Cena VS Lesnar Contract Signing Was A Breath Of Fresh Air

[Pay Per Ghost]

Cena handed Rock his ass on the mic for a year...so yeah zero point made bud.

And if someone is foolish enough to say Brock has no charisma or mic skills. Go watch his sombrero mariachi band promo with Eddie.
Both those guys were smashing in that segment.

 

[rge2010]

Cena handed Rock his ass on the mic for a year...so yeah zero point made bud.

And if someone is foolish enough to say Brock has no charisma or mic skills. Go watch his sombrero mariachi band promo with Eddie.
Both those guys were smashing in that segment.

While I agree Cena is very good on the mic he didnt hand Rock his ass. Cena got booed out the building weekly and Rock had the fans eating out of his hands. Thats says a lot about the promos.

If Cena won the promo battles, he would have won the fans over. He didnt. Not once.

 

[ThisIsLCS]

I Dont know how to feel on this one.

Edge told Cena to "Wake Up" at the start of the night.

Brock damn near Killed Good ol JM (JR called him that in a tweet to me once lol)
And I assume Cena and josh are good buddies with how they sometimes act during interviews, though it could just be cena being cena.


and the payoff to all of this was, Cena wrapping his hand in the Thuganomics Chain and Standing there.

I Expected alot more, especially after having to sit through that Painfully long "Demand List" promo. BY The Way, How does Johnny expect to get Vince McMahons private jet? Just cause he doesnt "Run day to day operations of the WWE" any more, it is still HIS Jet. lol

 

[midgensa]

I definitely liked it overall. But it was definitely painful listening to Brock for the first few minutes as they clearly were waiting for Cena to come out and told them to keep going.
I don't really think it was Brock's fault though ... he got out there and had a plan and I think he was told to "lengthen" that plan until Cena got out there.

It was different, which is good. Cena looked so completely human and vulnerable. Scared even. Something we have not seen out of Cena, so I think it really is opening a new side to his character and we will see where it leads. I think it also added a little to Johnny Ace.

Ace clearly showed signs that he is uncomfortable with his decision to bring Brock on board and that he has put his foot in his mouth. But he caved in the end because he does not want to be wrong. It is a good direction for his character as much as it is for Cena's

Not sure what it does for Brock. I think they definitely want to get him in heel territory and the crowd is slowly coming around ... so this will help.

In the end a good segment that takes the feud in a good direction heading into a highly anticipated match.

 

[daddyJ_t]

ok for sure i thought one of the demands was gonna be for his "agent" paul heyman to return which would help with his mic work. second thing i thought interesting was cena entering with a chain and lock around his neck which for a min i thought he was in mid transformation into thug cena. then he took it off and wrapped his hand in it and become pussy cena this is starting to be an interesting time in wwe.

 

[DX Mols]

Raw was awful for many reasons last night...Khali, Hornswoggle, B Clay, Lord Tensai, Epico and Primo being on the show, Edge's new haircut, but most especially was Brock's promo to end Raw. God was that bad. That just eliminated any heat he had. Just awful Brock.

I have no idea how this plays out Sunday, but personally I'm hoping he beats the sh*t of the Cena.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't get the complaints about Lesnar on the mic to be honest. Lesnar came of as raw and unpolished on the mic, which is how he's supposed to be when you think about it. Remember, Lesnar said himself that he's not a "superstar". Lesnar is being painted as someone that's truly an outsider despite his big history with WWE, which means he's not going to be cast in a similar mold as a lot of guys.

Lesnar's style of promo suits him and, to me, has a more realistic sort of feel to it. He doesn't come off as perfect, doesn't say the right thing at just when he should. Scripted promos don't bother me at all if a guy can pull it off, but I have a feeling that Lesnar isn't one of those guys. We've all gotten used to guys sounding more polished on the mic, which isn't bad at all, don't get me wrong. Promo work has never been Lesnar's general strong point. He's not the kind of guy that can stand in a ring and thrill people for 20 minutes at a time on the mic like The Rock or Punk or Flair or HBK.

I can get if some people thought it was dull but, to me, it came off as something different that has me asking questions as to what's going to happen with Cena from here on in.

 

[Frankie Contrarian]

Brock was terrible. One of the worst segments I've seen in a long time.

They've got to keep him away from the mic.
Which would actually suit his character perfectly.

The taped piece with Brock was great. He's a man of few words, here to kick ass. Nothing else matters. Go with that.

The Brock/ Mattews segment, was also well played. Brock ain't here to give interviews, he's here to smash heads.

The demanding, diva is not a role that suits him. What the hell does he care what they call Raw? That could work for someone with the right kind of charisma. Alberto Del Rio, Jericho or Christian.
That's not what Brock is. Or I should say, not what Brock should be.

If I'm WWE I'm very nervous.
They've spent a lot of money on a guy who can't talk.
He's supposed to keep folks interested for a whole year?
My guess is Stamford is very busy right now.
"How do we fix this?"
I would not want to be in Vince's eye line today.

In other news:
I feel bad for Matt Bloom, the Lord Tensai gimmick is laughable.
It would have been stale in 1992 let alone 2012.

 

[shameronstar]

I think you all forget that wrestlers for the most part aren't professionally trained actors they're improve performers, and if you expect 5 star acting you'll be disappointed more than 90% of the time, so take these kind of segments for what they're worth! All and all, I liked it!

 

[vampirek]

Raw was awful for many reasons last night...Khali, Hornswoggle, B Clay, Lord Tensai, Epico and Primo being on the show, Edge's new haircut, but most especially was Brock's promo to end Raw. God was that bad. That just eliminated any heat he had. Just awful Brock.

I have no idea how this plays out Sunday, but personally I'm hoping he beats the sh*t of the Cena.

Seriously, did you just say Raw was awful due to a hair cut.... please go away, what a terrible point to even make. Not even going into the fact you said it was awful they featured the tag team champions and one of the most over guys (Brodus).

From a storyline point of view, WWE did an excellent job explaining why Lesnar will not be on Raw every week and why he can do what the hell he likes whilst not getting punished (other than the predictable he's the heel and can do things like that). The was character building.
Secondly it showed Cena at his most weakness, having to bring a weapon to the ring with him against a unarmed Lesnar (a point they made clear) and being provoked into signing the contract.
It showed that this year Cena won't be the number one guy, it'll be Lesnar and his dominance. I just hope they follow it through and develop Cena's character into making it the opposite of his 'time is now' and how he has to find a way of overcoming these losses.

 

[lenguy]

I'm not sure how I felt about the segment to be honest. For one,when Cena came out the first time,he was there,on time without a sign of fear on his face. The second time around he was late. He came out all cautious and tense,so why the sudden switch? Why was his absence not explained? Another part of this that doesn't seem consistent is why all of a sudden Cena so dead scared of Lesnar? I mean, he had no problem getting in his face 2 weeks ago and starting that huge brawl. So why all of a sudden does Cena have his tail in between his legs? Nothing really major happened in between then and now for Cena to have this attitude change about Lesnar,or did all those video packages get to him?

Anyway,the segment was alright. It didn't go like everyone expected it to go,which I'm not sure a lot of people would agree on whether or not that was a good thing or a bad thing. Just because you are able to do something differently does not mean it is the way it should be done. A better way to sell the match and the PPV would have had them brawl at the end to reflect how heated these two men have become with one another. It just would have made more sense that way in my mind. The story just seems inconsistent to me. As I've said,one week Cena has no problem getting in Lesnar's face,the following week,nothing happens between them and then the week after that Cena is all of a sudden apprehensive towards Lesnar when nothing happened between them within that time frame for such a change on Cena's part.

Whatever the case may be I felt the segment seemed a little drawn out. I don't mind Lesnar on the mic,but only in phases. Last night focused a bit too much on Lesnar. It would have been nice to have Cena out there to carry the segment with him but Lesnar had difficulty trying to carry it on his own. While Lesnar wasn't down right awful,it didn't really seem like the crowd gave a damn after a few minutes. It might be because Lesnar lacks charisma or if its just the way he presented himself during the promo but the crowd didn't seem to care.

To me, Brock Lesnar is the guy you want to watch in the ring and not hear what he has to say,at least not all the time. A let down of a segment but its not the end of the world. I don't expect everything WWE churns out to be pure gold but you just have to live with what they give you sometimes.

 

[Rockyfolifebo!!!]

This was kind of refreshing. Nobody ended up through a table or anything like that. The only thing I don't really like is how they made Cena seem like a punk. I completely understand that they're trying to push Brock, but they can at least give something to Cena going into the PPV. For goodness sakes, the guy didn't even talk! He's been on a losing streak since Mania, and he just looks very weak going into this Sunday. It will definitely be interesting seeing these two clash. Two different styles and attitudes locking horns!

 

[AwesomeRko]

I thought it was pretty good, obviously Brock isn't the best on the mic but like many have said he isn't supposed to be. His demands/ noncommittal selfishness are actually very in character and worked perfectly in turning fans against him and drawing heat because they reflect in many's eyes the true reality.

Brock has been stressing legitimacy since his return and this segment was perfect in tying Brock's true motivations into his on-screen character and thus making several fans hate him, I even felt myself starting to get a little angry.

Cena's vulnerability was also great, its fresh and a change from super-Cena and made great tv as you could just feel the audience willing him to put Lesnar in his place, his failure to do so and lack of confidence only amps the excitement for Extreme Rules.

 

[brainsuks1234]

I don't get why you people keep saying Lesnar's mic skills are bad ? They are a hell lot better than before and I enjoyed his segment yesterday with his demands but hey it's just me

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

The only thing wrong with this segment is what came out of the Contract Signing? Nothing. Cena had a blank, expressionless look on his face. Had the 'Chain Gang' chain around his neck, but nothing else changed. It's like Edge's segment was wasted, as well. So you've killed two segments of Raw that were supposed to be the entire focal point of the show.

Lesnar's fine on the mic. He needs freedom to ad lib and not have to worry about lines. Say what you feel, just no foul mouth. Or limit the foul mouth. Cena should have sneaked up from behind and pelted Lesnar with the chain a few times, busting him open, showing people that Cena's slowly, but surely becoming what everyone is wanting him to be. MEAN!

But instead, Cena looks like he's scared. Lesnar's about to crack up in the ring at how scared he is, and Brock comes out and demands ridiculous things in a way of showing us that 'he calls the shots'. No one believes any of that for a second and no one should. I wasn't one bit convinced that Lesnar meant anything he said, except his part about the money.

Brock should have focused more on 'not being paid enough to be his mercenary'. Instead, he stumbled through canned lines.

Thankfully, this is a match that can tell a better story in the ring. At least I hope it can.

 

[nygmasworldorder22]

i enjoyed the segment.....brock and matthews was hilarious and cena came back with the wordlife chain...and u actually for the 1st time in a while heard the "cena sucks" chant diminished! it was good 2 see bri bella win as well. im hoping the are getting ready to remodel the divas division with kharma's return. as far a lord tenshi goes he ok so far. now the thing that kills me is why have r truth become a face so soon and b a jobber??? they need 2 put a title on him and ziggler again. but over all i dug the show! cm punk and jericho especially! they mesh well 2 gether in the ring and on the mic.

 

[akbigbadwolf]

It was a nice change, Brock definately needs a mouth peice his pacing is slow and dull. Cenas reaction to all this is a bit odd to say the least he basically got punked last night. But with all said and done how do you get to keep the face of your company and have him come out looking strong but at the same time keep Brock looking strong. I don't think that there will be a winner coming out of E.R. Usually that type of match is set towards the end of a fued not the beginning how do you elevate this fued if the first match ends up being a blood bath that buries your top guy and even if you don't where do you go from there?

 

[DetectiveZelix]

I'd have to say yes It was a breath of fresh air. Brock's talking ability or rather style is unique and different. Showing his country farmboy like roots despite atempting to make us believe he was a business man. i like the type of character Brock presents as most say he is like that backstage anyways. Its almost like Cena in a sense of the Character playing the man vs. The man playing the character. He did seem a bit nervous as he is NEVER on the mic. Most of the work he shows is right there in the ring. But his character and characteristics are different for a star in the WWE.Though some may have found him boring I found him interesting and unique in a sense that he stands out with his demands that he can surely back up. He scared Laurintius straight out, as well as Cena. So I loved the contract signing and was hooked on every word, albeit it repeated multiple times, just showed how, well, for lack of a better term "undeucated" brock is. Sounds insulting but the point is Brock's a country boy who's extremely skilled in Wrestling and fighting and likes to kick peoples ass. There's nothing more to it. He's not some fly by night superstar. he's not razzle dazzle. he's not a suck up and though he tries, he's not a good Showman. He's just what he said he is, an Asskicker which is how we enjoy him most. The funny thing is he's supposed to be a Heel but have alot of antihero attributes which I think is the main reason, other than nostaglia and utter exhaustion of Cena, that people cheer him. i cheer him because he brings something new to the table and I support him because he backs up what he says, and of course like many others, I'm tried of Cena. But most should know, Brock is being heavily used to enhance Cena's character like never before, and I for one can't wait to see what will be the fallout of it all. But to come back to the OP's point, yes the Contract signing was a fresh breath of air and different as well as unique for both performers. I'm all in

 

[Headman]

Firstly It was a scripted Promo. All the great promo cutters are allowed to improvise and not learn a fucking script like they had with Brock Lesnar.

Secondly ...Brock Lesnar is a "Legit" fighter and an asskicker. He doesn't need to be good on the mic.

Thirdly All the Cena fanboys can be ignorant but Cena doesn't have that great mic-skills either. In front of Rock and Jericho Cena is nowhere as good in cutting a promo.

Its Wrestling. What happens in the match matters not the talking.
And the contract signings are done on-screen for a purpose ...To make people pumped up for the match at the PPV. Therefore it needs to have some kind of physicality like finishers being hit on one-another etc.

You have got to be kidding. Cena crushed the Rock in the promo war whether it be by design or not he wouldn't have been able to do that if not for the fact that he can deliver on the mic. It's a real shame that you have to assume the criticism of Brock is coming from "Cena fan boys" when I myself a John Cena fan defended Brock earlier in the thread. If the question is "Is Brock Lesnar a talented promo guy?" the answer is no. Cena is light years beyond Brock on the mic and odds are he's going to have to carry Brock in the ring considering his extreme (No pun intended) amount of time away from the ring. With that said, Brock did exactly what he's supposed to do. He got most of the crowd behind Cena so that gets him a passing grade with me. As I said earlier he doesn't come off like a superstar cutting promos. He sounds like an MMA fighter which helps give this feud a sense of realism. Which is great because Cena's last feud with the Rock felt real aswell. Despite coming up on the losing end, Cena has had two awesome back to back programs. I'm sure this will be the biggest buy rate an Extreme Rules ppv has ever scored.

 

[Fansince1992]

The contract signing was good. It is keeping us all guessing and scratching our heads as to what John Cena is thinking right now. Cena didn't say a single word the entire night and he didn't need to.

The one good thing about John Cena is he can portray so many different charactors that others can't. He can be Super Cena, Brutal Cena, Goofy Cena or as we saw during the contract Signing Scared Cena. During the Edge segment, Cena put across an amazing emotion without saying a single word. He looked upset when Edge left the ring, he looked like he was about to cry. Then during the actual contract signing Cena used pure facial expressions to put across his story.

Brock Lesnar also did a great job. A lot on this thread are saying they were bored of his work on the Mic. Why? he used his own past to put across a Realistic image of how truly tough he is going to be to beat. He doesn't need to be flamboyant on the Mic like the Rock or Shawn Micheals. Brock's UFC history is doing him the world of good. It brings a realistic edge to WWE.

 

[closet_fan]

I didn't mind it either. First, I knew they weren't going to have the contract signing at the beginning. That would have left everyone changing the channel for the rest of the show.

Edge's promo almost had shoot-style qualities. Both he and Cena wanted to be wrestlers since they were teens and fulfilled their dream. Brock became a pro wrestler because Vince threw money at him and Brock (in his own words) had nothing to do after his college years were over.

Even Brock on the mic didn't bother me THAT much. It made JL's character look vulnerable when Brock wanted all his demands. (Could set up a HHH/Brock storyline with HHH coming back to fix up what JL screwed up). Cena not coming out, then coming out with the chain around his fist made me think he's playing possum and wanted Brock to think he felt scared.

Cena goes from a guy who slapped his opponent in the face and had to have several wrestlers pull him off to a guy who is scared to be in the same ring with the guy? I don't think so.

However, the only way I see this match working is if both totally destroy each other to the point both can't wrestle anymore. Or Brock wins, but changes Cena in the process (no not heel). Cena winning does nothing but make Brock look weak before he even has a chance to gel within the company. Plus I am sure one of Brock's stipulations in his contract was to not lose to Cena in his first PPV

The worst outcome of this would be for Cena to lose and then come out on RAW and give his "respect, blah blah blah" speech like he did the Rock.

But in the end, Brock wins, destroys Cena and Cena takes some time off.

 

[MrSinister]

Lesnar's unreasonable demands part works, they did this promo right. not a big fan of contract signing stuff but this had me waitting to see what was next and its been some time wwe has had me feeling that way.

 

[DeathClutch]

This is what I love about WWE how they can totally split the IWC down the line.
As much as I enjoyed the contract signing on Monday, WWE are running the risk of making Cena look weak, thou I believe Brock needs to go over on Sunday to re-establish himself with the newer fans, WWE could be seen as burying Cena big time unless the whole point of the losing streak is to have Cena revamp himself maybe reverting back to his 'thug life' gimmick and have Cena chase Brock for a rematch later in the year, which would fit in nicely with Lesnar running the yard having him make Cena face a list of guys to make Cena earn it kind of storyline.

The problem WWE has is they can't job Brock out regularly or they'll run the risk of a potiental Brock/Undertaker bout looking weak, when this could be the biggest bout in WWE history.

 

[oneleggedman]

it didn't follow the standard formula that we've come to expect in these things where both guys talk some smack to each other, they insult each other, toss in a few threats before a wild brawl breaks out. I enjoyed the segment last night because they didn't go that route.

Hast this been pointed out by Punk in atleast 2 contract signings since he was chasing the title/champ? Tbh, it was nice to see Cena vulnerable for a change, but it should have ended in some form of physicality. Brock should have shoved Cena down, or punched him a couple of times sending him into the corner, then left staring him down, with Cena too scared/tentative to retaliate.

But am I the only one who gets a little pissed that whilst this is a good storyline, it will inevitably be a let down when Cena finds his mojo and puts his little pump up sneakers on again? You know, the same Cena that would have cut Edge off this Monday, putting a damper on his emotional, desperate and pissed off eulogy for the Cena of old. The same Cena who KILLS every heels passionate and animated promo with his dour attitude and facial expressions, out of touch jokes and slow delivery. Oh and will people drop the promos he cut on the Rock - thats the only time he has been marginally interesting and WWE dropped the ball yet again.

Sorry guys, I know its 'cool' to like Cena nowadays because, like, it USED to be 'cool' not to like him, but y'know, you gotta 'respect' him right? Yeah, because even if you dont give a fuck about him you should 'respect' him so atleast you have an opinion on him and thats what matters about Cena. Thats what makes him Backlund V2.

I for one couldnt give a fuck about Cena, and whatever life ring creative throw to him this time in the storyline wont matter to me, as I will be watching the match with one eye on Skyrim. Instead Im looking forward to whatever fued Lesnar moves onto when he is done with captain no charisma.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

Hast this been pointed out by Punk in atleast 2 contract signings since he was chasing the title/champ? Tbh, it was nice to see Cena vulnerable for a change, but it should have ended in some form of physicality. Brock should have shoved Cena down, or punched him a couple of times sending him into the corner, then left staring him down, with Cena too scared/tentative to retaliate.

But am I the only one who gets a little pissed that whilst this is a good storyline, it will inevitably be a let down when Cena finds his mojo and puts his little pump up sneakers on again? You know, the same Cena that would have cut Edge off this Monday, putting a damper on his emotional, desperate and pissed off eulogy for the Cena of old. The same Cena who KILLS every heels passionate and animated promo with his dour attitude and facial expressions, out of touch jokes and slow delivery. Oh and will people drop the promos he cut on the Rock - thats the only time he has been marginally interesting and WWE dropped the ball yet again.

Sorry guys, I know its 'cool' to like Cena nowadays because, like, it USED to be 'cool' not to like him, but y'know, you gotta 'respect' him right? Yeah, because even if you dont give a fuck about him you should 'respect' him so atleast you have an opinion on him and thats what matters about Cena. Thats what makes him Backlund V2.

I for one couldnt give a fuck about Cena, and whatever life ring creative throw to him this time in the storyline wont matter to me, as I will be watching the match with one eye on Skyrim. Instead Im looking forward to whatever fued Lesnar moves onto when he is done with captain no charisma.

Completely agreed with you. Couldn't have said it better.

WWE is doing a good job of making people who hated Cena in the first place get behind Cena again. Edge was referring to 2006 when Cena was "Super Cena". And in some months we will see "Super Cena" again.