John Cena a bigger legend then Hulk Hogan?

[FlairFan2003]

Hulk Hogan is more well known nationwide than any other wrestling personality. Hogan is known and recognized on par with Rock (who has a fairly successful career as a movie star making him well known), more than Austin (Hogan was the top star in wrestling and working in non wrestling media more than twice as long as Austin. There is a whole generation of people who know Hogan who never knew Austin), more than Flair (maybe the most reveered star of all time, with rap songs celebrating him, athletes from LeBron James to RG III to Kevin Greene to Charles Barkley all singing his praises), more than Randy Savage & Roddy Piper, more than HHH.

Cena is a big star in a small market. The wrestling audience is smaller than its been outside of super events like W-Mania at any time since the 1960s. Nitro and Raw had more than twice as many viewers than Raw today in the Pre NwO, Pre Attitude era circa early 96. Raw's ratings and WWE interest have been on a steady decline for the past seven years, during which time Cena has been the centerpiece of the programming (as older stars such as HHH, HBK, Flair, Taker, & Hogan all moved into total or near total retirement). Fact is, parents, teachers, etc know John Cena much less than they did Hogan because fewer people are and have been watching him.

Now I dont blame all of WWE's decline on Cena. The massive departures of legends has left a big void in the main event roster, a void that much of today's talent as well as questionable booking hasnt filled. Thats not on Cena. Still, Cena is playing to a much smaller audience. I remember growing up in the 80s, there was huge interest in Wrestling, especially big events that todays kids dont have (being a parent now I see it with today's kids). No doubt Hogan was huge back then but interest in general was much bigger, I have plenty of memories of kids in school buzzing over Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Sting, etc. Definately more adults watched too.

My mother knew who Hulk Hogan was. She has no idea who John Cena is

My 50yr old boss knows Hogan (he was never a wrestling fan, hates it). He knows Rock (as a movie actor who he heard started in wrestling), he has a vague idea who Flair is. He wouldnt recognize Cena if He fell on him.

Is Cena a star in wrestling ? Yes. Is he a better in ring performer than Hogan was ? Yes. Is Cena a recognized star on par with Hogan outside of traditional wrestling fans ? Absolutely not. When Cena headlines a Top 25 program on prime time network TV (as Hogan-Andre did in Feb 1988 on NBC) and draws one the biggest ratings for any shows, wrestling or otherwise on cable (Flair-Hogan Aug 94 on TBS) for an entire year, when he gets the cover of Sports Illustrated and stars in hs own syndicated action adventure series (Thunder & Paradise), then Cena can be compared to Hogan in terms of star power.

A better comparison for Cena is Brett Hart, a hard working performer who like Cena relied on his ring skills while portraying a straight laced hero character while carrying the torch during otherwise slow business periods.

 

[Pedigree1]

No one ever is gonna be bigger than Hogan! Was Hogan,the most talented guy in the ring? Absolutely not but he connected with the fans,and still does to this day like no other. He is the only one,who says brother every 10 seconds and it never gets old. Love or hate Hogan,that man is synonymous with Pro-wrestling and because of him,it is what it is today.

Love that fact or not,its true. Hogan to this day,gets mainstream coverage fans of old and new mark the fuck out and will so tomorrow night. Cena yes,is better in the ring than hogan ever was. He is on par mic-wise as well. The amount of Hate Cena gets,baffles me it really does. Makes me think there are a lot of haters and jealous people out there.

Not even Hogan though,is bigger than the business. Not Hogan,Not Cena,Not the Rock no one is.

 

[lowandmighty]

When Hogan first won the belt he kept it for about 3 or 4 years. If Cena beats that then he can be considered a greater WWE champion.

Cena may have won more world championships altogether but you have to remember that also means he lost more.

Even Hogan's WCW title reigns were longer than anyone else in wwe for the past 20+ years. That includes John Cena.

Hogan still has a longer combined days as champion record than Cena. Cena would have to hold the belt for 2 whole more years to break that record.

Another thing that must be taken into account is that fans didn't chant that Hogan sucked in full unison while he was face of WWE. They've been doing it to Cena since close to day 1.

Hulk Hogan also never held any belt in WWE which wasn't a world title. The tag team belts are world titles of tag team wrestling.

If you want to get really technical about who is the "bigger" legend then the answer is obvious. Just stand them next to each other, even today when Hogan is an old fart and has had copious amounts of surgery all over his body. Part of Hogan's skeleton is no longer a part of him and he's still bigger than John Cena.

If Cena tried to go up against Hogan back in the day, say 1985 Hogan would have destroyed him, you might think Cena is strong but back in those days Hogan quite literally could have held his weight down on Cena with one foot and literally ripped Cena's arms out of their sockets, thats how much bigger Hogan was in his prime compared to Cena in his.

 

[lil steroid meat]

Cena has not brought the mainstream success that Hogan, Rock, Austin and Bruno brought for the WWE/Pro Wrestling.

Cena is the man right now because he is loyal, hardworking, stays out of trouble for the most part and the way he has been booked has made him into a polarizing character.

Cena is at the top based off of his willingness to be a company man and get his hands dirty for whatever the company needs 365 days a year. Not because of him being overly charismatic or overly entertaining.

Still deserves respect for being the company guy and doing stuff like Make A Wish, etc.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I will say this with all due respect for Cena but Cena is nowhere near the legend Hogan is. I think Jim Cornette once said that the only place you will see Triple H being compared as one of the all time greats is within the WWE. That's how I feel about Cena. Unlike guys like Rock, Austin, and Hogan, John Cena will only be compared to these guys within the confines and of the WWE. If Cena will be considered as an all time great it will only be in a discussion within the WWE.

Don't get me wrong Cena does have a legacy in Wrestling but it's in the 2nd or 3rd tier with the likes of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Bret Hart.

The problem with calling Cena a bigger legend than Hogan is that Cena doesn't have the impact in the industry Hogan had. Hogan brought wrestling to the mainstream, Austin turned the Monday night wars around, The Rock also helped crushed WCW in the raitings and is the first WWE superstar to make it as a big time Hollywood star.

Cena will always be known as the "safe" choice for the company. The one that's on top because he keeps the WWE in it's steady course and status quo. The conservative pick that didn't change the industry but kept it stable. It's not a bad thing but it's not the level of what Hogan accomplished.

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

Don't get me wrong Cena does have a legacy in Wrestling but it's in the 2nd or 3rd tier with the likes of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and Bret Hart.

The problem with calling Cena a bigger legend than Hogan is that Cena doesn't have the impact in the industry Hogan had. Hogan brought wrestling to the mainstream, Austin turned the Monday night wars around, The Rock also helped crushed WCW in the raitings and is the first WWE superstar to make it as a big time Hollywood star.

Cena will always be known as the "safe" choice for the company. The one that's on top because he keeps the WWE in it's steady course and status quo. The conservative pick that didn't change the industry but kept it stable. It's not a bad thing but it's not the level of what Hogan accomplished.

I think Cena's on the second tier by himself honestly. I'm not saying he's on the level of a hogan or a Stone Cold. But he also didn't have the downtrodden years that HBK(my favorite wrestler of all time) or Hart had. WWE is in a stable place, and while HBK and Hart couldn't put the WWE over the top, Cena was just never asked to. Cena didn't have the chance to do what Austin did. And honestly, he wasn't asked to do what Hogan did. It's REALLY hard to compare someone like Cena to anyone else except Hogan, and even that's not fair to Cena. If Cena had been in the 80's I believe he could have been hogan, and I'm not sure Hogan would've gotten over the way he did in the WWE if he was booked the way Hogan was in the 80's or even like Cena has been booked in his career. A lot of it has to do with the evolution of wrestling in the past 30 to 40 years.

 

[GameOver]

When Cena has been around for 30years and is still recognized by the vast majority of people then he can claim he's finally at that level, what he's done performance wise in storyline trumps Hogan hands down thats not a contest but The Hulkster was the face of the whole business not just WWE for a decade and was involved in the biggest matches in history that are still talked about today, how many massive Cena matches do people remember as great epic clashes?

On a personal level i'd say Cena is the better man as far as charity work and staying out of the negative public eye but how much of that is purely WWE only showing the good stuff, cause certainly in some segments of the Diva's show he was an absolute prick towards his finance.

Hogan is the bigger draw hands down and drew more people into the business and alongside Vince paved the way for the most successfull era the business s has ever known, Cena's leading the charge on the hand has seen a steady decline for the most part and only draws casual fans in a few times a year.

Lastly Hogan had 90% of the whole world on his side, Cena at best is 50/50 and almost dispised by a chunk of that 50% to the point that wont tune in. and with Hogan returning on Raw and going into Mania you know the likelyhood of the response from the crowd will drown out anything Cena has ever recieved or even Daniel Bryan recieves now. That's a legend, regardless of his physical shape and the bad stuff he's been involved in he's still the biggest and most popular name the business has ever known

 

[L@RISANO]

Cena's character itself is just like Hogan's was with slight differences.

In the end, they were both booked as Supermen.

For Hogan, in his time as Superman, he was accepted by the masses. They lapped up that stuff big time.

However, with Cena practically doing a repeat, it got stale quick, and mostly kids and stuff cheer him, whilst older people especially the 16-35 demographic, absolutely do not like his character.

It is the same as it was with DC Character Superman/Clarke Kent...I liked him initially as a very young kid, but eventually when I moved to High School, from then I disliked Superman more and more, and wanted him to get his ass kicked by the villains because it is a pretty bland character to this generation who have been introduced to the likes of Batman(with technology improving, Batman has gotten better and better), Spiderman, Ironman,etc....

So the character itself is why John Cena will never be viewed as someone who brought something completely different to the business or changed it in anyway.

If you look at the Faces of WWE in terms of the Sports Entertainment era...it was Hulk Hogan as a Good Superhero type, Austin as a rebel, Rock as a charismatic, bad ass type...to John Cena, a repeat of Hogan but with different Clothes and slogans,etc...
For going back to PG, it was safe and perfect, and judging by the returns, it was the right choice also.

 

[justinept]

We've all seen the Mount Rushmore arguments. John Cena doesn't even belong on those lists - much less on a thread comparing him to Hulk Hogan.

That isn't to say that John Cena hasn't drawn a lot of money over the years. It's not to say that he's not the greatest of his era - one of the few people to truly deserve the label as the face of the WWE. But holy hell, John Cena has been the face of the WWE during a lull period. While Cena's stay at the top may or may not be a reason for that lull, the fact exists that wrestling is nowhere near as popular right now than it was during the 80s and late 90s.

And who led the charge during those eras? It was Hogan. Vince McMahon rode his popularity to unseen heights in the 80s. WCW rode it in the mid 90s. Hogan literally changed professional wrestling TWICE. First he took it national, and then - along side Kevin Nash and Scott Hall - he made it cool to cheer for the bad guy.

Without Hulkamania, wrestling probably still exists in regional territories. If we just got Hulkamania, and never got Hollywood Hogan, then we probably never would've gotten the edgy product of the late 90s that led to Austin, The Rock and Triple H.

Again, this isn't to bash Cena. I actually like him. But if you seriously think Cena is bigger than Hogan, then please, tell me one thing Cena has done to change the industry because I can think of multiple ways Hogan did.

-------------

FYI: The WWE's Mount Rushmore consists of Sammartino, Hogan, Austin, and The Rock. Those are the four guys that carried the company during competitive times - whose failures as the face of the company could've caused the WWE to shut down its doors.

 

[GameOver]

Cena's character itself is just like Hogan's was with slight differences.

In the end, they were both booked as Supermen.

For Hogan, in his time as Superman, he was accepted by the masses. They lapped up that stuff big time.

However, with Cena practically doing a repeat, it got stale quick, and mostly kids and stuff cheer him, whilst older people especially the 16-35 demographic, absolutely do not like his character.

It is the same as it was with DC Character Superman/Clarke Kent...I liked him initially as a very young kid, but eventually when I moved to High School, from then I disliked Superman more and more, and wanted him to get his ass kicked by the villains because it is a pretty bland character to this generation who have been introduced to the likes of Batman(with technology improving, Batman has gotten better and better), Spiderman, Ironman,etc....

So the character itself is why John Cena will never be viewed as someone who brought something completely different to the business or changed it in anyway.

If you look at the Faces of WWE in terms of the Sports Entertainment era...it was Hulk Hogan as a Good Superhero type, Austin as a rebel, Rock as a charismatic, bad ass type...to John Cena, a repeat of Hogan but with different Clothes and slogans,etc...
For going back to PG, it was safe and perfect, and judging by the returns, it was the right choice also.

I agree so going by that logical timeline, Bryan will be the next Bret Hart or HBK, great in ring but is just a filler champ til the next Austin comes along.

 

[Dudeluv]

Is John Cena the only "face" of the company to be cheered by only 50% of the crowd? I can't remember that happening to hogan, Austin or rock.

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

Is John Cena the only "face" of the company to be cheered by only 50% of the crowd? I can't remember that happening to hogan, Austin or rock.

Yes he is but I think that's more a subject of the times than anything. In the olden day HBK would've been booked as a Good guy his whole career. Taker would've been a bad guy because he talks about burying people and he's a dark character.

In the 50-60 Austin would've been the biggest heel around in his Stone Cold character.

in the Eighties Taker would've been a bad guy. In the Eighties Cena would've been a huge good guy. Even if he wasn't in Hogan's air, he would've been more of a Savage or Warrior type guy. A guy that never gets booed.

In the 90's things started to change, I think the origin was in the south when flair left NWA, and the Luger vs Windham came and they got boo'd out of the arena.

Then with ECW and the Attitude era, no one wanted to hear take your vitamins, be strong willed, and never give up. It just was over, and with the internet people have come to love people who would've been glorified jobbers back in the day.

CM Punk comes to mind mostly because I can't see any era besides this one where Punk would've been over. If he was lucky he would've had a couple of pushes as a heel but he'd hardly be remembered. Wrestling has changed whether that's good or bad depends on your opinion and how you view these things. But it's not all on Cena "not being over" it's more about how he's been booked and how the fans of wrestling have changed and are changing.