is the IWC happy with Cena's current role?

[chuckmdubya]

John Cena has taken more heat from the IWC than any other wrestler in history. Well, no other top superstar exactly had the IWC before Cena, but I believe most of his criticism comes from his character, not the fact he came around as the IWC was growing.

Most criticism is in large part directed at booking. Most believe they built him too strong of a face in order to profit from his character. The period of Cena's dominance no doubt made for some extremely anti-climactic main events, because we all knew Cena would win, no matter what.

After years of complaints and criticisms from the WWE universe, it seems Cena's character doesn't get the push it once did. Is it because of aging or because of fan chatter? I guess we really don't know the exact reasons behind this new way of booking Cena.

But throughout 2014 he was booked to put Lesnar over mainly. He lost in 3 world title matches and was not at all dominant. He didn't even get to be the guy who got rid of the authority, that honor went to Ziggler and Sting. He doesn't overcome odds much anymore. Even when he got the 3 re-hired that was because of Sting's appearance.

Now fast forward to Fastlane. He is in a match against Rusev, a match that he will lose. There is no way WWE is going to end Rusev's streak a month before WrestleMania. Now, I expect a rematch at WM in which Cena win's the US title.

1. Do you like the way Cena is being booked now?
2. Would having him as US champ help add credibility to the title?
3. Will he break the all time title record eventually or is he doomed to midcard jobber status from here on out?

 

[makeitvab]

1) I enjoy his matches, always have. I just hate his character/boring "Same ol' same ol" promos. When that ring bell goes off though he delivers, hell he got an entertaining enough match out of Khali at a Judgment Day PPV I think it was

That said his booking is alright, the only thing I'd change is not making him forefront of other peoples business. What I mean is on Raw when they showed the 3 returning to work (yes he won them their jobs back) the graphic showed the 3 of them crammed onto one side and Cena the whole other half.

Then HE got to ramble on for.. I dunno 5-10 minutes I was making dinner and the other 3 got a combined 3-5 minutes of mic time. Should have given them that time to show the fire that's been lit under them.

2) Yes and No. If he defends the title in hard fought matches and continuously discusses being the champ then sure. If he runs through mid carders easily or starts only having title matches w Orton, Kane, Show etc what's the pt?

3) Of course he'll break his title record. Dude's the definition of a company man and has many more years ahead of him.

I'd rather have Cena win via count out or some shady means at Fast Lane, then have Rusev in a shock make Cena tap at wrestlemania. THAT would add stock to Rusev and the U.S Title because its holder beat the biggest man on the grandest stage. If you're going to feed Brock to Reigns why not build up Rusev as the next monster to give some new blood a mega feather in his cap?

Dream booking for me would be that scenario, Dean as I.C champ, belt merge fight (feud was hinted at pre-rumble) and have Deans lunacy shine through and a 100% Dean (no knee injury) pins Rusev, merging the belts, and looking like a legit badass face.

 

[CyberPunk]

Cena is still the 'face that runs this place.' Yes, he is taking a backseat to other people at this time because a) he doesn't need the title anymore and b) WWE has finally realized that Cena isn't going be around forever, so build someone new while he's still around. Having said that, his booking hasn't really changed. His character hasn't changed either. Last Mania season, he spent feuding with Bray Wyatt, this time round, it is Rusev. It doesn't, however, mean anything if they don't do anything with these talents after a Cena feud.

As far as this feud is concerned, I am not thrilled, but I am willing to give it time. This feud should be the biggest thing Rusev could've hoped for during the Mania season. If booked right, Rusev can well cement his place in the upper midcard and his build can continue. This feud should be used to develop the Rusev character, add dimensions to it. I am not holding my breath though. Also, Cena winning the US title would do nothing for it if he doesn't defend it often enough or feuds for it enough.

And yes, at some point, Cena is bound to equal/break the title record, unless WWE magically wants to do otherwise.

 

[Navi]

With Cena it's always been a dammed if you do, dammed if you don't scenario. Here's a guy who is a fantastic in ring worker, and quite frankly one of the best wrestlers pound for pound on the roster. But people hate him. Why I have no idea.

I've never had a problem with Cena except for the fact that he's stale, his character hasn't changed in forever. But he's the WWE go to guy, when they need someone to hold the title or start a big feud, Vince looks at him everytime, and he has always delivered.

As for the way he's being booked right now? I think the US title is a step down for him and he doesn't need the rub of beating Rusev. Someone like Roman Reigns needs that more. Besides in a Cena/Rusev match, you split the fanbase. The half that hates Cena will support Rusev, it's a weird situation.

I don't think he'll necessarily add credibility to a title that really has no credibility to it to begin with. The WWE has never seemed to have a plan for their midcard titles in the last 10 years. They only focus on main event stars and have let the IC and US titles slide.

Cena will tie Flair's record and go on to beat it. And I think he'll be the last wrestler to ever do that. With NXT and the good people they have down there on the horizon, the WWE shouldn't find themselves short of amazing wrestlers to fill the gaps on the main roster.

 

[L@RISANO]

It is refreshing to see the likes of Reigns, Rollins and Bryan at the top of the card, which means that Cena can finally take a backseat.
Arguably, he did take a similar role last year against the hot monster heel at that time, in Bray Wyatt. I do think that Daniel Bryan's injury meant that the original plans for Wyatt were changed in order to prepare Cena for the Brock challenge.


I am all for him as US Champion, however, I hope that if he does win that title at Mania, he can actually hold onto it and have storyline feuds for the US title with other interesting midcarders... it would definitely help the credibility of the title... though that won't mean permanent elevation whatsoever, as it will depend who wins it from him.
WWE would have to make a plan for Rusev once he is defeated, though, from what I have seen from him, I think he can be a worthy upper mid-card heel at least with a Main Event run at some points.


He will still get a another title run at some point. Of that, I have no doubt. I just hope that the initial mentioned trio plus a few others are established enough, so that Cena's last few title runs are as a huge heel in the WWE.
There is no denying that he is a top notch talent, and I have no doubt he will remain relevant for quite a few more years to come as he is the arguably the only current star that is synonymous with the WWE amongst the mainstream audience.

 

[chuckmdubya]

I'd rather have Cena win via count out or some shady means at Fast Lane, then have Rusev in a shock make Cena tap at wrestlemania. THAT would add stock to Rusev and the U.S Title because its holder beat the biggest man on the grandest stage. If you're going to feed Brock to Reigns why not build up Rusev as the next monster to give some new blood a mega feather in his cap?

That certainly would add a lot to Rusev, and the guy who ends up beating him. I think this actually makes more sense for a storyline than Cena winning. But they've got this monster streak that they have got to end at some point or Rusev will be the next Cena, but only a heel. Even today, when I watch a Rusev match I know there will be one of two results, Rusev wins clean, or Rusev wins by cheating.

This one is actually kind of tough to call, logic says Rusev but history says Cena. We will see...

 

[TheICChampion]

I'm pretty happy with the fact that other than he's been the only guy feuding for the title since he won it in July (although Rollins being added at the Rumble PPV was a very pleasant surprise) he's been kind of staying away from the Main Event scene for a little while now. I guess it's up to how the feud with Rusev is handled as to whether or not I'll be happy with his booking lately. If he somehow makes Rusev look like a legit future main-eventer, then I don't care if he wins or loses. That's my main gripe with Cena. When he wants to, he can turn it on and really make me interested in seeing what he's going to do in his matches with his promo skills. But he almost never puts younger talent over, at least not cleanly enough to position them higher and make them look like they're ready for the spotlight. You'd think Cena realizes that he's established to the point he can lose 200 matches straight and we'd still think he could win his next match. You think Cena doesn't have enough pull backstage to maybe say to McMahon "I think I should put this guy over, I have a good feeling about him"? Because he does. He just doesn't choose to exercise it when it comes to benefitting anyone else.

As for the US title, it's all about how the superstar holding the title is booked. It doesn't matter who holds it. The superstar is supposed to make the title, not the other way around. Hell, given the chance, I think Axel would make a great US Champion. It just depends on how they book him after he wins it. But given that this thread is about Cena, I'd say he probably could make the US title better, at least for a little while. Despite who the WWE Champion is, it seems Cena always gets priority booking, so that can do loads of good for the US title.

There is no way in Hell Cena's not going to break the record. They're eventually going to need him to hold the top belt again, and probably sooner rather than later, if rumours are true that Lesnar's leaving and Reigns isn't ready to hold the title. There's always Rollins cashing in but once that's over you can bet Cena's going to get a chance pretty soon. He's got a solid 4-5 years left in him so I wouldn't be surprised if he makes 20. Once that's all said and done I think he'll finally be pushed off to the side for the future generation.

 

[Stan Hansen]

I'm a John Cena fan.

Has his character gotten stale? I can't say that it hasn't however I have respect for the man as a wrestler/superstar. There is nobody, nobody, that outworks the man. The guy is everywhere and as reliable as the sun rising each day. He is a heck of a worker and underrated by many for his work inside the ring.

If he was truly allowed to develop and change his character I think he would do great things. He can talk and work a match as needed. He's the best and I don't see how anyone can argue different.

I'm not understanding where they're going with Rusev and Cena but I'm looking forward to watching it play out. Rusev needs to go over and in a big way. He's got a bright future if handled properly.

 

[Rane]

I just can't see Cena winning the US title. I think it's because of so many years of him being on top of the mountain as the world champion that I just don't see him with a different singles title on his shoulder. I believe it will tarnish his credibility and it will really cement the fact that he is taking a huge step down to let other superstars in. I have no problem with him stepping aside, but it needs to be done right and winning the US title shouldn't be the first step. I believe there is no way he can step up again and tie Flair's record or surpass it if that happens, because it just wouldn't be believable. There are a rare few in the company who I've seen being able to transition from IC/US champion to world champion and vice versa over the years, like Jericho and Mysterio. I just don't believe Cena is one of those rare few.

 

[#1druid]

I'm happy with Cena feuding with rusev and I'm certain he's going to break the all time record, reigns etc will be hurt at some point and they'll call on him again. I don't mind cena I hate his character but he is criminally underrated as far as his ring and mic work are concerned. I'm don't see him winning the title as he's too big for it and rusev should keep his streak. My real question is when cena eventually faces reigns how will the crowd split, I personally pick cena as he is a good ring/mic worker with a stale gimmick as opposed to reigns who is poor in the ring/on the mic and has a stale gimmick.

 

[Pedigree1]

Navi said it best. Its a damned if you do,damned if you don't kind of thing.

Cena is the hardest worker IMO their ever has been in the WWE and i mean ever. The guy is a machine for the wwe. His charity work,his hustle,loyalty,respect,it's not all smoke and mirrors it's all true. It's who he is.

Im fine at the moment with him not having the strap and putting over yonger talent. Hell he has been doing that time and time again. Hogan never did that. I wouldn't mind a US Title run for Cena,although i don't see it happening. I think Rusev should beat Cena at Fast Lane cleanly..

He will go on to Tie/Break Flair's record of 16 reigns. He is the only one that deserves it

 

[salopstick]

Taker gave Brock the rub to establish him as a top heel for the year he just had and it worked.

CENA needs to do the same for rusev. This isn't your run of the mill heel to be fed to CENA. Rusev is a guy who can have a good run as a heel and long term eventually have a career similar to show or Kane.

CENA doesn't need the win.

WM will have its face moments with ambrose, reigns, Bryan and Ziggler.

 

[willross]

John Cena working with young guys is the best case. It's the best way to gauge whether the audience is buying one of the new guys as a top guy by putting him with the top guy.

Midcard jobber? lmao....moving on.

He will break the record because he is the safety blanket. If there is an injury, he is there. He's a cyborg. Does 20hr days, 6-7 days per week, and when he gets an injury he is out 3 months at best. That is one of the key reasons, on top of being a good worker (sorry guys, he is one of the best....sorry he doesnt do a 450 every other spot) he is reliable and is established.

 

[Rusty]

Ehhhh, I don't mind Cena taking a backseat and being out of the title picture and all, but I still see him as a bigger deal than any other superstar on the roster. It's refreshing to not hear smarks diss him as much anymore, though for the life of me I still cannot understand what everyone sees in Rusev.

What in the holy shit makes any of you think Rusev is better than any other monster Cena has beaten in his career? He's like Umaga 2.0 in my book, but nowhere nearly as relevant. Cena and Umaga had some great matches, then Umaga fell down the card just like Rusev will. I hope the same thing happens here, just to prove that Rusev is an overrated piece of shit. Without the Russian gimmick, let's be honest he would fail as hard as Tensai would.

Oh yeah, plus... I don't think I've ever seen a Rusev match last longer than like 10 minutes. So I have no idea how good the guy would actually be in a long term match, and judging by his lack of experience, I don't think he'd be very entertaining at all.

Cena on the other hand, is God, and will break Ric Flair's 16 World Title runs. If he doesn't I'm flying to the States to rip Vince McMahon's face off myself.

 

[kumarjtk]

its simple IWC screwed john cena.

 

[sMark]

I think WWE will use Cena to built Rusev as their new top monster. Kane, Big Show and Henry were top monsters for so long, fans tired of them, and they will not contineu to wrestle for that long either, i see all 3 of them retiring pretty soon, so WWE need new monster and with Cena on sidelines it's perfect opportunity to use John for it.

But Cena will be in title picture once more, this Reigns/Cena match will happen 1 way or the other, so don't count him as midcarder yet. He will still get strong programs, because if Reigns fail, WWE will need Cena to look as strong as possible.

 

[Wald]

I was tempted to make a thread about this yesterday called 'Are The WWE Under-Appreciating John Cena' but didn't get the time.

The guy will have worked two back to back midcard matches at the past two Wrestlemanias (assuming the Rusev match at Mania goes ahead) and there is a strong argument that that represents them taking him for granted. You would never have seen Austin work two midcard matches back to back at Mania, hell he flipped out over having to work one against Scott Hall

 

[goalieman31]

Austin was just never the company guy cena is. Ive never seen a wwe guy as dedicated as cena is to his charity work and being on the road constantly. Cena understands he needs to build talent up and that being THE GUY isnt always the most important thing.

 

[chuckmdubya]

It is good to see Cena getting respect from almost all posting on the thread. For a long time he has gotten heat for being the best around and being the only stone WWE had to throw. I am not a big fan of his gimmick either, but he pulls it off well. He carried WWE through 2014 even though he wasn't booked as a winner. There was no one else around that would establish Lesnar as an undefeatable monster. He helped Rollins become the top heel he has become. I was highly critical of Rollins until the Cena feud, Cena and Rollins are a good mix and can bounce mic work of one another very well. And when Reigns wins the title from Lesnar, and goes over as the one who beat the one in 21-1, he can thank Taker and Cena for making Brock look so bad ass.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I usually enjoy Cena's matches, quite a bit. Sometimes, I do groan a bit due to frustration whenever "SuperCena" makes an appearance during the matches but, all in all, I've enjoyed his work. John Cena is a very, very good professional wrestler, I don't give a crap what his haters say. He's shown innumerable times that he deserves the success he's achieved in WWE, though that's not to say I don't understand and agree with some of the frustrations of some fans, some who love the guy, some who like him and some who detest him. As fans, we usually tend to take our frustrations with certain things out on the wrestlers themselves even though it's really at management frustrations should be aimed probably 90% of the time. Wrestlers do what they're told to do and sometimes they're given pure crap and have to make the best of it. But it's the wrestlers we see each week, they're the ones in the ring cutting the promos and wrestling the matches, so they usually get the lion's share of the criticism.

Off & on since I've been a poster, someone will bring up the notion of a big league, main eventer going after a mid-card title. While it's usually an intriguing notion, it's not really something I expected to see in WWE. John Cena is at a point in his career, he's really been at this level for quite a few years already, when his legacy in WWE is carved in stone. There's nothing to be done really, reasonably I mean, that's going to tarnish his standing in WWE. As a result, I think it makes him a perfect candidate to challenge for a mid-card title as a means of upping its prestige. I like the idea of Cena being in a mid-card title picture because it can only help the championship as the thought of WWE booking John Cena as if he doesn't matter is probably the most unlikely scenario we'd ever see.

I wouldn't mind seeing someone like Randy Orton put in the mid-card or even tag team title picture at some point because, like Cena, Orton's legacy is assured. His legacy won't shine as brightly but, then again, very, very, very few legacies will.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

I respect Cena a lot. He has been put over on the mic or in a match by - The Rock, CM Punk, Lesnar, HBK, HHH, Kane, Ryback, RVD, Edge, Orton, Flair, Bret Hart, Mick Foley, Chris Jericho and Stone Cold. Everyone who speaks about him talk about what a hard working guy he is and all the things he does makes him the number one guy in WWE.

The current role he occupies is good because he is out of the WWE Championship scene now and he is working with people who he can put over. But the issues with Cena are simple ones - his ring psychology could be better and his no sell superman come backs are just insulting to the art of pro wrestling. It does not bring any mid-carders up higher when he does this - and that needs to change and the boos would shrink significantly.

I would like to see Cena fight the Undertaker at WM with their careers on the line. It would be epic. But if they cant do that - they should keep cena out the way of Reigns and Daniel Bryan for now.

 

[Aeon Mathix]

I've longed since argued that John Cena is the complete package and everything you want in a professional wrestler. Good looking, clean cut, excellent mic skills, fantastic in ring ability, eats breathes and lives the company, etc. Who wouldn't want that type of person in ANY kind of business if they were the boss? Quite frankly no one on the roster right now comes even close to John Cena as far as the total package goes. If you were to build a professional wrestler from the ground up, John Cena is what you would come up with. Obviously though, from what i've seen on the internet for about a decade now is that a different character or whatever would be added but nonetheless.

His role right now is the seasoned veteran helping carry along the company into the next generation. Cena has done everything there is possible to do in the business. He's the guy that is being used to help the new guys get over and when something goes wrong like Bryan getting injured last year, you can just slap the title on him and it would be completely believable. That is a VERY valuable person to have on your roster.

While I don't care at all for Rusev and still think he is going to fizzle out by around summertime or so, it is a great thing seeing him being involved in a feud with Cena where we aren't quite sure who will win. They have done an excellent job of building Rusev as unstoppable and now he faces his greatest challenge in John Cena. This is where we see if Rusev really is here to stay or if hes another "foreign monster of the month". Will Rusev make Cena pass out to the Accolade or will Cena win the night for America?

There really isn't anyone on the roster Rusev could go against right now where we would have that kind of doubt on the outcome of the match. That's very telling for Cena and while I feel his career may be winding down in the next few years, he is still perfect for any spot he is put in whether it be you need a believable world champion, or to just put into a feud to kill time.

 

[Rocky84]

Austin was just never the company guy cena is. Ive never seen a wwe guy as dedicated as cena is to his charity work and being on the road constantly. Cena understands he needs to build talent up and that being THE GUY isnt always the most important thing.

It's not that Austin wasn't the company guy, it's that Austin was only around for so many years at his height ... 1997-2002 against Bret, HBK, Rock, and Scott Hall only. Where Cena has waaaay more time at the top ...enough is enough. Time to start letting others have their moment...he's been on top main eventing against JBL, HHH, HBK, Rock, Batista, Edge, Orton, Show etc...for over a decade. Austin maybe wasn't as much a company guy but that doesn't really mean anything in this regard. It's the longevity...not to mention popularity ...Austin was hot, and Cena has cooled off bigtime so it's easier for him to take a step back.

 

[laodaron]

So, and this is a surprise, since I expected nothing but silly Cena hate in this thread, but I agree with many of the sentiments.

I REALLY like Cena fighting Rusev for the US Title. I would LOVE for Cena to win clean at Fastlane, so that Rusev can pin Cena clean at WM31, or make him tap, or make him pass out. Imagine the rub to the title AND rusev if he were to win the belt back clean at Wrestlemania from Cena.

But, the one issue is that Cena's star power is massive. Many of the lower card guys jut can't survive the rub that Cena gives them. Bray Wyatt is the most recent example. Cena provided excellent matches, and Bray even looked like he was improving while fighting Cena, but then through he summer and then after his break, he just couldn't hang on anymore. Maybe he deserved a clean pin against Cena, who knows.

Either way, I feel like this is the least obvious match coming up on the PPV, and I also think that John Cena probably really appreciates the "time off" from the Main Event picture to fight some lower card guys, put some talent over, and have some fun matches. I've said it before, but John Cena is becoming the most powerful enhancement talent ever.

 

[DexVendetta88]

I'm glad Cena is taking a backseat for new talent to flourish into the next faces of the company which I feel should've been done for some time now. I never really was the biggest fan of Cena (even to this day), but at least I know enough that this guy is a workhorse. It's a good thing that the WWE is easing up on him because they know he can't be the top guy forever. The only reason why I feel they kept him there at the top for so long is because no one is as reliable at holding the top spot like him. The only thing I don't like about him is as many have pointed already is how stale his gimmick got. This kinda hit home for me because my younger brother pointed this out. Let me explain, when Cena got big, my brother was only in middle school. Now he's a college graduate, and he noticed it. Kinda makes you think how long Cena really was at the top. And here's the reality, Cena can always go back into the main event picture for the next few years as well. I feel his current feud with Rusev won't hurt him at all because I believe both him and the WWE knows that he's at that point in his career where he needs to start passing the torch, and it won't affect his status all that much.