John Cena will end up the greatest wrestler in Pro Wrestling History

[Whank]

John Cena will never be the greatest. He is over with the new PG rating but thats about it. I would love to see John Cena vs New Jack in a street fight. Maybe then Cena can earn some scars and some actual respect.

 

[Shadowmancer]

I have thought about this on a level that has been mentioned before. But I will state what I think about Cena's place first in a sentence and then I will explain my reasoning behind it because I think there may be a fair bit to my reasoning.

Cena will not be the greatest Wrestler in Pro Wrestling History, but he will be in the Upper Echelon of Pro Wrestlers.

My Personal feelings about Cena is that I don't really care, he doesn't interest me as a character and I find other wrestlers more compelling in that sense. This means that I am looking at this from a relatively unbiased position (there is no such thing as being completely unbiased, every one presents a bias).

OK, now for the reasoning for Cena not being the greatest of all time.

1)Boom Periods - Cena has not manufactured one, Hogan and Austin both have effectively manufactured two of the biggest Boom periods in the History of the "Sport". Hogan's started the build for that well before he even got to the then WWF, while he was in the AWA, he got fired went to Japan and then Went to the WWF and proceeded to go hand in hand with Vince's brilliant marketing, thus Hulkamania was born and then proceeded to Run Wild. He then followed the WWF up with the Japan stuff again, with a very enjoyable match against the Great Muta, then WCW where he did the n.W.o thing and brought about the start of WCWs boom period. Austin again was the one that led the boom period by being different from the average bear to paraphrase a famous saying. The Attitude Era in the WWF arguably started with the Promo after he beat Jake Roberts for King of the Ring. Now I look at Cena in reference terms to these two who are arguably 1 and 2(arguably being the order that they are in). Cena doesn't have that X factor that Hogan and Austin had while they were starting their boom periods.

2) Cena is young, but he has had two major injuries in the past two years. If what Kevin Kelly is to be believed for his idea of why Cena was injured that first time against Ken Kennedy then there was something fundamentally wrong with his footwork at that point in time. While I don't doubt he has corrected this now, I look at him and see nothing that sets him apart as a wrestler from Joe Blog the brawler, This is just Ring work here Sly not anything else charisma is another matter altogether than what I am looking at. Hogan and Austin both have fairly visible quirks to the way that they conduct moves within the ring. I can't see that in Cena, but I can take the assumption that he will develop them to make him stand out, I just can't see it.

3) Cena is Champ during a downturn, its not a knock against him but he has had 3-4 years of being on top and he hasn't manufactured a period of greater business, just a levelling of the audience, he has brought in the younger audience which is good to a degree, the only problem is that young kids get their parents to buy shit for them, once they reach what 12/13 that sort of drys up a bit until they go through that rebellious stage and don't watch wrestling for a variety of reasons, of those kids that Cena brings in Im going to assume only 2 or 3 out of 10 will remain lifelong fans. The Analogy of saying that Cena will be a Triple H/HBK/Bret Hart type figure is probably accurate because of the fact that he hasn't started a boom period and has been on top during a low ebb in the cycle. Its not an insult because they are all in the upper Echelon of the Pro Wrestling heirarchy.

Saying that basing it on future indicators that Cena will end up as the greatest ever is slightly absurd in any rate, many factors need to be considered because saying that he is the Greatest Wrestler doesn't mean diddly squat if you don't qualify it as Sly has failed to do. Will Cena be one of the top Draws, fuck yes, But will he be the most engaging wrestler, fuck no.

And for those that equate Hustle, Loyalty, Respect with Saying Prayers and Eating vitamins, are you out of your freaking mind, only to of the things on Cena's list are actually good things, the Hustle goes back to the dr. of thuganomics stuff, well when it comes from that then Hustle is a bad thing and why would you want Kids being able to Hustle stuff out of people? saying Prayers and eating vitamins can generally be perceived as being a good thing, it is only when you get cynical does the taking vitamins take on the steroid look.

 

[Rusty]

Hmmm, an interesting thread here Sly.

John Cena, without a doubt in my mind is the greatest wrestler at the present moment. I don't think anyone can doubt that even if they tried. The guy is phenomenal in every way. His work ethic is unmatched, he has starred in movies, giving the WWE mainstream media. He always puts on a good match, no matter who the opponent is. See Khali vs Cena for an example of this. He is already the face of the company at 31 years of age, and is a 4 time World Champion. He is the current World Heavyweight Champion on Raw.

But, there is a big difference about being the top guy now, than being the top dog many years ago. Hulk Hogan in my opinion, is the most influential wrestler in the history of pro wrestling. He shaped up the business to what we now know it as. Hogan is the greatest wrestler in Pro Wrestling History. Compare Hogan to Cena. Both were/are great. But the difference was, when Hogan was apart of the roster, wrestling wasn't as popular therefore wrestling needed a strong babyface that the fans could get behind, so that eventually more viewers would tune it. And he accomplished just that.

Hogan started a boom period. Cena hasn't. Sure, John Cena is a draw and the fans want to watch him, but he doesn't draw like Steve Austin or like the Rock did. Cena has gained the younger audience, which is a great thing since these are the fans who will be watching the product many years from now. But Cena still has many years left in his WWE career, and the sky's the limit for him. But wrestling as a whole just isn't as popular as what it was during the Attitude Era. Meaning that John Cena most likely won't help ratings get back up to where they used to be.

In my opinion though, John Cena won't reach the heights of the two men that started big boom periods for the WWE, Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin. I think he can surpass the Rock within the next few years actually. But unless Raw's ratings reach 6.0 every week, I can firmly say that Cena won't end up the greatest wrestler in Pro Wrestling History.

 

[The Undercover Man]

He will go down as a one of the greatest pro wrestlers ever but, i doubt he will be anywhere near The Rock, Stone Cold and Hulk Hogan. What has Cena done which has revolutionised wrestling? Two of the names i mentioned, Stone Cold and Hulk Hogan did just that, revolutionised wrestling. They both managed to draw huge crowds, just like Cena but Hogan was different, Hogan had the support of many, many fans. Cena only has the support of half the wrestling fans today.

When Cena's career finally ends, i can see him maybe being #4 on the list of best pro wrestlers. Many wrestlers have done the same as Cena and better.

 

[truk24]

How funny you just admitted that Hogan's career was based off of VKm's genius. You also said that HBK never wore face paint because VKm never asked him to. Are you kidding me? Seriously you can compare me to your "friend" all you want, bottom line is your argument in effort to thwart mine is obsurd.

No, one said fans never loved Hogan. Obviously when you read something you are unable to digest what you have read. Anyone who knows history of wrestling would know that Hogan came at the most oppurtunistic time. Did you not bother to read that Hogan was a part of the cable industry boom, and the PPV boom? Give me a break kid. I was a Hulkamaniac as well, and was never a fan of HBK. I grew to respect HBK over the years, especially when he was retired. Have you any idea howmany threads were created for the years that HBK didn't wrestle. Internet wrestling fans were constantly creating HBK threads on his return just after he retired. They couldn't get enough of HBK.

Again many of you seem to not want to ARGUE THE FACT THAT HOGAN WAS HARDLY A WRESTLER. Many wrestlers hated Hogan because he RARELY did house shows. I don't care if he headlines MSG a 100 times, or bodyslammed Andre the Giant. Who cares? We can sit here for days arguing Hogan's imapct v.s HBK's impact, but it is useless. The way you are taking this argument seems to me that you want to give all the credit to VKM.

If that is that case then none of these wrestlers have an impact on wrestling it would just be VKM's genius that has put professional wrestling on the map. Let me remind of this. For you to suggest that VKM created HBK's character is nonesense. All I can say to that is you are wrong sir! HBK created his character, and he said this himself. Michaels admitted that is was coming down on an acid trip, after that he came up with the HBK gimmick. Do you pay any kind of attention to anyone? VKM said himself in HBK's DVD that Shawn was constantly pitching him ideas. Wake up, open your eyes and go out and buy the DVD.

This thread was based on the greatest wrestler of all time. Not biggest draw of all time, or the man with the most impact on wrestling. Hogan may be the last of those two ideas, but he isn't a great "wrestler". Hogan was a TOOL, that VKM used and then threw away to WCW, which even Hogan couldn't save. Oh, thats right you all pointed out earlier that it was the merger of the cable industry that ruined WCW. No, it wasn't that Hogan's NWO didn't get stale, or the fact that people were tired of seeing the same old shit for 50 weeks.

Yes, Austin, and The Rock were greats but neither of them are wrestling today. HBK still is wrestling today, and even with his lame gimmick he is still very entertaining in the ring while being a part of top line feuds. I'm not marking out for HBK, just telling you all the facts. No one ever asks who is the next Hulk Hogan. Most of the time the question is who or is he the next HBK. How many times have poeple compared Helms to HBK, Morrison to HBK, or even Jeff to HBK? So many stars have been compared to HBK it isn't worth arguing. How about the "fact" that when WCW went down most of their great talent including Eddie, and Benoit said that once they came to the WWE(f) the first person they would love to wrsetle would be HBK.

Everyone aspiring, or great legend says that they would have loved to have wrestled HBK. Hell, even Cena said himself. What more do you need? Practically every great "wrestling" match invloves HBK. You all talk about Angle as if he is the greatest meanwhile his greatest match was against HBK.

Marty Jannety wasn't carried by HBK? You obvisously are hallucinating if you think Marty was anything near HBK in the ring. Give it up, your argument is useless. As I said earlier Flair retired, and guess who retired him? Obviously this was Flair's choosing, oh wait no as you suggested it was probably VKM that told Flair to retire, and retire to HBK. Hell, why didn't VKM just call up Hogan the greatest wrestler of all time? That match would have been amazing, oh wait it has already been done in WCW(except flair didn'tretire), wouldn't be original. WCW gave us this match already, and I don't recall any great reviews on the legendary "ring work" for Hogan.

However I do recall HBK giving Flair sweet chin music to the tune of thousands of confused fans roaring in the arena. The storyline itself was epic, and both men told a great story. The end of the match was strong, and everyone could feel "it". As a matter of fact why don't you go rent WM, and Hogan v.s Flair in WCW. Then you tell me what match was better. HBK retiring Flair is greater than any match that Hogan has ever had in terms of sure storytelling, and work. Hogan could never do that.

Finally, stop wtih your chilidish insults they won't help your argument. Try reading what I wrote, and then form a real argument next time. You still haven't touched base on much else of what I said. remembering back to my own post I wrote much more than you argued back with. You left out so much more that I had said. What is really funny is how you pick out a line or so, and then create an argument it in your own words leaves out other points that go along with your weak incite. Somehow you forget that there was tons more of what was said. Leaving out crucial points.

Now I am forced to assume that you clearly didn't make reference to those points because one you didn't read everything. Thus, leading you to take out "one" of the many points that I made. Or, you did read what I said, it was too much for you to comprehend, which angered you leaving you to barely come back with a "credible" argument. Perhaps you did read everything as I suggested, and then realized most of what I said was probably "true" in some form or another.

Once again I'm not aruging the fact that HULK HOGAN didn't have an impact on wrestling, or wasn't a draw. Honestly to compare HBK/Hogan on that level makes no sense. HBK wasn't ****ed out like Hogan was. I know I said this before, and somehow you don't want to bring that up, interesting to say the least. HBK came at a time where what Hogan came from had died off, or went to WCW. You act as if HBK has had no impact on professional wrestling. When was the last time an IC title match stole the show at WM? Thats easy WM10 when HBK lost to Razor Ramon. They said this last night on RAW. HBK stole the show in an IC title match.

Hogan was hardly a role model, but yet on television all of us when we were kids were tricked into thinking he ate his vitamins, and said his prayers. He was abusing steroids like everyone else, or using illegal drugs. I highly doubt he could call himself a religious man considering all the the horrible things you have to do in the "business" to get ahead. With HBK we hated him because we knew deep down inside he was a "piece of shit". He was that heel, and considering all his antics backstage maybe he was. Shane Douglas as well as many others talked about the "Kliq". At best HBK was always up front on where he stood.

You can sit here, and relish in the Hulkamania era while I will remember how HBK was funnier, more intesnse, a greater worker, better overall character, and finally a better human being. Hogan sat on television, and actually tried to use his "brother loves jesus" character, and defend his asshole son, who mamed that poor US solider. Unfortunately Hogan had a child, who thinks he is above the law, and his actions ruined so many lives. Hogan tried to justify all this by and quote "God worked something bad for him brother" -Terry Bollea. Speaking on the behalf of the poor boy who made the mistake of getting in to a car with Hogan's son.

Let us also mention the fact that Hogan is apparently seeing some young girl whom is around 20 at best. What happened to this role model for kids in the 80's-90's. I'm not saying he doesn't have the right to date her, but what kind of message is he sending now? Granted HBK is a born again, but at least it is a testament of what he is seeking to achieve in his life. HBK wasn't the most popular man backstage, and maybe this new life of his is away of apologizing for all the wrong he has committed. I'm an athiest so I see no reason to find God in all of this, but I do respect HBK for the apparent change. There is nothing wrong with becomming something greater as a person, something that is hardly evident in most role models on television including Hulks Hogan. And yes I just got personal on Hogan's ass.

I could care less what he is ranked on your "irrelevant" rankings it means nothing in the real scheme of things. Please feel free to respond, as once again I come out of this all on top. Thank you, for helping me clarify how wrong you really are.

 

[silrock316]

Slyfox, Cena mark. Which ever you prefer. Where I disagree with people that say Cena is just average, I disagree with you thinking he is anywhere near the greatest. HE IS FORCED down our throats during the WORST time in wrestling history. Read wrestlezone for once, they update all the Raw ratings and every other week it will say something like 3.2, 3.3 which is the lowest in 10 years blah blah blah. Orton is the future of this company. If you notice EVERY crowd through out the country half of them BOO CENA. That never happened to Austin, Rock, Hogan, Hart. We are FORCED to watch him, because there is no other marketable faces that can take off in popularity. Cena has already hit his peak, hence why he is boo'd out of almost every building. People are sick of the same old thing.

If the Rock or Austin came back as HBK did, you would find out real quickly how much of an after thought Cena would become.

 

[Shocky]

Slyfox, Cena mark. Which ever you prefer. Where I disagree with people that say Cena is just average, I disagree with you thinking he is anywhere near the greatest. HE IS FORCED down our throats during the WORST time in wrestling history. Read wrestlezone for once, they update all the Raw ratings and every other week it will say something like 3.2, 3.3 which is the lowest in 10 years blah blah blah. Orton is the future of this company. If you notice EVERY crowd through out the country half of them BOO CENA. That never happened to Austin, Rock, Hogan, Hart. We are FORCED to watch him, because there is no other marketable faces that can take off in popularity. Cena has already hit his peak, hence why he is boo'd out of almost every building. People are sick of the same old thing.

If the Rock or Austin came back as HBK did, you would find out real quickly how much of an after thought Cena would become.

Interesting that you point that Raw's Ratings were 3.2's and all of that, when the second that Cena came back at the Survivor Series the ratings went from near 3 to near 4 in a matter of two weeks or so, but far be that for someone to actually look up the numbers, but that's neither here nor there I guess.

As far as no one booing Austin, Rock, Hogan, or Hart...

Austin had one good four year run, before turning heel and he kept the character fresh. If Austin had remained face, whose to say what would have happened. Instead, the WWE decided to not have that event happen and turn Austin. Austin's ego couldn't ahve handled being booed out regardless.

The Rock: No no, the Rock, never, never was booed out. I mean it's not like he had two or three face/heel turns. Or it's not the fact that there were signs in the crowd that said Die Rocky Die or Rocky Sucks. Had nothing to do with the guy playing the character at all.

Hulk Hogan: I guess someone didn't watch WCW. Hogan was getting next to nothign as far as a good reaction from the WCW crowds and the south, hence the Hollywood Hogan heel turn.

Bret Hart: Maybe not boos, but a sense of apathy and silence is never good.

Now as far as Cena being the best ever. Sly knows the answr to this, he's just baiting people. Slyfox doesn't honestly agree that Cena will pass Hogan, nor should he. Hulk Hogan is on a pedestal of pedestals as far as greatness. You may reach the top of the business, but when you're at the top, you still have to climb that high to simply begin to match what Hogan has done for the industry.

I do believe that Cena will finish #2. Steve Austin catered to an older, perhaps more passionate crowd. Where is that crowd now? They're gone. It was an unloyal fan base that didn't care for the product, just for the man at the top. Cena now has a chance to start a new in the wake of the crap that was the Attitude Era.

The WWE has essentially hit the reset button on it's product. The fans that Hogan had, grew up and became Austin fans, and those fans went away. Cena now has the chance to be this generations Hulk Hogan (While style wise and gimmick wise, he's Sting reincarnated). Cena is barely 30, and despite the headsin the few smarks asses that refuse to acknowledge Cena, he is the man in the business. He will grow the business, he is the face of the business, and those fans will leave when Cena retires.

You try to say things like Shawn Michaels, when it is about as public knowledge that it gets that Shawn Michaels is the lowest rated champion in Raw history.

 

[OIL]

Cena will be 2nd in my opinion, and it's going to take something very special indeed to surpass Hulk Hogan, but I highly doubt that. Cena has a good 10 - 15 years left in him, and with his love for the business still burning bright, it can be a VERY productive 10 - 15 years. A lot of comparisons have been made with him & Hogan, and quite rightly so. They're both similar and are huge babyfaces; although with Cena it's not as much because of the smarks undying hate for him. (They know he's the present and future, they just can't accept it).

Anyway, Cena needs to expand more to push him up that ladder. He needs to overtake Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and Mick Foley before he can attempt to reach Hogan. How? More movies, WWE produced of course. More merchandise and just give him interesting storylines. Make his fueds meaningful, and him losing once in a while wouldn't hurt. They could try adapting his gimmick to conform to the needs of todays generation, although how I'm not quite sure. In short, he'll make number 3 or 2 for sure, but beating out Hulk Hogan will be quite a challenge.

In 10 - 15 years time:

1. Hulk Hogan
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin
3. John Cena

 

[PsychoWard]

I agree with Dragonslayer... Cena on his way to becoming a top teir legend!. Top 3 maybe... Top 5 for sure!

But look at those Top 5 Legend now and you have to look back at what defining moments they brought to the wrestling world that made them great!

Austin in the Royal Rumble match cleaned house, and sat on the top turnbuckle waiting for his next victim. Bret Harts music hit and the shock on austin face quickly turned to a hand gesture of just bring it! And then his crowning moment of KOTR "Austin 3:16 just said I kicked your ass!"

Hogans heel turn and NWO legacy still hasn't been recreated today! His monstoruos leg drops made me feel as a kid that a building was about to come down!

The Rock made people listen and hang on his every word, when he cut a promo... his match with Mick Foley was his step into greatness. Chair shot after chair shot... one after another! With every crash of mick skull was another level the rock was trendsetting to!

HBK's Entrance at WM agaisnt bret, you just new he was the MAN that night!

I could keep going on... But my point is. Where is John Cena's holy crap moment! Last years Royal Rumble surprise was a start in the right direction. But other than his heart and pride, Hustle, Loyalty and Respect! We as fan's to love him like the others need to get that prick down our backs! THe hair on our arms needs to stand on end! That moment hasn't come yet.

But when it does, which it will! Then we can truly say the CHAMP IS HERE!

 

[silrock316]

Interesting that you point that Raw's Ratings were 3.2's and all of that, when the second that Cena came back at the Survivor Series the ratings went from near 3 to near 4 in a matter of two weeks or so, but far be that for someone to actually look up the numbers, but that's neither here nor there I guess.

As far as no one booing Austin, Rock, Hogan, or Hart...

Austin had one good four year run, before turning heel and he kept the character fresh. If Austin had remained face, whose to say what would have happened. Instead, the WWE decided to not have that event happen and turn Austin. Austin's ego couldn't ahve handled being booed out regardless.

The Rock: No no, the Rock, never, never was booed out. I mean it's not like he had two or three face/heel turns. Or it's not the fact that there were signs in the crowd that said Die Rocky Die or Rocky Sucks. Had nothing to do with the guy playing the character at all.

Hulk Hogan: I guess someone didn't watch WCW. Hogan was getting next to nothign as far as a good reaction from the WCW crowds and the south, hence the Hollywood Hogan heel turn.

Bret Hart: Maybe not boos, but a sense of apathy and silence is never good.

Now as far as Cena being the best ever. Sly knows the answr to this, he's just baiting people. Slyfox doesn't honestly agree that Cena will pass Hogan, nor should he. Hulk Hogan is on a pedestal of pedestals as far as greatness. You may reach the top of the business, but when you're at the top, you still have to climb that high to simply begin to match what Hogan has done for the industry.

I do believe that Cena will finish #2. Steve Austin catered to an older, perhaps more passionate crowd. Where is that crowd now? They're gone. It was an unloyal fan base that didn't care for the product, just for the man at the top. Cena now has a chance to start a new in the wake of the crap that was the Attitude Era.

The WWE has essentially hit the reset button on it's product. The fans that Hogan had, grew up and became Austin fans, and those fans went away. Cena now has the chance to be this generations Hulk Hogan (While style wise and gimmick wise, he's Sting reincarnated). Cena is barely 30, and despite the headsin the few smarks asses that refuse to acknowledge Cena, he is the man in the business. He will grow the business, he is the face of the business, and those fans will leave when Cena retires.

You try to say things like Shawn Michaels, when it is about as public knowledge that it gets that Shawn Michaels is the lowest rated champion in Raw history.

Shockmaster,

I was talking about when they were FACES none of them had half the crowd booing, and half of the crowd cheering.

Cena is forced down our throats, aside from women and little kids people are sick of him as a face. A full heel turn might propel him higher in my opinion.

As for me looking at numbers, since Cena has returned they have not ONCE on raw reached a 4.0 . Find it and show me, if they did, I will apologize with no problem. Austin was turned FACE again after the heel turn failed. People did NOT want to boo him or Rock. Not even Hogan for that matter, hence the WM18 where they boo'd the hell out of the Rock against Hogan. Put Cena against Rock, Austin or Hogan at a WM and I guarantee you Cena gets BOO'D like nobody elses business.

Just so the people know that I am having a difference of opinion with, do not take me as arrogant or cocky, I respect your opinions as much as I do mine, I just believe mine is more accurate and I appreciate everyone of you chiming in on the conversation. This is exactly what I want from a forum. People that have posted a mere 12 times have the ability to chat it up with people who may have 30,000 post. It is fun.

 

[silrock316]

Midnightoil,

You do know that Austin surpassed Hogan as the companies all time leader in merchandise sales, right? Hogan never in his WWF days or Nitro days put up a more higher rated show than Austin did. The Austin/McMahon era was the highest rated feud in wrestling history. Look it up and you will see it yourself. Cena will NEVER draw a rating higher than 6.0 let alone a rating higher than 8.0 that Austin and company brought it during that era.


And do NOT get me wrong, I may not like Cena's character at ALL but I definitely appreciate what he does week in and week out and I do not dislike him as an individual as I do NOT know him personally but I honest to God find him very very boring most nights. Whereas Orton to me is very entertaining, as is Jeff Hardy, Koslov, Cm Punk just to name a few. I just want to fall asleep during Cena's promos.

 

[Father:_Polley]

I think Cena will end up as one of the greatest, but I doubt he'll make it as the greatest.

Yes, he's easily the biggest face in an otherwise weakened roster, but I think the likes of Austin, Rock, Mankind and Taker were stronger competition in their peaks than an ageing HHH, HBK and Batista.

Now, I feel that the internet era of wrestling has weakened his appeal, as well as the notably lower ratings, but it's unfair that Cena is labelled as being bad for ratings.

I don't think there's any doubt that the moniker of greatest wrestler will belong to one of the flagship guys of their era... the Austins, Hogans, Angles, Rocks and Cenas, but I think Cena definately ranks below the aforementioned names

 

[The Catacomb]

It seems if you like Cena, then you're gonna say he'll be the best ever, if you don't, then he'll amount to squash. I am one one of the people who are sick of him. Someone said that he hasn't had his OMG moment and that rings true. I think he needs to turn heel and be one of the dirtiest wrestlers to have a shot at being the greatest. The wwe is treating his character like it's the 80's and trying to create a hulk like era again. They should turn his character into one of the most violent, underhanded villians and refresh his character for 2009 era and maybe have him be even more vicious than Orton. If you want one of the biggest feuds of this decade, you should turn him heel and have him fued with Jeff Hardy. Cena is already half hated and to turn him would make him one of the , if not the most, hated and succeful heels ever and make Hardy that much more over as a face. Have them go after each other for the title in a long fued and I think you'll have a product worth watching. And don't let HHH interfere with the fued either 'cause that would probably ruin it. Cean could be really great behind Austin and Hulk if he and the wwe didn't feel like they have to force this rehashed Hulk character on us.

 

[metcalf198]

Will John Cena end up the greatest wrestler in history? Only time will tell. Does he have the potential to do it? Yes. Do I and the majority of wrestling fans think he will? No. I started watching wrestling at the time Cena made his debut, and unfortunatly missed the "Attitude Era". However, I've seen videos from the time. For anyone who believes Cena is there now, they need to take a look at how Austin, Rock, DX, Taker, etc performed during those years.

Now I really don't care for Cena, but I do believe he has a shot at elevating himself into the top three greatest to ever lace up their boots. I will say that he is the top man in the company today. He gets people to care about him. Whether you love him or you hate him. He connects with the crowd. His wrestling ability is not horrendous and he has had a couple very good matches (Cena vs. HBK on RAW in London comes to my mind and I loved his matches with Edge a couple years back) I don't think he has a chance of passing either Austin or Hogan, and he does have a long way to go before surpassing Rock, Andre, Flair, Sting, Hart, Savage and the rest. I don't believe he will leave the WWE for hollywood as his love and dedication for the buisness is so great. He will be around for many more years whether people like it or not. If he were to elevate himself into the top tier of greatest wrestlers of all time three things would need to occur

1. Creative needs to give the John Cena character a makeover. Either turn him heel (which I would personally love to watch) or make him a badass that uses his size to his advantage and brawls with anyone anywhere without thinking twice about it. How about instead of calling Y2J an "idiot" on Raw he calls him a "bitch" or something that doesnt make him sound like he is a 3rd grader having an argument in the school yard.

2. He needs opponents or rivals that people actually believe have a shot at beating him. One thing I hate about wrestling today is its predictability. I do believe WWE is making strides with this. With HHH, HBK, and Taker on their way out, I think if WWE was to enter another "boom period" then Cena would be on the frontlines along with (if creative doesnt screw it up) Orton, Edge, Dibiase Jr., Hardy(s), Y2J, Punk, Swagger. With a supporting cast of Rhodes, Mysterio, Kingston, and others. I really like the potential in Orton/Cena. If Orton continues to be the sly, caniving snake that everyone loves to hate and Cena stops the 12 year old routine it has loads of pontential. They look like rivals as Rock and Austin did.

3. He simply needs to improve his in-ring work or at least alter the moves he performs and flow of his matches

If these were to happen then John Cena would be talked about as one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time. I think he would surpass many names on the list and maybe go as high as three. In my opinion, he will not pass Hogan or Austin.

On a kind of off topic note, if the things I stated earlier were all to occur I think Randy Orton might have a shot at surpassing Austin or at least becoming Austin's equal. Hogan will remain atop the list of greatest wrestlers of all time. (the way i am arguing this is not on wrestling ability but impact on the buisness)

 

[y2hitman]

John Cena Will never be great unless they tweek his gimmick and make him lose once in awhile!! I hate how Vince has Hoganized him to where he gets his butt kicked during the whole match and then some how pulls off the win been there done that fans arent studip Vince wake up No one wants to see this over and over and over again thats one of the reason Y wcw had there big run cuz it was groudbreaking at the time and it kept people watching and then Vince had to change what he was doing as well !!! I think what would truely be great is have a two man power trip with Cena (jr) for all you Cena marks out there cena is 2nd generation superstar !! Anywho that will never happen maybe with shane and orton tho botton line in 20 years from now will Cena be good yes Great maybe a legend Never too damn injury prone too cant be a star and get hurt all the time aka babatista well this has ranted on long enuff !!!

 

[Slyfox696]

Slyfox, Cena mark.

How about "intelligent"? That works for me.

Read wrestlezone for once, they update all the Raw ratings and every other week it will say something like 3.2, 3.3 which is the lowest in 10 years blah blah blah.

Actually, I'll do you one better.

If you go to the General Wrestling Discussion forum here on WZ, you will find a thread that contains wrestling buyrates, ratinges and misc. information. If you download that, I have all the ratings updated (to a certain date). If you compare the time that Cena is on Raw and champion, to the times he's not, what you will find is that there is a VERY clear improvement in ratings every time he is on Raw.

Don't believe me? Look it up for yourself. By the way, speaking of ratings, Raw has done a 3.6 each of the last two weeks. Tell me, what were those ratings when Cena was injured and out? 2.9? Thought so. Don't believe me? Look it up.

John Cena Will never be great unless they tweek his gimmick and make him lose once in awhile!!

Yes, that damn Cena NEVER loses...except at Summerslam...and on Raw to HBK twice, and in street fight against JBL, and at Wrestlemania...to RVD at One Night Stand, Edge at Summerslam, King Booker at Cyber Sunday...and so on.

Wait for it...wait for it...yes, your post is officially ridiculous.

 

[timmy872]

NO WAY!

Cena is a great worker, and a terrific Sports Entertainer, but I just can't see him being the next Austin or Hogan.
Who forgot HBK and Triple H, they will be the next Hogan Austin I think. Not quite as immortal but they will be on parr for sure. Wresltmania 30 Triple H and Shawn Michaels, finally.

 

[y2hitman]

How about "intelligent"? That works for me.


Yes, that damn Cena NEVER loses...except at Summerslam...and on Raw to HBK twice, and in street fight against JBL, and at Wrestlemania...to RVD at One Night Stand, Edge at Summerslam, King Booker at Cyber Sunday...and so on.

Wait for it...wait for it...yes, your post is officially ridiculous.

RVD, Booker T hes lost 6 times in 3 years now Kettle meet Pot!!! Your such a Cena Mark his interview skills are that of a 12 year old my 7 year old son could do a better job !!! He has 5 wrestling moves and his brown nose matches that brown tough he has !!! Orton is the future of the WWE not the Prototype John Cena !!!

 

[Slyfox696]

RVD, Booker T hes lost 6 times in 3 years now Kettle meet Pot!!!

LOL, I gave you eight in my post alone, you need to learn to count better. That's not to mention the Raw matches he has lost, tag matches, etc. Please don't be dumb. I hate dumb people.

Your such a Cena Mark

If you knew what the word "mark" meant, you'd realize how stupid it sounds for you to say that.

his interview skills are that of a 12 year old my 7 year old son could do a better job !!!

No he couldn't. And neither could you. And neither can 95% of wrestlers in the business today, and the other 5% are subjective in their own way.

He has 5 wrestling moves

Hammerlock, headlock, side slam, arm bar, STS, spin out powerbomb, FU, block buster, top rope leg drop, drop toe hold, body slam....well, I could go on (believe me I could), but that's 11 moves right there, which is more than enough to prove your claim.

And the 11 moves I mentioned right there, means he has about 8 more than Steve Austin ever used during his big run.

Orton is the future of the WWE not the Prototype John Cena !!!

LOL

Ratings, buyrates, merchandising, attendance, and overall business all disagree with you.

 

[Crush1]

I think it's not that Cena will be the Absolute best but he will certainly be in the line of the all time greatest wrestlers. It's debatable to a lot of people when you ask them who the greates wrestler in pro wrestling history is. Some will say Flair others Bret Hart and most go with Hogan but I personaly think that you cant name just one guy as the greatest wrestler of all time. I agree that Cena, Hogan, Hart,Sting etc are great wrestlers. But you have to take into consideration of what made them so great. There are numurous factors that take a key role into making a wrestler good. What made hogan? Andre The Giant. What made Cena? Brock Lesnar and others. So to answer you're statement that you think that Cena is will end up as the greatest of all time, with that I disagree. Because in my opinion there is no greatest, because everyone has a different wrestler they love or admire.

 

[Pimpin]

Even though i'm not a Cena fan by any means. I will say that in time he will be one of the all time greats. Many people have their own opinions on what makes a wrestler one of the all time greats. It's like what made Sting, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Brock Lesnar & others so damn good. The answer to your question that you asked is that Cena will not end up as the greatest of al time. No instead he will end up as one of the all time greats.