The Curious Case of John Cena

[Tha Wolfpac]

Hey Yo!

Now with the WWE title recently being hotpotatoed between John Cena and Batista, and just being hotpotatied in general. Personally i wouldn't mind seeing a very lengthy John Cena title run like the one in 2006 i believe after beating Edge, now it came under a bit of scrutiny but i think we are ready for another one.

Pro's: Bring Back alot of prestige to the title, create interesting and lengthy feuds, and could give a major rub to whoever ends up beating him for the strap. Another thing is major cash for the WWE.

Con's: Seeing alot of the same repetitives promos on RAW, and maybe a little bit of burying someother talent but to a small extent.

Q&A
- Would you or would you not accept a lengthy title run from John Cena? Give Reasons
- Do you agree with the positives and the negatives i have given? Give Reasons
- If not John Cena than who can legitametly pull it off? Give Reasons
- No Spam

Discuss Thanks,
.Tha Wolfpac.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I accepted a long John Cena title reign in 2005 & 2006-2007, considering I'm much more tolerant now I'd be fine with it.

John Cena doesn't actually need a long title reign, I think it'd be a bad idea. A long title reign means he's limited to who he can face on PPV, that means another seemingly endless feud with Edge, Orton or Triple H.

The people who need long title reigns are the people who are given world titles on a whim, somebody like Jack Swagger should hold his belt until WrestleMania. Swagger is a better option for a long title reign because he's somebody you'd expect to lose at each PPV should he come up against a bigger name opponent. At least his matches will have a little bit of drama, who really cares if Cena loses his belt if he'll win it back again quickly?

 

[jmyers19]

I actually tolerated his first Title run because I was actually a fan of his back then. Then I went through a phase where I hated him, but at this point I'm neither a fan or a hater, I've just learned to accept he's here, he's the face of the company and unless a career threatening injury occurs or he loses his passion, which the latter to be honest I doubt, he wont be going anywhere.

Anyways back onto topic. I enjoyed his feud with Batista, WWE have never billed them as great wrestlers like so many before have been refered to as greats such as HBK, Bret Hart, Ric Flair. They've been given something and they've went with it. But as far as his Title reigns go, Cena had a great year long run in 2006-2007, and added prestige to the Title instead of the Title changing hands every month or every other month like it did mid-late last year. And to be honest his current run, from WrestleMania 26 up until now has been credible as well, he hasn't dropped it to Batista only to win it again the following PPV. They could have done that but haven't. Anyways, I think he'll drop it soon enough to either feud with a mid-upper mid carder soon, for either a way to create fresh feuds and new stars or he might be filming a new movie or it could be for both. As far as a long Title run goes, I'd love to see Edge hold the Title for a good amount of time. Up until the Royal Rumble PPV. He's Edge, of course he'll win at TLC so Royal Rumble would be a good time to drop it, or they could go further and have him drop it at WrestleMania 27. After a near year run of cheating to retain the Title, DQs, Countouts, hooking the tights etc. a rising star could topple him. Kinda like JBL in 2004 who had an incredible run with the Title before being toppled by a rising star, John Cena.

Or, they could go with the Celtic Warrior Sheamus. He's been dominant so far in WWE, and he hasn't even been with them a year. To add to his dominance he could plow through opponents and the ones who need to take time off (HHH, if he films more films Cena, injuries that need to write them off for Edge and Orton etc) when a new star shoots into the main event. Evan Bourne perhaps? Bourne and Sheamus have had their run-ins. Well more like squash matches bar last week when Bourne pinned Sheamus. Bourne could win MITB, hold it for quite some time before choosing the right time to cash it in. Or he could pull a Van Dam and announce when he'll cash it in. Could be the next Ultimate Underdog story ala Rey in 2006. But he could face guys like Morrison, Truth, DiBiase, who are in that reasonable division for Bourne to work with. There isn't the type of big super heavyweights on Raw either for him to face minus Henry and Kozlov, so would be 'believeable' for a guy like Bourne to beat them as well.

 

[PantsInMaJizz]

Q&A
- Would you or would you not accept a lengthy title run from John Cena? Give Reasons
- Do you agree with the positives and the negatives i have given? Give Reasons
- If not John Cena than who can legitametly pull it off? Give Reasons
- No Spam

1.) If only he has a first time rival, otherwise we will see Shameus/Cena or Edge/Cena for like 9 months (No Orton cuz he is face). I wouldn't mind a Y2J/Cena fued, if Y2J isn't destroyed
2.) What were they?
3.) I think that Wade Barret can pull it off with his new buddies from NXT 1.

 

[The Prod1gy]

No John Cena doesn't need a long title run. I would much rather see Jack Swagger have a "JBL" title run where every PPV it looks like he should lose but somehow he comes out on top. I actually wanted to see a Team Angle type thing but called the All Americans with Shelton Benjamin and another All American wrestler. But as everyone knows Shelton got released and it looks like Swaggers doing this title run by himself.

 

[DudeBuster]

John Cena should not be champion..... EVER ..... he has got 5 moves which he ALWAYS, wins with. Cena is boring, he is not believable, the younger fans love his never give up, dont quit attitude, but if ur an older fan its just not believable. he gets beat down every single match and then at the end put someone in the stf, or hits the attitude adjustment and its over, but if anyone hits a move on him he gets up like hes indestructible or something !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ferbian]

- Would you or would you not accept a lengthy title run from John Cena? Give Reasons

I would definitely accept it, he's great at carrying the belt and carrying the company, so I don't see why he shouldn't be put in the position for another long title reign.

- Do you agree with the positives and the negatives i have given? Give Reasons

I think there's more to it than the ones you gave, and some of it I disagree with:

Pros: yes the title reign could give prestige to the championship, and it could give some great promos and feuds, but it could also hype the championship matches a little more because of the whole "if he gonna be defeated this time".

Cons: No it wouldn't give the bad promos as you mention, but I think it will perhaps turn off some of the Cena haters.

It would kill the potential of building talent through feuding with John Cena and winning the championship, rather than having them fight pay per view after pay per view and then ultimately when people have lost interest in the feud and the contender has fought him like Randy Orton and John Cena (without the amount of title changes) it wouldn't have build him as an over heel because he's grown a bit more boring.

- If not John Cena than who can legitametly pull it off? Give Reasons

I think anybody given the championship and given the possibility of it could run with the chance of getting a long title reign, if he's build properly, or retains through ways that further a storyline, it could work, JBL got a long title reign for example, he's the definition that anybody could possibly pull it off.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

When Cena doesn't have the title, i don't enjoy his feuds...it maybe just me though...the thing is..i don't mind him keeping the belt til October...basically...as long as the spinner belt is around...i consider that title his...i mean it represented him...i thought it was going to be anotehr spinner belt...but then i realised they going to keep it...#

I think Cena can pull off lengthly title runs, i don't think we always see the same promos either...what they have to give him is a 2 or 3 month feud with someone who can do the same...i think its good that wwe have 2 seperated brands, cuz back in 2000, you have the Rock giving 2 amazing promos a week...now you see one froma wrestler because they on one show...

great thread

 

[Ferbian]

John Cena should not be champion..... EVER ..... he has got 5 moves which he ALWAYS, wins with.

Always wins with is a stretch, Triple H got an Attitude Adjustment back before Bragging Rights, but he still beat John, it's all about the bigger opponent, the bigger match, if it's a lesser opponent or lesser match, it's obvious that he's gonna win.

And that's not necessarily bad, everybody have some kind of move set that finishes the match, so just because John does it doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing.

Cena is boring, he is not believable,

Not believable? you're trying to tell me the guy who's won all of his one on one Wrestlemania matches, the incredibly muscular, incredibly over guy, with above average microphone skills is not believable? oh boy.

the younger fans love his never give up, dont quit attitude, but if ur an older fan its just not believable.

I disagree, I'm a "older fan" in some degree, I don't mind John, he's not my favorite, but as you can see, I don't necessarily go against a potential long title reign, John makes WWE a lot of money, wouldn't you be giving the championship belt to the guy that makes you thousands, or millions, rather than the guy who makes you 100 dollars because "he's a great wrestler"

he gets beat down every single match and then at the end put someone in the stf, or hits the attitude adjustment and its over, but if anyone hits a move on him he gets up like hes indestructible or something !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So did Hulk Hogan, but I don't see anybody crying over him, John is great at selling moves, and he can put on a great back and forth match and dish out his own punishment, it's all a part of how the match is booked, it doesn't necessarily make it a bad match or boring match just because X dominates Y for Z minutes only for Y to return and beat X in Z seconds.

 

[Bobby B]

I think (and hope) were about to see the start of Cena without the belt. If Wade Barrett takes up the strap soon enough - as leader of the big heel faction. Then Cena could lead the face charge, which I wouldn't actually mind seeing.

Aside from the new faction. Lets answer the questions:

Would I accept another lenghtly title run from Cena - accept is a interesting word to use. Would I like Cena to have another lengthly title run - no. The title has become stale with him winning the strap, losing it again, and then becoming the superhero chaser, then winning it back. (before Monday's raw) I was complaining that the WWE couldn't write Cena into a storyline that didn't involve the title (and - this new storyline may involve him being the lead chaser for the title should he drop it anyway). Would I accept it, depends how it was written. We've seen it before so it would have to have a reason.

(Think I'll cover the next two questions with my answer now - although I won't disagree with the money).

I'm actually not a great believer in long title reigns. We had two faces who had long title reigns in 2005 and I think it got stale. And I doubt Vince would ever write in a long term heel reign (as much as I loved JBL's reign). I think they need to get Cena away from the title for a bit.

As for Cena, I wouldn't mind seeing him on Smackdown again. It'll never happen (flagship wrestler = flagship show - I get that). But it would be nice to shake things up.

 

[Judah's Lion]

i really enjoyed the lengthy reigns in times past and even in the not-so-distant past.

that said, i could definitely accept another long reign with Cena as the champ. but to make it more interesting, it'd have to be new opponents. with Batista gone now, and having already had long feuds with Triple H, Orton and Edge, it'd be a bit harder to do but it could still be done.
possible choices for good long feuds in a lengthy Cena run would be Jericho, Sheamus, Undertaker, Kane, Christian and CM Punk. i know some of those guys are on different brands, but that's an easy enough change. just cut a promo from The Champ saying something like "i've beaten everybody on Raw and the fans deserve to know that i can beat anybody in the world... so with that said, i will now defend my belt to any contender from any brand..." or something like that. even a feud with Swagger that eventually ends with a unification match would be pretty sweet.

and on that note, i do like the idea of a long heel champion, like JBL, and i think Swagger could definitely pull it off. as posted earlier, "the all-American" stable would be a pretty fun idea and could help put some other guys in good positions, as The Cabinet helped Orlando Jordan and Team Angle helped The World's Greatest Tag Team, etc.

to my knowledge, we haven't seen a monster heel champion with a lengthy reign in quite some time and Kane winning the title and then turning heel could be a really good option. and i'm still waiting for Regal to win the gold just once and he'd be another really awesome option for a long heel run. then when he loses the strap, he can retire from active competition and start bringing back the idea of managers and mouth pieces, which would be a huge "piece of the puzzle" that is missing, IMO.

great threads today!

 

[DudeBuster]

the guy who's won all of his one on one Wrestlemania matches, the incredibly muscular, incredibly over guy, with above average microphone skills is not believable? oh boy.

there you go hes won EVERY one on one wrestlemania match he has had. thats what i mean its not believable. his matches are to predictable. he lost the title to sheamus (i cant remember what ppv it was) and then regained it at elimination chamber AND YES... i know batista came out and took it off him but you always knew what would happen. Cena loses title kids get upset, Cena gives speech i wont ever quit ill get MY title back, Cena faces Batista for weeks (were in reality some one batistas size could crush Cena) but yet again Cena makes batista look like a walk over and eventually Cena overcomes the odds AGAIN wins the title and keeps it for ages untill somewhere down the line in the year it will happen again. This is all IMO im not saying hes not good for WWE i know he makes a lot of money and that but to me i find him boring, hes not a real champion in my eyes, a champion to me is someone like, Swagger, Jericho, CM Punk even Seamus, people who can wrestle and you dont expect to win every single week IMO the WWE champion at the moment should be one of the below:

1. The Miz - the man had gone from having 3 championships to having none at all, he cuts amazing promos and looks the part as a champ and really deserves a push.

2. Chris Jericho - he is undoubtedly the best wrestler on raw and he too can cut a brilliant promo, he can carry a title for months and it never gets boring simply because he has a good character, he is sly, witty, intelligent and can draw an enormous amount of heat from the crowd and is wasted jobbing to people like R Truth.

Personally Cenas goody goody character bores me i wouldn't mind seeing him turn heel and redo the rapper gimmick but thats just my opinion.

 

[Ferbian]

I'm not gonna reply to the rest, it was too hard to read, and I'm just gonna have an headache trying to dissect it.

1. The Miz - the man had gone from having 3 championships to having none at all, he cuts amazing promos and looks the part as a champ and really deserves a push.

The Miz isn't ready to main event, he hasn't been put over by main event talent to be considered more than a upper mid-carder or a mid-carder at best, Miz will get there eventually, but he's not ready for it yet.

Some months, or maybe a year or two and some feuds with main event guys, he can get his championship chance.

2. Chris Jericho - he is undoubtedly the best wrestler on raw and he too can cut a brilliant promo, he can carry a title for months and it never gets boring simply because he has a good character, he is sly, witty, intelligent and can draw an enormous amount of heat from the crowd and is wasted jobbing to people like R Truth.

Yes Chris Jericho is definitely great, but he's a upper mid-carder who carries the championship briefly for someone else to take it from him afterwards, and that's all he'll ever be, he's not the biggest draw, he's not the most believable champion, and he works to put over the new talent because he wants to contribute to the business.

Not championship material right there, he's great to be a transactional champion, and make a belt credible, not to carry the belt for a longer period of time.

Personally Cenas goody goody character bores me i wouldn't mind seeing him turn heel and redo the rapper gimmick but thats just my opinion.

The rapper gimmick has run it's course, there's no need for it to return, maybe you're bored, but I'd say I don't mind the current character John is portraying, he can't rap anymore because most of his raps concentrated on insulting and inappropriate (compared to what they're allowed to say now) words.

 

[Dave]

I don't really know about this one...

You see, on the one hand, John Cena is a good Champion for Raw. He is strong, he is a fan-favourite and he has a seeming unmatched passion for winning the Championship. Now, a lot of people have said that he should keep it until WrestleMania and be undefeated until then, with the endgame being that he should face The Undertaker and really make a go of the streak. Whether he should end it or not, is another story. However, I buy into this idea and it really would make the WrestleMania match have more edge to it than Undertaker beating John Cena, or vice versa.

That being said, it does mean that John Cena will be the Champion for the next year and perhaps beyond. Now, I am a Cena fan and I enjoy his reigns whilst he has them. However, I feel that he doesn't really need to hold onto the belt for that long this time. There is a good number of people on Raw that could take the title from him and it would still be very credible. Edge, Randy Orton or Triple H could easily take the Championship and leave Cena to feud with someone new. I am not really fussed either way because Cena does like to immerse himself in a feud and I like his style. No matter who is feuding with, belt involvement or not, I like to watch it.

I guess it all comes down to the endgame of letting him keep the belt that long. It would get someone over big time when he does drop it and that could work wonders for the WWE. However, they run the risk of boring the audience if they don't manage to add something new to the feuds that he engages in. No one wants to see him feud with the same two or three people over and over again. Whether it is worth the risk, we might never know.

 

[DudeBuster]

Yes Chris Jericho is definitely great, but he's a upper mid-carder who carries the championship briefly for someone else to take it from him afterwards, and that's all he'll ever be, he's not the biggest draw, he's not the most believable champion, and he works to put over the new talent because he wants to contribute to the business. Not championship material right there, he's great to be a transactional champion, and make a belt credible, not to carry the belt for a longer period of time.

NOT CHAMPIONSHIP MATERIAL !!!!!! thats the stupidest thing to do with wrestling i have EVER heard !!!! he was the first undisputed champion, a 9 time intercontinental champion, a 5 time tag team champion, and has held the world heavyweight championship a few times to (dont know how many exactly). he puts on good matches consistently, it dosent matter wether he is a champion or not he still entertains were as people are bored by Cena when he is not in a championship feud, TBH i would like to see a Cena Jericho feud for the WWE title i think this would be a good feud as both have good mic skills.

 

[The Viper Orton]

I agree with the pros and cons mentioned. However, as ppvs, john cena having the title has ran its course. WWE needs to give a long title run for either randy orton or edge (Orton preferable). Orton has won the title but never got a long reign as he deserved. However for edge, he did have enjoyable long reigns in smackdown. Wouldn't it be fun to see another guy dominate raw for a while. I mean when john cena had vacation, I enjoyed raw, and I hope he gets another one soon

 

[Ferbian]

NOT CHAMPIONSHIP MATERIAL !!!!!! thats the stupidest thing to do with wrestling i have EVER heard !!!! he was the first undisputed champion, a 9 time intercontinental champion, a 5 time tag team champion, and has held the world heavyweight championship a few times to (dont know how many exactly). he puts on good matches consistently, it dosent matter wether he is a champion or not he still entertains were as people are bored by Cena when he is not in a championship feud, TBH i would like to see a Cena Jericho feud for the WWE title i think this would be a good feud as both have good mic skills.

Glad you liked my statement, I don't see Chris Jericho as world champion material, as I said he's a transactional champion, he's good for holding the championship if someone else needs to hold it.

He's not the biggest draw, therefore eliminating another reason to make him a long time champion.

His mid-card accomplishments does nothing for his main event career.

Good matches means shit if you can't draw, or doesn't come off as a legitimate main eventer, or for that sake have any charisma, Chris has charisma, but he's a small guy, therefore not a legitimate world champion against guys like John, Triple H, Batista etc. and he's not gonna draw new people to WWE in the likes of John Cena who is considered a great draw.

John Cena vs Chris Jericho has happened, John went over Chris, and I wouldn't agree with the fact that John isn't entertaining when he's not in the championship hunt, he's been good before on the microphone, or in the ring.

John is in the main event title picture because he's important to the WWE and their money, money is good for business, when the business is doing great, why in the world would they want it to change by booting the one guy that made them money?

 

[TheBestThereNevaWas]

Cena faces Batista for weeks (were in reality some one batistas size could crush Cena) but yet again Cena makes batista look like a walk over

In reality, bigger size doesn not equal better skill. Because someone is bigger than you, doesn't automatically mean that he/she can beat you in a fight. The smaller person may have better strategy or better fighting technique, so that part of your argument is not entirely with merit.

I too, would like to see Cena add a bit of freshness to his character and promos, but I'm not sure he's entirely to blame for his current one. This could be how his employer wants him to be, whether because of the PG rating or because this specific character of his is what's bringing in major money.

 

[STL]

I would absolutely be fine with Cena holding the Title for a long period of time because he's simply the face of the WWE. He works the hardest in and outside the ring and that's why he's in the position that he's in.

I also agree with the pros and cons but I think that Cena's promos are better than most people give him credit for. Saying the same basic things in your promo isn't necessarily a bad thing but, I see what some people seem to get annoyed with. But, The reason you've seen Cena say the same things is because the creative team keeps on making him face the same guys over and over again.

If there was one person who could do this besides Cena.... It should be "The Viper" Randy Orton! Can you imagine Randy Orton holding the title for months with his psychotic behavior? This may even cause heels being afraid to actually challenge him? Plus, I would argue that Randy Orton has the absolute best move set in the WWE today.

 

[Macskye]

I don't want Cena to have a long Title run, I would like to see Sheamus get the belt again, for a good 8 to 10 month run this time, facing all sorts of challengers, when it comes to Cena we've seen it all, and I'm bored. I want someone who's new, fresh and makes a good champion. Sheamus, okay he's held it already, but he made a good Champion, I would love to see him feud with Wade Barrett for the title for a few months, so they're both heels, but I think they could make it work, in a way, where they could go back and forth one being the good guy and one being the bad guy for short spells through-out the storyline, it'd be something people aren't used to seeing so much, and would be very interesting to watch. I hope Jack Swagger is Champion over in Smackdown for a long time though, or have CM Punk win at Fatal 4 Way and keep the belt for a long stint.

 

[RicSpade]

Honestly WWE has known and 90% of fans know this by now, but long title reigns only work with a heel because fans are more prone to watch faces to see who would knock off the heel and dethrone him. Cena considering he is the top face would only work if he was getting a continuous bad reaction from the crowd and you had more then just your basic face vs heel matches. Make it be like Wrestlemania where he fights HBK and the crowd is split, give him another massive face or face in the making. And if you can provide those matches then yes I could see a long reign for Cena. Otherwise keep the long reigns to the heels.

 

[PantsInMaJizz]

you mean like HHH in 2002-Wrestlemania XX reign... where people cheered anyone going against HHH, even the mega-heel Kane... at the time....

I can't believe people cheered for Goldberg and Scott Steiner... It even made Shelton Benjamin an overnight star.

 

[Vash21]

John Cena should not be champion..... EVER ..... he has got 5 moves which he ALWAYS, wins with. Cena is boring, he is not believable, the younger fans love his never give up, dont quit attitude, but if ur an older fan its just not believable. he gets beat down every single match and then at the end put someone in the stf, or hits the attitude adjustment and its over, but if anyone hits a move on him he gets up like hes indestructible or something !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agree totally. Cena should not be given another title run for a long time, neither should Orton or Edge for that matter. I wish that they had put the strap on HBK for awhile before he left. Thats whats wrong with the WWE its too damn predictable anymore. How much longer can we sit an watch Cena and Orton (insert someone else) threeways. Its just been done to much.

An yes the get beat up for twenty minutes followed by the hulking up an winning with three moves is incredibly old.

 

[richunclescrooge]

I dont mind if he holds the belt for a while, but he's gotta fight new opponents

even if he has a feud with an upper midcard guy and doesnt put them over for the belt in the end, he should at least have that feud with them and elevate them a little bit.

many of the main eventers should be feuding with midcard guys regardless of who goes over in the end. it keeps things fresh and helps elevate new guys and makes them look credible.

if cena feuded with miz or ted dibiase, it would not bring cena down at all, it would only elevate them.

I propose that the "main event" guys should constantly be fueding with guys a little further down the card than them, and the other midcard guys not in a fued with the main eventers should feud with guys lower on the chain than them. its all about bringing everyone up.

then for big ppvs, or big matches every so often, have 2 main eventers in a feud, then rather than people saying "oh, cena and edge battle again......" theyre saying "holy shit! 2 of the biggest guys are gonna fight!"

Its all about moderation

 

[grandwiz50]

Being an older fan watching John Cena put on his ridiculous finsher
bores me because if I've seen so many great wrestlers of the past
use finishers that at least look like they would cripple an
opponent. Lets face it how much could it hurt from only around
3 feet off the mat. The last time Cena had a long run myself,
family and friends were bored to death. Cena is as boring as
Hulk Hogan was with dumb leg drop and The Rock with his
ridiculous people's elbow. I miss the wrestlers of the 70's and 80's who could really kick butt or at least look like they are.