Hard to believe it's been a whole decade

[TheICChampion]

So, it's coming up on ten years since John Cena first won the WWE title from JBL at WrestleMania 21. Since then, he's more or less been the face of the company and has won a total of 15 World titles, taking on and usually defeating everyone that's been put in front of him, mostly as the main event or in a featured storyline, with very rare exceptions. There's no doubt that he has earned it, despite what some may think of him or his wrestling ability. My question is, thinking back to when he won the title for the first time, did any of you ever think he'd be where he is now? Did anyone honestly think that he would ever be on par with or perhaps even bigger than some of the biggest names in wrestling history. I realize that so much has changed over the years, and the days of only defending a title once every few months or so are long gone, but jeez, it's only taken the guy ten years and he's only one World title reign from tying one of the best ever in history, Ric Flair. Honestly, who could've seen that coming? I know I didn't.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. What do you guys think? Did any of you look at Cena back then when he first made it to the top and say: "He's got what it takes to stay there for a very long time."? Or did you possibly believe that despite his getting over that he may have been a flash in the pan? Either way, I'm almost certain no one could have predicted that he would be where he is now. Was it the right move by WWE, in your opinion? I now leave it open to you guys.

 

[BillAlfonsos_Whistle]

I will start off by saying I am certainly a Cena hater. The stretch of time from like 06-09 with the Super Cena gimmick was flat out the single worst era in the history of pro wrestling IMO. There was no good competition. He was beating Orton again and again and than taking on glorified jobbers such as Tensai and Umaga who were clearly not going to beat him.

That being said...the WWE did the right thing by first elevating and than keeping the guy on top. It's clear he is a hard working dude that has the out-of-kayfabe persona to match his in-ring Hustle Loyalty Respect mantra. His charity work alone is mind numbing. He smashes Make-A-Wish records. I really respect him for that.

I've never been a fan of his in-ring work but he has had some great matches over the years with Punk/HHH/Orton/Edge. He was so overwhelmingly over for a while of course it was logical to keep him on top. I think creative screwed up with the Super Cena shit because IMO that is when MOST people turned on him. There was always a vocal minority that disliked the dude but the idiotic gimmick where he would beat people 5 on 1 soured roughly 50% of the universe.

Another thing he does exceedingly well is roll with the punches. He throws the booers nonsense right back in their face by proclaiming he "loves getting booed" and "loves getting cheered" as he said this past week on RAW. It's hilarious actually.

 

[Stingersplash89]

Kinda off topic, but the days of a title defense every few months are definitely not over. Not until WM anyway.

 

[TheICChampion]

Kinda off topic, but the days of a title defense every few months are definitely not over. Not until WM anyway.

Yeah, but Lesnar's the exception, not the rule.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Holy crap! I had just been pondering vaguely and subconsciously about the same thing just a few days ago, probably 2 days back. The fact that only Ric Flair is a 16-time champion and it took him a career spanning 3 decades (1970s-2000) and many different territories/companies to get there, whereas a guy like Cena does it within a decade, can only be accounted for by the brand extension and subsequent lack of world title contenders/superstars. Had it not been for the separate brands/titles, we wouldn't have had so many undeserving multiple-time champions like Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus and Rey fucking Mysterio.

I think I was watching the Edge DVD and I felt like many of his WHC victories were just an extravagance. John Cena is no different. Had it not been for CM Punk and John himself stepping back to pursue other storylines, and the titles being united, he would've already been a 20 time champion by now, having won the title at least 5 MORE times in the last 3 years. But to answer your question, NO. I hadn't predicted or known back in 2005 that John Cena would dominate WWE Raw for the next 5 years. It was just so different in 2005. You had a lot of wrestlers whom you wanted to win the World championship- whether it be Angle or Jericho or Edge, or an up-and-comer like Mr. Kennedy.

To answer your other question, "was that the right move? " .

To tell you candidly, 80 out of 100 things that must've happened between 2005 and right now were not "right moves". And as regards Cena and his world title victories, well, yeah they're an extravagance, just like Edge's . I think he should've been only a 10 time champion as of today. Edge shouldn't have crossed 6. But then, most of his victories were tainted/unfought for/lacklustre victories anyway. A lot of it has to do with two brands and two world titles.

I'd like to end by proposing a view and expecting a counteracting view from any of those here.

I don't think that the following wrestlers would've(or should have) either been a world champion at all or been a multiple-time champion, had it not been for two world titles:- The Miz, Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, Jeff Hardy, etc.

Those I do think whose WHC reign was deserved :- Big Show, Kane, Mark Henry, Christian, CM Punk. And had it not been for the WWE, Cesaro, Drew McIntyre, Wade Barrett, and Damien Sandow(at least once), between 2010-2013.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

People talk about the "Holy Trinity" of WWE being Hogan, Austin and Rock, but I believe it's now a "Big Four" also including Cena. There's no denying his tenure, work ethic, and talent. Sure, he "can't wrestle", but when people like Shawn Michaels and Del Rio go on record saying he's one of the best workers in the game, I tend to believe them. There's also the small issue of me being unwilling to continually credit the "other guy" for his multiple classic matches, as much of the IWC does.

Seems Cena's now transitioning into a prominent upper-mid card role, like Savage, Undertaker, Sting and Flair held for much of their careers. He challenged Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental title at a recent Abu Dhabi event, and will face Rusev for the US belt at Fast Lane. This is significant, as Cena hasn't been in a match for a secondary singles title since he lost his US strap to Orlando Jordan on March 1, 2005. Hell, secondary titles were beneath him by then; this is the first time since November 2004 that Cena has challenged for the US belt.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

People talk about the "Holy Trinity" of WWE being Hogan, Austin and Rock, but I believe it's now a "Big Four" also including Cena.

No I do not think so. Austin, Hogan, and Rock were generational talents that transcended the industry when they were on top. Cena was the top guy for almost a decade but can you say he's revolutionized the business? Cena is a stable #1 guy but only to keep the status quo of the company. Where as Austin, Hogan, and The Rock all shifted the WWE to another direction and a whole new level.

The most you can say is Cena popularity was because of the company's shift to the PG era where his fans were mostly kids. If you look back the evolution of the company, going from the Attitude Era where WWE went mainstream and attracted a varied demographic to now where WWE's core market are either hardcore wrestling fans or kids, it almost looked like WWE took a step back.

 

[CyberPunk]

No I do not think so. Austin, Hogan, and Rock were generational talents that transcended the industry when they were on top. Cena was the top guy for almost a decade but can you say he's revolutionized the business? Cena is a stable #1 guy but only to keep the status quo of the company. Where as Austin, Hogan, and The Rock all shifted the WWE to another direction and a whole new level.

The most you can say is Cena popularity was because of the company's shift to the PG era where his fans were mostly kids. If you look back the evolution of the company, going from the Attitude Era where WWE went mainstream and attracted a varied demographic to now where WWE's core market are either hardcore wrestling fans or kids, it almost looked like WWE took a step back.

I tend to disagree with this line of thought. Sure, Cena is no Austin or Rock, but to say he has had no significant impact or influence on the business would be ignorant. He carried the company through times when they had most top stars step away or take smaller roles. Cena's supporting cast has been rather lackluster over the years and that comes to WWE's inability to create a long term star in last 10 years.

Cena's loyalty and work ethics set him apart from others. He has worked tirelessly for last 10 years as company's main draw and an Austin or a Rock can't claim that.

 

[kadroan]

I'm not surprised by his success. You could tell he was going to be a franchise player, it's just a matter of timing. Brock leaving WWE was the best thing for his career. If Brock didn't left, he probably would have been second tier like Punk, Batista and Orton.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

No, I didn't think Cena would last on top as long as he has. When he won the WWE title for the first time and changed it to the "Spinner", still in rapper phase I honestly thought he'd be hot for a couple of years and then fade back into the mid-card, as I believed people would tire of him as he wasn't that good in the ring.

He has really surprised me and I don't think we've seen the last of him a World Champion just yet! Even though he gets alot of criticism- with alot of it justified- no-one can deny Cena's loyalty and dedication to WWE. He HAS had alot of good matches throughout his career with alot of different opponents and he does deserve respect from the WWE Universe.

I'm neither a Cena fan or Cena hater. I probably lean towards not really liking him, but I damn sure respect what he's accomplished. I think its almost a certainty he'll break Flair's record, as he is easily the biggest draw WWE has, and they won't keep him out of the title scene for long.