Is Cena really as bad as most fans make him out to be?

[GI Cake]

I find John Cena rather strange to me. From most forums and from my friends I constantly hear that John Cena is a very overrated wrestler. But on the other hand, when I watch some of his matches I can't help but not too be impressed. And then on some days, he lives up to his hype.

One example of this can be the Over The Limit PPV main event when he AA Batista through the stage floor, The main event match with CM Punk where Mason Ryan made his intro. Then however, some of his performances bore me and feel forced on. Like recently the Royal Rumble, and the Elimination Chamber.

So do you guy's believe that John Cena is not a guy who can perform at a high level weekly or is it just flashes of greatness, discuss.

 

[Scuba 06]

Is John Cena good wrestler as in locks and holds ? No. Is he terrible absolutely not. Cena is a solid performer. People just dont like him because he wins so often and often squashes his opponents. They dont seem to mind that taker does it though. Others dont like his pg, nice guy look over lame catchphrases. Regardless of all those things Cena can and most often will deliver in the ring. Even though Cena is not a great "wrassler" he does do one thing better than most, he knows how to work the crowd into the match. Hogan was a terrible wrestler but the guy had ring presence and knew how to work the emotions of the audience, in terms of selling, and building towards certain big spots in a match, mainly the finish. Cena's mannerisms and demeanor do have a lot to do with how his fans react to him. It makes a big difference. Its not alawys about the moves, there's a whole art to it and the moves are jusr a part. Cena does what he needs to in a match, most often he dosent dominate for most of a match and if paired up with a decent opponent more often than not, they will deliver a memorable match.

 

[dtpmichael2]

I don't feel he is a good wrestler, but a great entertainer he is... I feel a lot of ppl don't like him for #1. A lot of ppl hate the pg era which would have them hate the leading character in the pg era being cena #2. That he does have this "superman" character that overcomes the odds.. I feel that pg is somewhat smart that same way wwe has to bring in younger talent the same is for the fans... I have the take that you make it pg to get the younger kids who actually don't have anything to do on a friday night to watch then as they get older, switch it back to tv-14 to grow with them in a sense... So the older generations hate Cena cuz the kids love him and is the poster boy for pg

 

[PedigreeTHE619Chokeslam]

Wrestling isnt all about tecnical ability, its alot more then that. And Cena, no hes not the most tecnical sound man in the ring, neither is he as bad as people say, like the Stupid "5 moves of doom" phrase. You say that about him, you have to say it about every face main eventer in the business. Its just the way it works. John Cena is the face of the WWE because of his in ring skills.

But the only thing about Cena is that hes always in the spotlight. Obviosly because hes the face of the WWE, but hes always in the Main event, it would be nice if he could step aside one day and let someone else have the spotlight. Soemone like John Morrison. A match between Morrison and The Miz at WrestleMania this year would be abso-fuckin-lutly epic.

 

[Calderownz]

Of course not. Generally speaking, this is all objective. However, with the way some go on about him being the downfall of the business, we have to keep in mind that this is complete hyperbole.

He's a decent enough wrestler, and if you watch his match with Kurt Angle when he debuted and his match with Brian Danielson that took place even before that, you can see that he's a capable worker. He might need the right dance partner, but there's nothing wrong with that.

You can't really point out a match of his that was filled with horrible botches. He's not Eddie Guerrero or Ricky Steamboat, but who the hell is? He's a qualified worker.

Aside from that, he's a decent talker and is very charismatic. When unscripted, he's very entertaining as well. Watch his old OVW tapes for proof of that.

Is he the best talker? The best worker? The most charismatic? No to all of this. However, he's capable in all three, is reliable and handles himself well for the company.

As a conglomerate, you can't ask for anything more. As fans, we shouldn't expect much more.

 

[redeffect3]

The beef with John Cena is that he has the "five moves of doom". but Randy Orton (DDT, Side Body Slam, RKO, punt to head) has the same thing. All main eventers do. Pay attention to it. Because cena is a face, he gets his ass kicked most of the match and comes back and wins. Wrestling is a story. Cena is telling a story of how he gives it his all and overcomes the odds. Who cares if he is super cena, its a character, it isnt real. Maybe he needs to fix his character but I believe Cena is good. Yes, he is not even close to being considered one of the best, but he is good.

 

[Dr. Mantis Toboggan, M.D.]

I think Cena is a great performer. I have been a fan of his since his debut on SD. He's not just flash. He can deliver on any given night. It all depends on who he's working with. Most people have forgotten about his pre thug/rapper/current gimmick. He hasn't always been the guy with 5 moves. Go back and watch his older stuff, I beg you.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

My take on Cena is that, as has already been mentioned, he isn't a great technical wrestler but an excellent entertainer. He's also a constantly reliable workhorse for the WWE, which counts for a lot in terms of his on-screen success. He's used a lot on T.V. largely because he's always been willing to be used, and there's a lot to be said for that.

I think a major reason why people say he's terrible is that it is the "cool" thing to do, and many think that it makes them seem a "smart" wrestling fan to use the same tired old "five moves of doom" and "you can't wrestle" in regard to Cena. There was a time when this wasn't far from the truth, although he's very much stepped up his wrestling game over time (thank you Kurt Angle for having a major part in that.)

I think it is also considered the "in" thing, particularly in the IWC, to hate on what is popular among the bulk of the fanbase and to especially hate on whatever the company is trying to push. John Cena is the face of the company and has been pushed as such for a long time, so naturally many of those who wish to profess that they understand wrestling better than the common crowd are naturally prone to hating that which is being actively promoted.

That's just my own opinion from personal observation. I'm not saying this is true in all cases, but I'd go so far as to say that it is in many.

 

[DemonToSome]

I hate the Cena character but respect the man. You all obviously don't get the 5 moves of doom though. I realize that most top guys have a specific set of moves they rely on but Cena litterally takes an epic beating and hits the same moves in the same sequence EVERY match. I mean the least he could do is try to get another move over with the crowd. There's not enough back and forth in his matches so he rarely gets anybody over. You can't just take a horrendous beating for 7-10 minutes and all of a sudden start running the ropes full speed like nothing happened. It makes your opponent look weak. He also rarely takes a decent bump. He just flops like a fish. On a positive note...he's got mucho charisma and can talk decent enough (although I can't stand most of his promos). He also is great at getting the crowd emotionally invested. Is Cena overrated? IMO yes slightly but I won't deny he's unique. Good entertainer, bad wrestler so I guess it depends what you want in a worker. I prefer wrestlers over entertainers but we're all different.

 

[Dark Horse]

I personally feel like we've all watched John Cena hone his craft over time. I think that now he is at a point where he's definitely not overrated. If we go back a few years John Cena was indeed overrated in the wrestling ability category. He's got much better over time, I think he takes a pretty good beat down too.

The whole "Superman Up" thing is what kills me at times to this day. Sometimes he takes too much of a beat down and it should be over. John Cena has been beaten, D-U-N, DUN. But then....as if he's one of the caped crusaders, he reaches into the figurative utility belt to escape defeat. It's just not right. You almost always know he's going to win at this point. After taking a million pounds of brain damage, all the sudden he Superman's Up, and it's Flying shoulderblock, sitout hip toss, side-release spinout powerbomb, Five Knuckle Shuffle, FU/Attitude Adjustment. O-V-A, OVA. Against all odds, in the face of all impending doom, it does not seem to matter.

I know he's now lost a number of matches, but at one time it was freakin ridiculous.

Outside of that small nag I can't argue with John Cena. He's got all the other intangibles to a decent enough degree that it all just works. He makes the WWE a ton of money and as a fan I am happy about that because it keeps the company around. Add to that and going back to the main point, he has developed into a pretty solid wrestler. There isn't anything he seems to do poorly that I have seen recently. How overrated is that?

 

[GameOver]

another repeated thread. sure there's porbably already 10 other threads saying the exact same thing.

and the answer is Cena personally is a great ambassador for WWE and certainly fills the main face role for atleast 50% of the crowd.

The Cena character however is lame, his face promo's are Zzzzzzzzzzz, his ring work was really bad for years. His selling of moves still leaves alot to be desired as DemonToSome mentioned

could use Elimination Chamber as the most recent example, he was acting all dissorientated then 5 seconds later he's bouncing around the ring like it's the start of a match until he gets ready for the U Can't See Me/5 knuckle shuffle, then suddenly he's all woozy again. Lastly he wins the match then acts and shortly celebrates then acts like he doesn't know it's over? despite the doors being open and refs etc. coming in at which point he's seemingly fully refreshed again WTF???

 

[GameOver]

I personally feel like we've all watched John Cena hone his craft over time. I think that now he is at a point where he's definitely not overrated. If we go back a few years John Cena was indeed overrated in the wrestling ability category. He's got much better over time, I think he takes a pretty good beat down too.

The whole "Superman Up" thing is what kills me at times to this day. Sometimes he takes too much of a beat down and it should be over. John Cena has been beaten, D-U-N, DUN. But then....as if he's one of the caped crusaders, he reaches into the figurative utility belt to escape defeat. It's just not right. You almost always know he's going to win at this point. After taking a million pounds of brain damage, all the sudden he Superman's Up, and it's Flying shoulderblock, sitout hip toss, side-release spinout powerbomb, Five Knuckle Shuffle, FU/Attitude Adjustment. O-V-A, OVA. Against all odds, in the face of all impending doom, it does not seem to matter.

I know he's now lost a number of matches, but at one time it was freakin ridiculous.

Outside of that small nag I can't argue with John Cena. He's got all the other intangibles to a decent enough degree that it all just works. He makes the WWE a ton of money and as a fan I am happy about that because it keeps the company around. Add to that and going back to the main point, he has developed into a pretty solid wrestler. There isn't anything he seems to do poorly that I have seen recently. How overrated is that?

LOL and where'd did that get that idea from? Hmmm excatly what Hogan's matches were like every time

Come out all power for a few minutes, then the tide turns and the heels worked there magic and carried Hogan through the match by beating him for 15+mins then go for the finisher and suddenly against all odds, The Hulkgster has Hulked up and is impervious to pain, takes a few stiff punches, shakes around, takes a few more, point/wiggle the finger, counter 2 punches, rebound opponent into the big boot, then drop the leg it's all over.

Somehow the heel that was so overwhelming the Hulkster for the whole match couldn't handle 3 moves in 15mins

 

[rge2010]

Cena gets a rough ride from the IWC. Its "cool" to not like him. While Cena is no Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels - neither is Undertaker, Triple H or Randy Orton, I find his style entertaining as he's not a bad wrestler. You dont become so popular and successful in the worlds biggest wrestling organisation from been a bad all round performer.

Cena has charisma, not that of Hogan or The Rock but he has it, can't deny. He cant cut Promos like The Rock or HBK but neither can 99% of the Wrestling world.

The fact is, if Cena quit tomorrow 99% of the Cena haters but would be secretly distraught deep down. Cena needs to turn heel and to win them over, kinda like Batista did.

 

[bigJOE]

glad some people have pointed this out, about cena and his few moves. look down the annals of wrestling history, and you'll see that pretty much every top face did the same thing. the Rock and Stone Cold both had this problem, as did Hulk Hogan. hell, those three may have been even worse than Cena, b/c a large part of their repertoire was punching and kicking. There are a few exceptions, but that's how you build the match; have the good guy jump out to a lead, then fall and get his butt kicked for a long time, then turn it around, hit a couple of big spots, and finish his opponent off.

 

[WWE_Colonel]

I don't think Cena is bad, I just think his gimmick is terrible. Yes Cena is a money making machine, but we all forget how Cena got so over with the crowd and that was through his rapper gimmick. His lyrics weren't poetry by no means, but he was very entertaining. Remember when at Mania XX when Cena beat the Big Show for the United States Championship, the whole crowd marked the fuck out. Old young you name it and it was because that gimmick was entertaining.

 

[DemonToSome]

glad some people have pointed this out, about cena and his few moves. look down the annals of wrestling history, and you'll see that pretty much every top face did the same thing. the Rock and Stone Cold both had this problem, as did Hulk Hogan. hell, those three may have been even worse than Cena, b/c a large part of their repertoire was punching and kicking. There are a few exceptions, but that's how you build the match; have the good guy jump out to a lead, then fall and get his butt kicked for a long time, then turn it around, hit a couple of big spots, and finish his opponent off.

First of all... read my earlier post and try to comprehend the difference between using a set of moves spaced out during a match or doing the same old shit. Second of all, fuck Hogan. It wasn't cool when he did it either. As for Austin, IDK when you started watching but after he broke his neck, he was limited as to what he could and could not do. So I don't see him as a viable example. Go watch some Hollywood blondes from WCW. Third, if that's the same story being told in every match, then why sould I want to watch? Every match should be different or people get bored and stop caring.

As for the people above who think we hate Cena because it's cool...you couldn't be more removed from reality. Blind Cena hate is SOOO 2006-7. Not a viable excuse anymore. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200.

 

[Mr. HD]

I don't think Cena is bad, I just think his gimmick is terrible. Yes Cena is a money making machine, but we all forget how Cena got so over with the crowd and that was through his rapper gimmick. His lyrics weren't poetry by no means, but he was very entertaining. Remember when at Mania XX when Cena beat the Big Show for the United States Championship, the whole crowd marked the fuck out. Old young you name it and it was because that gimmick was entertaining.

That's just what I was going to say.

I don't think is absolutely horrid in the ring. He's a good wrestler, but good's about it. Luckliy, he works with better wrestlers that can make Cena look good too.

His character is what's killing me. It's so stale and bland. I have no problem with him being WWE Champion, but his character is booked to literally win every match. I remember he had the title for almost 2 years.

Not to mention, his mic skills aren't exactly on the level of someone like HHH. Now, when he was a rapper. People could relate. The Eminem, "White Rapper" Character caught people's eye. Where is that now? Cena doesn't rap, all he does now is make corny jokes and win matches that most people wouldn't normally win.

As you can tell by fan reaction, his character wore out its welcome a long time ago.

 

[Strife3]

You know whats funny is that most people do not see it. WWE is trying to Turn Cena into the new Hulk Hogan, Make him better then the Alpha version. Hogan didn't have a ton of moves but like Cena Hogan put the people in the seats. You like him, You hate him but you STILL watch him. WWE see's Cena as the face of WWE just like Cole is said to be the voice of the WWE.

The only differance between Hogan and Cena is that Cena has haters. Hogan didn't.

The WWE has built Cena up and they are going to keep him there, he connects with the kids and some adults. with WWE as PG thats what they want and Cena can give it to them. So Cena will be in WWE along time.

Cena is not bad. He is a nice guy and he really enjoys what he does. he loves that not everyone likes him. He is not the greatest in the ring but he is the superman of WWE and thats how he is going to be used basicly over comming the odds.

 

[Sparky]

I don't think he is that bad, he's just getting a bit stale and no, I'm not talking about his moves. It's always the same thing. Promo, get beat down next week stand tough, week after get beat down again until he "over comes the odds" and defeats said person/people at a ppv. He just needs a few tweaks and at least half of the haters will stop hating.

 

[The Mighty Tiger]

Is Cena really as bad as most fans make him out too be?

Yeah he is right now, only because of the Superman gimmick!! It's already been said a bunch of times on here, but I'll say it again the guy matches suck! Why,......because of how he performs them, it doesn't matter how many moves he has anybody that has seen Rock/Austin 3 can tell you that they didn't use damn near any wrestling moves but that was 1 classic match because of how they perform it. It was back & forth you didn't know who was gon win that match, it was an all out war between 2 of the greatest of all time.

Cena matches on the other hand isn't back & forth, puting on a match like how hagon did wayyyyy back in the day just is plain ridiculous to the older fans w/common sense. Was it cool when Hogan did it yeah sure it was, but that was decades ago. I believe he doesn't even have to go heel just to win everyone over I believe he just has to sell his matches better. He needs to make his opponents look good, cause most of the time noone believes the guy is gonna lose a match & if he does there not clean victories which still makes his opponents look weak.

Whenever Angle, Austin, Rock, HHH, Foley, Taker etc was ever in a match togather they made each other look good no matter who won or lost. Cena just looks good in most of Cena's matches & that's why ppl are just sick of him. He use to be the man to me I really liked & use to get excited when he came to the ring, but besides for this past monday any time he comes out I be feeling like changing the channel cause he is just so damn predictable now.

 

[ThUnDeRpHoEnIx]

Cena was good.He entertained me...before he moved to RAW.Ever since then his become Hulk Jr and I cant remember the last time he lost a match cleanly.

I gotta say while that promo was Cena's best in a while it's nothing compared to what he used to do.Maybe because I lost my sense of humour but I didnt laugh at any of that promo.

Plus he has his 5 moves of doom.It doesnt matter if Orton,HHH,HBK hell even if Zack Ryder had 5 moves of doom it wouldnt matter.When they do they're 5 moves of doom they usualy do a momentum turning move before it.Like a Clothesline or something to get the momentum rolling for them.Cena goes straight to his Shoulder block etc etc till his AA.And he always hits it.Nowadays how many times do you see Randy set up properly for the RKO and hit it?

 

[RJJ]

glad some people have pointed this out, about cena and his few moves. look down the annals of wrestling history, and you'll see that pretty much every top face did the same thing. the Rock and Stone Cold both had this problem, as did Hulk Hogan. hell, those three may have been even worse than Cena, b/c a large part of their repertoire was punching and kicking. There are a few exceptions, but that's how you build the match; have the good guy jump out to a lead, then fall and get his butt kicked for a long time, then turn it around, hit a couple of big spots, and finish his opponent off.

Really?! Let's see:


Stone Cold: (Not ring master, not stunnig steve austin, only stone cold)

Moveset:2000-2001
-Stunner
-Cobra Clutch
-Mudhole Stomps
-Back Drop
-Catapult
-Stomp To The Groin
-Elbow Drop From The 2nd Rope
-Lou Thez Press(followed by an elbow drop)
-Superplex
-Boston Crab
-Spinbuster
-Suplex

-Austin is way better than cena as far as technical wrestling.
-Austin was a brawler, that's his style(because of his character), but he showed that he can be a very good technical wrestler. vs hbk KOTR1997, vs benoit SD2001(in benoit's hometown), vs angle Raw(Thier 1st match), vs bret(Actully all of their matches), all of these matches prove what I mean.
-Austin's neck(&knees) injuries limited his move-set as the time goes by.
-He's one of the best ever when it comes to ring generalship and psychology.






The Rock: (Not Rocky Maivia)

Moveset:2000-2001
-The People's Elbow
-The Rock Bottom
-Rock's Sharpshooter(A different version than bret's or sting's...)
-Dragon Screw
-Spinebuster
-Floatover DDT
-Swiniging Neckbreaker
-Running Thrust Lariate
-Samoan Drop
-Rock's Punch Combination
-Snap Overhead Belly To Belly Suplex
-Powerslam
-Side Belly To Belly Suplex
-Oklahoma Slam
-Opponent's Finsher move(You can count that out)
-Russian Legsweep

-Rock's Style is more of a Fast-Paced style.
-He's not the best technical wrestler in the world(better than cena though), but the combination of his great athletic abillity and that umatched showmanship is more than enough to put on great matches.
-Just like austin, rock is one of the best in terms of ring psychology, whether he's a heel or face.










Beside, cena's matches are too predictable and boring. First he get his ass kicked, later on he come back, do the shoulderblock 5 times which really pisses me off, counter a punch with twisting belly to belly suplex, five knuckle shuffle, attempt to deliever the AA, if he hit it then it's over if it got countered he'll counter back with the stf, end of the match. If the match was a tag match or triple threat match, Oh god, he'll double all the moves I mentioned on all of his opponent, you see that not wrestling, that's BS. That's why alot of people agree that cena can't wrestle. So please, stop comparing cena to rock and austin, he's simply not in thier league. And pls, stop talking about something you know nothing about.

 

[blackmetalbuick]

No I don't think he is as bad as people like to claim, he's just fun to pick on. Honestly more of the problem lies in the booking and the layout of his matches which some have already mentioned. We're just sick and tired of SuperCena, beating the odds, coming back from the brink, always winning in a predictable fashion. I think it would be awesome to see Cena go through a losing streak (even though I just realized it would probably still end with him beating the odds and eventually overcoming it). Yeah, lately we've seen Punk beat him with DQs, big deal. Honestly Punk is good enough that they should let him get a clean win against Cena. Cena should start losing some matches. Hell they could even show guys backstage all complaining about his 5 moves of doom and they all start working out innovative ways to reverse the AA. I can just see it now, Cena losing matches, sitting on the mat after the match, clutching at his hair and looking around at all the kiddie fans he disappointed. I would rather see a few weeks of that rather than the constant winning.

Cena isn't terrible personally. The art of the moveset is lost on a lot of guys these days, wrestling just isn't good in the WWE right now. We just see too much of him and he gets booked to win so much that it's boring.

 

[Uncle Chester]

Are people fucking sstupid? Stone Cold after his injury was more limited than Cena and not only limited but the moves he did use were awful. Stomp, Stunner, Punch, elbow drop. The patronizing way Cena's been booked has blinded people to the truth. Cena's limited, Stone Cold was limited but even so Cena's skillset is a lot better. For me personally it's harder to get absorbed in a Cena or Stone Cold match because of there predictability in the moveset and lack of transitions but Cena's good. His childish promos are annoying but he's great on the mic regardless and he is entartaining 70% of the time. The other 30% I find I'm rolling my eyes until Punk comes out and saves me from despair.

 

[The Mighty Tiger]

Are people fucking sstupid? Stone Cold after his injury was more limited than Cena and not only limited but the moves he did use were awful. Stomp, Stunner, Punch, elbow drop. The patronizing way Cena's been booked has blinded people to the truth. Cena's limited, Stone Cold was limited but even so Cena's skillset is a lot better. For me personally it's harder to get absorbed in a Cena or Stone Cold match because of there predictability in the moveset and lack of transitions but Cena's good. His childish promos are annoying but he's great on the mic regardless and he is entartaining 70% of the time. The other 30% I find I'm rolling my eyes until Punk comes out and saves me from despair.

You must have skipped over RJJ & my 1st post that explained the movesets w/others compared to Cena & the problem w/Cena & his matches. IT'S NOT ABOUT HIS MOVESET!!! Noone really thinks he is bad or sucks, its what you said the "predictability" of his matches. It's all about how he goes about performing his matches, there the same w/different opponents. They all just about end the same way. How does someone suppose to enjoy a man's matches if he does the samething in the same order ever match. This isn't the Hogan era that shit doesn't fly anymore like it use to. He needs to shake up his matches to entertain the older fan w/common sense. IMO his is entertaining about 50% of the time.