Comparing John Cena to Sting

[CM Steel]

As much as I don't like to compare people I had to make this thread. But for years wrestling fans have been comparing John Cena to Hulk Hogan so I guess were even. Anyway, with the legend and wrestling icon Sting FINALLY signed to a WWE contract thing are getting turnt up in the WWE right now. The history with Sting was he was the face of the now defunct WCW much like how John Cena is the face of the WWE in this era. Sting has never been a heel accept for his early run in the 80's tagging with "Rock" later know as the Ultimate Warrior (R.I.P.) as a member of the Blade Runners.

We all remember John Cena's time as a heel early in his WWE career as a rapper from West Newberry,MA. But since those days John Cena and Sting's wrestling career's almost mirror each other soon as Cena's wrestling days are over. IF Sting returns to the ring, can you see a match with him vs John Cena? This would be after Sting takes on the Undertaker of course since that's the match WWE fans would kill for. But in that sense, how in words would you compare John Cena to the Stinger?

 

[Stingersplash89]

Sting was a heel in late '99 (starting a Fall Brawl) Although the fans didnt feel like booing him and it only lasted about a couple of months.

 

[Wald]

I think the comparison is apt to be honest, I'd even throw in another guy to the mix and say Bret Hart is a lot alike the two too. Here's why.

All three of Sting, the Hitman and John Cena are guaranteed Hall of Famers, there isn't one wrestling fan in this world who could logically argue otherwise. All three have different styles and all three have tremendous ability but one criticism I could make of all three is that their move set only really works if they are babyfaces. That's fine though, as I don't think any of the three ever really relished being heels anyway and set themselves up to be full on faces.

I could also make the argument that the three were fantastically over wrestlers, some of the most over wrestlers we've ever had, but that all three were never on the same level as The Rock, Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan. That's no big insult, as no-one else in the modern era of wrestling has come close to those three. But I bring it up because at one time all three of Sting, Hart and Cena were the faces of their companies. They made it to being the number one guy and they did very well at that job.

So yeah, I'd say there are comparisons between Cena and Sting.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

all three were never on the same level as The Rock, Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan.

I believe Sting was on that level at one time. He can definitely lay claim to having been the face of the biggest wrestling company in the world for a while, but there are a few other reasons I believe he was an A guy. 1) He was the second-largest merchandise draw in the industry in 1997, behind only Steve Austin. 2) He generated WCW's biggest-ever buy rate against Hulk Hogan. 3) Coca-Cola brought him in to do a commercial for Sprite in 1999. When you're being asked to advertise for a monster corporation, you're a huge star.

So in the late 80's and early 90's Sting was a big wrestling star, and in the mid-to-late 90's he became a mainstream star. That star has dimmed, but from the early 2000s to the mid 2010s he's still been getting television exposure, and remains a name within wrestling. Plus, the halcyon days are remembered by many. WWE are geniuses at (re-)building people and presenting them as huge stars. A few months of hype, educating viewers on just how important Sting was via video packages and testimonials from other wrestlers, and a match against Cena (or Undertaker or Triple H) would draw big.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

I'd say Sting had more charisma and was far more over as a babyface or face of a franchise than John Cena has ever been. Could be different eras. Perhaps John Cena in the late 80's/early 90's would have been just as over as a face. But as the industry evolved, so did Sting. Surfer Sting probably would have been booed in the attitude era for not being cool enough. But he adapted, and rather than getting split reactions he was unanimously the most over face on the roster until Goldberg. And even then, Sting wasn't around for most of Goldberg's run. I understand Cena moves merch to kids, but the fact that over 50% of your live audience boos him, that just isn't a top babyface in my opinion. It's the promotion being too stubborn to change what they think is working. Sting never had this issue, and if he did, he adapted before it became an issue.

 

[Zycho32]

I'd say Sting had more charisma and was far more over as a babyface or face of a franchise than John Cena has ever been. Could be different eras. Perhaps John Cena in the late 80's/early 90's would have been just as over as a face. But as the industry evolved, so did Sting. Surfer Sting probably would have been booed in the attitude era for not being cool enough. But he adapted, and rather than getting split reactions he was unanimously the most over face on the roster until Goldberg. And even then, Sting wasn't around for most of Goldberg's run. I understand Cena moves merch to kids, but the fact that over 50% of your live audience boos him, that just isn't a top babyface in my opinion. It's the promotion being too stubborn to change what they think is working. Sting never had this issue, and if he did, he adapted before it became an issue.

To be fair, Sting was never truly exposed at the top in the way Cena has been. There was always someone, whether heel or face, who had an equal or better position on the ladder. Flair, Hogan, maybe Luger, etc. Basically there was always enough around and above him that allowed him to change when the situation required it ('Crow' Sting is only possible because of the NWO).

As for Cena, the case could be made that he had been sorely exposed by a weakened talent pool that lost several really big stars and had their developmental territories screwed to high heaven, leaving empty spaces at the top and precious little from the next generation, a long-in-the-tooth Management/Creative that could not adapt to what it was working with(a far cry from the crap Sting voluntarily stuck with, but still) and in the case of Cena relentlessly rammed a square peg through a round hole because suddenly the bottom line meant more than anything else, which meant when the time came for Cena to freshen his image, he couldn't, and finally a Wrestling Community that simply no longer refused to follow the unwritten script that they used to, and in some circles play contrarian for the pure pleasure of it.

Put Sting in John Cena's career and, really, he's still the surfer and he gets exposed and he gets all the heat.

As an actual comparison, where the two are alike is not so much their specific wrestling styles as their overall package in the ring. These two operate and operated more as 'foils' for the talent opposing them. When they faced someone who had a genuine strength somewhere in their skillset, or were just simply technical wizards, they enhanced it through their contrast of athleticism. No, you couldn't really count on them to enhance someone with skills ranging from crap to mediocre to merely well done, but against the really big talent they were wonderful contrasts.