worldwide product aside from two men, McMahon and Hogan.

 

[Bernkastel]

Short answer to this question? No. As some others have said this is basically impossible. The reason being is that the WWE product as a name brand is more well known than any of its current stars. Cena as a name is not bigger and more well known than the name of the WWE. 30 years ago the WWE's name was not as recognizable as it is now. Hogan was big enough to transcend the product and the WWE name. Ordinary people that weren't fans of the product knew "Hogan" not the WWE. Nowadays ordinary people that aren't fans of the product just know the "WWE."

They don't know John Cena. They don't know Daniel Bryan. They don't know Dean Ambrose. Those guys would only be known because the WWE is known. 30 years ago it was the WWE that was known because wrestlers like Hogan and Andre were known.

 

[MR K]

I guess this really depends on the age of and the type of the person you ask, Take an average 18 year old casual WWE fan, all they have known is John Cena. If you ask that person who is bigger the answer will be Cena every time. Ask an average hardcore IWC guy/girl they will say Hogan because they know Hogan paved the way for guys like Cena.

Both have outstanding achievements in the industry, in my opinion Hogan will never be surpassed by anyone, everyone will always lag behind him. It's nothing to do with in ring ability, it's all about what Hogan did for the business. It blew up because of him, arguably twice. The 2 major boom periods in pro wrestling both heavily featured Hulk Hogan. For the fact that he brought mainstream eyes to the business, more than anyone ever has, Hogan will always be the most famous pro wrestler ever.

 

[chuckmdubya]

This is kind of like saying that Mark McGuire is better than Babe Ruth.
Before the 80's pro wrestling was not popular, it was a sport you would go watch live, in front of maybe a few thousand people. Before Hogan, not many people wanted to watch a fake fight. There wasn't even a legit tv audience for it, it would have been too obvious that it was not real action and real winning going on there.

But Hogan made it more than it was. People turned on to watch Hogan confirm their beliefs about hard work and that good triumphs over bad. Fans of his legendary banter and good vs evil trash talking began to accumulate. People would watch him "Hulk up" and become unbeatable. Then they would stay to watch him put on a show after the match, and he interacted with the crowd in very positive ways.
Cena is a great wrestling talent, and without a doubt carries the torch these days.
But Hogan and McMahon built that torch, gathered firewood and rubbed two sticks together for years, and then made the flames grow.
Now Cena carries the torch that Hogan built, he carries it well, but he still just carries it. And one day Hogan's torch will go to another.

 

[The Boss]

Oh, please. Cena has done nothing... I'll say it again, absolutly NOTHING to influence pro wrestling for the better in any way. And don't give me all that horse crap about him being the top guy in WWE for the last 10 years either ( well you can if you want but that only further proves my point). WWE is at it's lowest point since the early 90s. Despit pro wrestling experiencing boom periods in both the 80s and the 90s (both brought about by HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN - the only man in history to have generated two wrestling booms), during the Cena era WWE has been undergoing it's longest slow period in the history of it's existence. In addition, with Cena as their top guy, WWE has lost more money (into the billions) than any other time in it's history.


Just because he's the top merchandise seller during a bad period does not make him necessarily good. That's more of a shot at how poorly the others are doing when you're the top guy during the worst of times. Anyone can be the top guy and NOT popularize the sport. Hell, even David Arquette did that.

Comparing Cena with HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN in anyway shape or form is a joke. Even when it comes to the Make-A-Wish foundation. Sure Cena has technically granted more wishes, but remember that when the foundation started in the 80s they had only one location. The process was slower and HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN visted them one at a time. He was easilly the most requested celebrity of the 80s. Like the WWF, Make-A-Wish was built on the shoulders of HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN. John Cena on the other hand doesn't have to travel to meet these kids. He benefits from M-A-W now being a global foundation. Sick kids are brought to PPVs by the bus load and Cena goes down to the garage, says "Hi" real fast and chalks up each kid as another wish. Pathetic.

 

[The Boss]

Hogans run was 12 years in WWF(the first run) Cena has 12 years run now.

First indication that this kid has no idea what he is talking about. HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN'S first stint with the company was nearly 2 years (79 - 81) where he got his butt handed to him all over the World by Andre the Giant and Bob Backlund in addition to going on several tours of Japan (also taking an ass beating) in order to learn how to wrestle. Despite being best known for his power in the United States, HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN actually became a well rounded wrestler during this time. In other words, he paid his dues before he became the top dog. He earned the respect of wrestlers and promoters around the World. Unike Cena.

Cena is the biggest star in WWE. Hogan was the biggest star in WWF.

HAHAHAHAHA! Under HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN the WWF drew 33 million viewers. Under Cena WWE has struggled to get 4 million. This argument is like saying that because HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN is the best flavor of ice cream in Baskin Robin's and Cena is the best tasting kernel of corn in a pile of crap that they are somehow equal.

I know you all hate Cena...but ofc all of you respect your old grandpa Hogan.

But shouldn't you respect Cena also, he is the star of the WWE.

Hogan is the old grandpa that people growed up and loved. People love him because he was the childhood hero. He's basically the grandpa for every fans. He's the WWF core.

Your continuous attempt to slander him by calling him, "grandpa" only proved how influenced you were by HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN'S birthday celebration. Clearly you - like everyone else - was fixated on the screen wondering - indeed hoping that something was going to happen. Even if you don't realize it HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN still has a major influence in you the IWC and all of pro wrestling. And he hasn't even been wrestling.

But hasn't Cena turned this business more to a WWE network, and making it popular then Hogan did right now?

The WWE network is failing and costing the company billions. HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN was brought in to try to save it. Obviously they feel that HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN is more popular. The majority of network viewers are in the 50+ range. Cena isn't bringing in fans. Remember the ratings: HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN = 33 million. John Cena = barely 4 million.

Cena 12 year, 15-world titles I my add. (Look I respect Hulk, so don't jump and hate on me)[/I]

All in his safe haven of WWE. in fact he has no career outside of WWE. HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN became the main star all over the world in every promotion that he worked for. He held titles in multiple promotions for years at a time and is still to this day the only man to hold 2 World championships from two different continents (IWGP & WWF) at the same time.

 

[CKDaimen702]

Has he surpassed Hogan in career success? Quite arguably. In fact, I would lean towards yes in that regard due to the stats and longevity already mentioned.

As far as popularity is concerned, as a poster mentioned, that is virtually impossible. Not only is he not half as popular Hogan was as far as being a household name is concerned, but his lasting impact on the business also does not even begin to approach Hogan's.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Cena will never surpass Hogan. He won't surpass Austin or Rock, either. However, he's in that #4 spot, and outside of maybe Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, no one else is close.

Hate him if you want, but he's a huge star. However, Hogan is the Babe Ruth of wrestling, Austin is universally loved and Rock is the biggest mainstream star to ever come out of wrestling. Cena can't contend with that stuff, but he's now at least top five of all time in terms of popularity.

 

[The Boss]

Cena will never surpass Hogan. He won't surpass Austin or Rock, either. However, he's in that #4 spot, and outside of maybe Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, no one else is close.

Hate him if you want, but he's a huge star. However, Hogan is the Babe Ruth of wrestling, Austin is universally loved and Rock is the biggest mainstream star to ever come out of wrestling. Cena can't contend with that stuff, but he's now at least top five of all time in terms of popularity.

I'm sorry but I must disagree with that. You're line of, "he's a huge star" is incomplete. What you mean is that he's a huge star... in a business that is not as popular as it once was. Not as many people are watching. So being a big star today does not make you as big as someone who was a star during boom periods. I dare say there are many who the general public know better than Cena. Guys like Andre the Giant, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Gorgeous George, Curt Hennig, Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Bobo Brazil and many, many others are better known - thus bigger stars - because they worked in boom periods and thus had people watching them. Cena has never been able to generate popularity in wrestling. So actually he is a failure as the top guy.

 

[JerichoStreet]

LOL...

Cena surpassing Hulk Hogan.

These new PG fan kids these days

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Damn....an actual post from this guy in which he isn't hedonistically ******ing Steve Austin. Bear witness to the End of Days.

In terms of grandeur, nobody will really be able to touch Hogan because he's still the biggest draw in the history of the business. There's never been a bigger movement in wrestling before or since Hulkamania and it helped elevate pro wrestling to levels of mainstream acceptance that, in all honesty, even the Attitude Era didn't match. During the mid to late 80s, Saturday Night's Main Event aired in prime time on NBC and sometimes drew tens of millions of viewers; remember, this was a wrestling show that wasn't airing on a cable network, but one of the original broadcast networks. Hogan's drawing capability and star power during the 80s will always set him apart from other wrestlers in some ways.

In terms of his abilities as a wrestler, I think John Cena has LONG since surpassed Hogan. When it comes to telling a story, athletic capabilities, general in-ring abilities overall and mic work, I'll take Cena over Hogan any ol' day of the week. It's time to leave the nonsensical ravings of those who claim that Cena can't wrestle in the garbage where they belong as he's proven them wrong near countless times over. In a recent interview, Kevin Owens himself mocked fans who tried to make the claim and his matches against Cena are legit MOTY contenders.

Cena's genuinely been the undisputed "face that runs the place" in WWE for a decade, it's not just a recent catchphrase that he's begun using as it's 100% true. Is he as big of a draw as Hogan was? Not at all but, then again, neither were The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. In my eyes, Hogan's single greatest saving grace in terms of his greatness is his drawing power back in the day. While he's the greatest draw, it doesn't make him the greatest wrestler, at least not in my eyes, as we've seen some guys come along over the past 25 years that, aside from drawing ability, are superior to Hogan in damn near every meaningful way and Cena's one of them.

 

[FlairFan2003]

It is a different era but Hogan wasn't just the top guy, he was World Champ almost non stop from 1983-93. That was an incredible run that even Cena cant match.

Also, Hogan was a much bigger star in his prime than Cena....Id say honestly due to the popularity of wresting in general in the 80s Hogan, Andre, Savage, Piper, Flair, & Dusty were all bigger stars than Cena. He is clearly the biggest star of his current era though, and the biggest star since the WWE nadir of the late 90s with Austin/Rock/HHH, etc.

 

[FlairFan2003]

This, right here is all you need.

No-one else took wrestling from house shows and gymnasiums and made it a worldwide product aside from two men, McMahon and Hogan.

In fairness those "house shows" were sell outs of 15-20 thousand in places like Atlanta, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, NY, etc on a regular basis BEFORE Hogan, as well as occasional stadium shows (over 40,000 fans packed Shea Stadium in 1981 to see Bruno vs Zybysko, and relatively unknown Hogan was way down the card putting over Andre).

 

[FlairFan2003]

This is kind of like saying that Mark McGuire is better than Babe Ruth.
Before the 80's pro wrestling was not popular, it was a sport you would go watch live, in front of maybe a few thousand people. Before Hogan, not many people wanted to watch a fake fight. There wasn't even a legit tv audience for it, it would have been too obvious that it was not real action and real winning going on there.

But Hogan made it more than it was. People turned on to watch Hogan confirm their beliefs about hard work and that good triumphs over bad. Fans of his legendary banter and good vs evil trash talking began to accumulate. People would watch him "Hulk up" and become unbeatable. Then they would stay to watch him put on a show after the match, and he interacted with the crowd in very positive ways.
Cena is a great wrestling talent, and without a doubt carries the torch these days.
But Hogan and McMahon built that torch, gathered firewood and rubbed two sticks together for years, and then made the flames grow.
Now Cena carries the torch that Hogan built, he carries it well, but he still just carries it. And one day Hogan's torch will go to another.

There is no doubt that wrestling exploded in the main stream in the 80s but where do you guys get this "few thousand people" stuff ?? Bruno sold out MSG more times than Hogan for crying out loud!!

WWE was drawing over 40,000 for Shea Stadium Shows years before Hogan was main eventing.

Other promotions enjoyed similar success. Ric Flair drew over 43,000 in Texas Stadium in 1984 and the early Starrcades were watched by well over 100,000 people between live & closed circuit, BEFORE WrestleMania.

Hogan is the single biggest star the industry has had.....No doubt, but lets not act pro wrestling was playing in front of a few hundred people in a Junior High Stadium before 1984. Ric Flair made over $200,000 in his first year as World Champ by his own account (1981) - The highest paid player in football in 1982 was Ron Jaworski with a little over $300,000. Obviously there must have been someone watching if pro wrestlers were getting paid on par with NFL players.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Also in fairness, we are rating these two based on the star power and influence on the industry....not just actual in ring ability. In the ring Cena beats Hogan by a country mile.

In terms of star power and influence on the industry....Cena to me ranks well behind Hogan, Austin, Rock (especially when you factor in his success outside the business), Flair, Savage, Dusty, probably Andre....

Cena really isn't that comparable to Hogan....the guy from WWE he should be compared to is Brett Hart.

Both were hard working and dedicated guys who did all the outside commitments, Make A Wish, etc, both worked their butts off in the ring, and both "carried the torch" during otherwise down times financially for the company compared to other time periods. Both became legit stars as the proverbial "Big Fish in a Little Pond", excelling when the talent pool and popularity wasn't near as strong as other periods. Niether is remembered as "the biggest star" but both are revered as "big stars" and credited with becoming big stars in periods in which few stars total were produced or worked consistently. It seems in both cases that WWE has continually tried to find "the next big thing" to take their place too but in the end they always come back to them, because all the Yokozunas, Kevin Nashes, HBKs, CM Punks, Daniel Bryans, etc failed to deliver the numbers they could consistently. That's a plus for them both and makes them very similar in their status and career weight.

Hogan though is another stratosphere.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Yeah, nope, Cena cant be leveled with Hogan, Austin or Rock. You could give him 20 World Titles and he could be "face of WWE" for few more years but no, he cant level with others before simply because they meant more. Hogan put wrestling as entertainment on world map, Austin and Rock were huge stars where one was maybe most popular star ever and other in addition of his populartity took out outside of wrestling and even made it out as one of Hollywood's biggest stars today. Cena can try but he can never surpass those 3 in popularity and we even saw few years back that even when Cena is in his "A game" and Rock was little "rusty" he cant compete in some terms with Rock. Granted, wrestling was different in some other times and maybe if Cena showed up at that times would be bigger deal but doubt he could be big deal as those 3.

Can give one thing to Cena though: longivity. Austin and Rock(Hogan was maybe big deal more if you count his WWF and WCW runs) had few years being on top. Cena(if we count Wrestlemania 21 when he first won title) has lasted more then 10 years on top. And that is almost without any major break up with injury or vacation. Though its also WWE's "fault" because eventhough they would love to, they never made "another Cena"(in terms of "face of WWE") who could surpass original one. That is also one of the keys of his longivity: While Hogan, Austin and Rock all had though competition, Cena has had almost none. Maybe one of the reasons why he isnt as big as others because in order to achieve some greatness you need to surpass great obstacles. Cena had almost none in terms of his opponents(if you are not counting Rock when he came back offcourse and already said how that went).