Has John Cena Ever made Any Up and Coming Talent?

[pepentorresHHH]

this came to me when having a conersation about how Rusev would be made with another clean victory over cena at mania but when thinking back..... Has anyone ever been made with a win against Cena?? I think that currently getting a win against Cena (Part timers are excluded) is the biggest thing anyone can do in WWE currently.....

We've seen Cena fight the young up and comers for the last few years, Barrett, Bryan, Punk, Rusev, Sheamus, Wyatt, Ryback, Miz, Ziggler,among others.... Some get the win (mostly under dubious circumstances like interference, Roll ups, etc) but most lose.... The question is...... Has Cena truly elevated anyone by the end of their program?

TBH he has made some look good but I never think of anyone's whos career was made by feuding with Cena

Miz was overshadowed by Rock and Cena during their program for WM and as soon as rock left cena took the belt from him a month later. Miz never found his footing again..... My favorite program between them was back in 09 when Miz called out Cena and everytime Cena didnt show up Miz would say he beat him until Cena shut him up At The Bash.....

I would argue That Bryan and CM punk made themselfs in spite of John Cena.... Punk had the pipebomb (although he never beat Cena clean) and the 1 year+ reign... Bryan was made by the crowd and his amazing matches in programs with people like Miz, Ziggler and Sheamus.... by the time Bryan bat him He was already the #1 guy as far as popularity goes and immediatelystarted feuding with the Authority without taking a breat to recognized he pinned Cena Clean....

Sheamus never looked good against Cena, his victories occured when Cena slipped into a table and There was interference. But still took two world titles from Cena right?

Barrett fought Cena in their program involving the Nexus but can anyone tell me when did Barrett looked good in the program ( he even won against Cena in october 2010 thanks to interference). I would argue the nexus itself, his program against Orton and His Bad News gimmick made Barrett

Ryback never beat Cena, had to turn heel against him, lost the royal rumble, amd had what remained of his momentum extinguished during their program in 2013.

Ziggler and him feuded in late 2012 and ziggler beat him on tlc but Cena took him out in steel cage matches and handicap matches..... He had to wait til after Mania to regain his momentum and his program with Cena benefited no one tbh....

Bray Wyatt lost against Cena at WM last year but most of the people i know thought Cena should have lost at the biggest stage to help Wyatt but Cena only took a loss in their program when after destroying the 3 members of the wyatt family Inside a steel cage a singing kid stopped him.... Bray got back with his programs against Bryan, Jericho and Ambrose at least....

Good luck at Mania Rusev....

So.... No one is questioning how Good Cena is, how great in the rin he is, or his mic skills but the question is...... Has anyone being made or benefitted from working with Cena ??

 

[Jack-Hammer]

There are most definitely quite a few guys that Cena has helped elevate. Aside from Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, Rusev seems to be benefitting from his program with Cena. In the past several years, how many times have we seen mid-card champions put up against main event talent, especially on the road to WrestleMania, ultimately for the purpose of keeping the main event talent look good? During WrestleMania season back in 2013, we saw Cesaro & Wade Barrett jobbed out left & right to Cena, Randy Orton and just about everyone else in the upper mid-card to main event level. During Cody Rhodes' first run as Intercontinental Champion, he feuded with Randy Orton in which he lost almost every match and the title wasn't even in play.

Another guy off the top of my head Cena helped elevate was Rob Van Dam. Cena put RVD over at ECW One Night Stand back in June of '06 for the WWE Championship. RVD became the first & only simultaneous WWE & ECW Champion, but he screwed it up with by getting arrested. Edge is another guy that Cena helped elevate as Edge's first WWE Championship reign came about by cashing in his MITB briefcase that he won at WrestleMania XXI on Cena.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I would say that Cena has put two people over in the right way for the Storylines - Against RVD - when he came out to the One Night Only event in 2005 - that was EPIC. The crowed went for him and he heel'd it up and took the loss. Very good ending.

Second - When CM Punk finished the Pipe Bomb - the ppv after in which he beat Cena then left with the belt - that was done well by Cena too.

I think he could and should do more. But respect for the things he has achieved.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Made? What does that even mean? Who in the last thirty years has "made" anyone? Is this the mafia?

Look, if you don't like Cena then fine. I'm not that big of a fan either. But don't insult out intelligence by asking some subjective question with a boundless term. I'm in the camp of no one alone makes anything. It is a team effort of writers, producers, technical crew, bookers, ownership, management, T-shirt designers, costume department, medical staff etc. that all make it work. Ultimately though each guy is responsible for themselves. Cena has been very good at helping himself and others but this concept of "made" just feels like an attempt to bitch about him.

 

[MCMG]

Edge and Punk are the big two. They wouldn't be as big if it wasn't for Cena. Both would/could have been successful but not to the same extent. Indeed, if Cena isn't around than much of Punk's character would be eliminate and/or irrelevant.

Edge was the Rated-R superstar to play foil for the increasingly clean-cut babyface John Cena. Sure that started because of a different feud but the notoriety is from his stuff with Cena. Not only did Edge win his first World Title by beating him but he also had a long series of matches that took Edge from a guy with a lot of potential to a top level guy.

Punk is obvious. The pipebomb doesn't have the same impact if John Cena isn't in the ring. The match at MITB was phenomenal and they had several other great encounters. In about one month, with Cena's aid, Punk proved he can talk the talk and put on matches of the absolute highest quality.

Bryan's win over Cena was massive, however, I feel it was the feud with The Authority that helped really make Bryan. Even look to a match that was seemingly a throw-away. Cena and Cesaro had a match just before Elimination Chamber last year and it was incredible. Cena helped ensure Cesaro is someone to take notice of. He then went on to win the battle royal and become a Paul Heyman guy. That one match was a huge breakthrough point for someone who was just another guy on he roster.

Others have had varying success but it depends on the booking afterwards. When you look at some of the names; Ziggler and Miz in particular didn't really go anywhere after. Nexus was a mess and Wyatt definitely proved in his feud with Cena that he is a top-level guy. Sometimes, that is all you can ask for.

I don't fully accept the idea that one guy can make another but they can help. Punk and Edge are definitely the big two. The ability to play of Cena's character is clearly vital and something both did well. Punk and Edge would always be fantastic talents but working with Cena undoubtedly helped them in their career progression.

 

[Softcore Holly]

I know a lot of us still wishes more for him but I would like to add Cesaro to the list. Cesaro's awesome matches with Cena really made him standout to the non-NXT watching audience, and even though Cena won all the matches Cesaro looked like gold in every one of them. Like before he was a yodeling idiot that couldn't seem to decide on a gimmick and then stuck in a mostly jobbing tag team with Swagger, but his matches with Cena really helped plant the seed of him being a amazing talent in people's minds.

Sure it hasn't really paid off for him yet but I doubt he would've gotten as hot as he did last year if it wasn't for Cena.

 

[Wrestlingfan100]

he tried with Evan Bourne, even main evented raw and house shows with him, talked about him positively on Raw and in interviews.

He always liked Daniel Bryan and even signed the petition to bring Bryan back when he was fired for the neck tie thingy. Remember summer clean finish as well.

He tried with Ryder but Ryder wasn't book right.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Okay, so the previous posts name quite a few performers Cena helped get over. CM Punk especially stands out because even as great as Punk painted himself, I doubt he'd deny that a lot of the credit for his initial push goes to Cena.

Yes, tons of people now "hate" Cena or are "bored" with him. That's fine, but it's inaccurate to imply he's never put anyone over. Especially when compared to Hulk Hogan in his heyday, Cena has done the deed for many wrestlers.....he even took a loss to Lord Tensai(!) in order to jump-start the big guy's push.....which seemed like a good idea at the time.

If WWE management has decided to alter the career direction of Cena ....which seems to be occurring, as evidenced by the fact he's not main eventing WM31, along with other indicators, a victory by an up-and-comer over him will still be a true launching pad for the young guy......and if Cena is happy with his new role, it's all good.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

You are confusing making a win against Cena and making someone benefit working with him. Cena is still the face of WWE. He is still no1 guy they have in merchandise sales and other stuff like charity. He is not Jericho, who goes on tour with his band, comes back and lets Fandango beats him at Wrestlemania. He is still John Cena, someone who by default is not to be taken lightly and booked to look strong against everybody. Even working with him means a lot to up and coming talents and you shouldnt be expecting to have him feud with just anyone.

Even in terms of just winning, you can argue with likes of Punk or Bryan. In terms of just working with Cena, he made plenty of other guys look good. Dunno why would you expect that he just lose to anyone who chalendges him over time, he is still not somebody who is just there to put over people in terms that he goes out there and lost to them. And even in that terms he lost plenty when it was given oportunity for that. Recent examples for that are Bray and Rusev and even Ambrose if you forgoten about that.

 

[whoopin' ass]

I would agree with Edge and RVD but there is a catch - they were already established stars by the time they feuded with Cena. He did help get Edge to that main event level but I think that was more because even then people were tired of Cena so anyone who they liked who was going up against him would get a good reaction.

I get what people say about Ambrose and Wyatt but really, that's not making talent. In order for talent to be made, the match had to effect Cena in some way even if he wins. Take Taker vs Hardy - Hardy lost but Taker still showed him respect in the ring after the match. Even in losing, Hardy made an impact in Taker to the point where he now respected him. That is making a wrestler. When had Cena done that? His losses against Rock and Lesnar were quickly forgotten and usually because he was quickly put over on newer talent. How did that help them? Anyone remember him dominating the Wyatt Family after losing to Lesnar? Even when he loses, it doesn't impact him. He got eliminated first in Survivor Series yet he wasn't the one losing his job just before The Rumble. Because nothing seems to impact him, he isn't making guys - just being in the ring with them isn't enough. I am not saying he needs to lose every match he is in from now on but losses need to effect him for more than just 1 night and even when he wins, the other wrestler needs to look strong and be pushed after that which doesn't happen.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

Well, just recently as in within the past 3-4 years there are guys who got big wins over John Cena, and guys who had high profile losses from John Cena. I'd say feuding with Cena can definitely elevate a talent. However, if they don't win they quickly move back into the midcard and struggle to ever get back to that level. On the other hand, guys who beat Cena are permanently elevated to main event status. I don't mean just winning any match, but actually winning a feud or ending feud.

Guys who got a big win over Cena
CM Punk - MITB 2011, SummerSlam 2011
Daniel Bryan - SummerSlam 2013

Guys who had big losses to Cena
Alberto Del Rio - Hell In A Cell 2013, Survivor Series 2013
Dolph Ziggler - Cage match on RAW 2013
Wade Barrett - SummerSlam 2010, TLC 2010
Damien Sandow - failed cash-in RAW 2013
Ryback - Payback 2013

Now, it may not be fair... Ziggler did beat Cena at TLC 2012 and Barrett did beat Cena at Hell In A Cell 2010... But Cena obviously and definitively won those feuds.

Guys who are somewhere in the middle, or jury is still out
Bray Wyatt - Loss at WrestleMania30, Win at Extreme Rules 2014, Loss at Payback 2014
Seth Rollins - Loss at TLC 2014
Dean Ambrose - Win on RAW 2014

I think Wyatt definitely took a big step back after losing his feud with Cena. But he's remained high up on the card because they push him so hard. But in Summer of 2014 he had definitely lost a step,maybe he could be even more over if he had won. Jury is still out on Rollins and Ambrose, but they also haven't really had a proper feud with Cena yet.

 

[L@RISANO]

Made? What does that even mean? Who in the last thirty years has "made" anyone? Is this the mafia?

Look, if you don't like Cena then fine. I'm not that big of a fan either. But don't insult out intelligence by asking some subjective question with a boundless term. I'm in the camp of no one alone makes anything. It is a team effort of writers, producers, technical crew, bookers, ownership, management, T-shirt designers, costume department, medical staff etc. that all make it work. Ultimately though each guy is responsible for themselves. Cena has been very good at helping himself and others but this concept of "made" just feels like an attempt to bitch about him.

This.

Pretty much everything GSB said above.
Cena can't make anybody, rather, given his high status as a top talent in the company, he can give someone a helping hand to higher heights and from there it is upto the talent themself and those above Cena(the Top Brass) controlling the show to 'make' said Superstar.