What is Cena's Gimmick?

[Shocky]

John Cena's gimmick is the struggling late 20 to early 30 something about ready to enter mid life crisis but yet still clings to his highschool and college years as the best time of his life. Hence why he wears his football jersey to the ring and had a marching band take him to the ring.

John Cena = the Lovable Loser guy that never grew up from High School.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Edge could go without the nickname but it is useful for labeling his gimmick. And unless he is put in the title match at Judgement Day he is therefore out of the title Picture until he is in a feud for the title. thats the way I judge the title picture. So right now it is Triple H and Randy Orton in the title picture alone.

Maybe it is just me finding John Cena's character to be so bland and uninspiring, so I can't see why people love him.

 

[jshoemate07]

No body believes John Cena is a marine... I mean... Lashley was indeed a real marine... and it would have been odd pairing them to form "the supermen army" with both making the salute and wearing matching army outfits... or something like that...

BTW Lashley wuz army. neways does cena rly have 2 b paired with a gimmick?
I mean the guy wrks his ass off and he still gets hate from the IWC. Sure he's not the gr8est n the ring but he's improved alot over the yrs. Just accept Cena for...Cena.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Wrestling is centred around Gimmicks. If they don't have a gimmick than there is no way to differentiate from one Wrestler or the other, it has the move set and your basic alignment whether Heel or Face.

 

[Slyfox696]

Edge could go without the nickname but it is useful for labeling his gimmick. And unless he is put in the title match at Judgement Day he is therefore out of the title Picture until he is in a feud for the title. thats the way I judge the title picture. So right now it is Triple H and Randy Orton in the title picture alone.

Maybe it is just me finding John Cena's character to be so bland and uninspiring, so I can't see why people love him.

So, because he's not booked in a match, that means his gimmick can't want a title? Explain that philosophy. Because I thought Triple H wanted a title back at the Royal Rumble, but wasn't in a title match.

 

[MrMars]

Wrestling is centred around Gimmicks. If they don't have a gimmick than there is no way to differentiate from one Wrestler or the other, it has the move set and your basic alignment whether Heel or Face.

Dude, you are being silly. By your logic, Edge has a gimmick because he has identifiable and consistent character traits. Same with HHH and HBK. Alright - even if I dont agree with that, how does Cena NOT have a 'gimmick' (even though what you are describing isnt a gimmick as I understand the word)?

Orton, Cena, Edge, Jericho, HHH, HBK, Kennedy, even Punk to an extent all fall into that same mold. So? I don't see the big deal.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

I think a lot of this discussion is just an unwillingness to differentiate between "gimmick" and "personality".

A gimmick is someone like the Undertaker, Boogeyman, Deuce & Domino, Umaga, etc. These people are playing characters that aren't just reflections of themselves. Umaga isn't really a savage beast...Undertaker isn't really able to summon lightning and resurrect himself and so forth (obviously, haha)

Some wrestlers don't have a gimmick, but they just have a personality. For instance, Batista. He isn't coming out dressed as an animal or anything, he's just a big, tough guy with an anger management problem. Shelton Benjamin and Elijah Burke just have the personalities of cocky and arrogant athletes. Kennedy has the personality of someone who is an asshole to everyone, but you love to hate him. Edge has the personality of the intelligent heel...a guy who runs away instead of being beaten to a bloody pulp, but actually steps up to the plate when he needs to, and will outsmart you into losing in the end.

So Cena used to have a gimmick when he was a rapper and such, but not now. Now, he just has the personality of a hard-working, morally sound, boy scout type of character. Cena isn't walking out to the ring with Scottish bagpipes playing, dressed in a kilt...he isn't wearing a mask and pretending to be a luchadore....he just has a personality, instead.

 

[Shadowmancer]

You are oversimplifying what a Gimmick is. calling Stone Cold a Gimmick Wrestler and saying noone now has a Gimmick is stupid. All Wrestlers have Gimmicks not just mid carders and the like. the names are a part of the Gimmick, you won't have a Tough 7 foot Giant called the "The Fairy Princess" Ace Crusher. It is a part of Wrestling. As I have said the Gimmick is a central part of Wrestling.

Number 1 contender matches put whoever wins them into the Title picture therefore they are part of the Title Picture but a Minor part. As a main stated goal of a guy it diminishes when they are not in the exact Title Picture. The Royal Rumble is a real big number 1 contender match.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Personality is a gimmick it is a central part of the gimmick.

 

[MrMars]

You are oversimplifying what a Gimmick is. calling Stone Cold a Gimmick Wrestler and saying noone now has a Gimmick is stupid. All Wrestlers have Gimmicks not just mid carders and the like. the names are a part of the Gimmick, you won't have a Tough 7 foot Giant called the "The Fairy Princess" Ace Crusher. It is a part of Wrestling. As I have said the Gimmick is a central part of Wrestling.

Number 1 contender matches put whoever wins them into the Title picture therefore they are part of the Title Picture but a Minor part. As a main stated goal of a guy it diminishes when they are not in the exact Title Picture. The Royal Rumble is a real big number 1 contender match.

I dont think we're oversimplifying what a gimmick is, I think you're over complicating it. No fate did a good job elaborating/clarifying my point. Wrestling, in large part, has moved away from gimmicks. Most wrestlers, when asked, will tell you that their persona is just their own personality with the volume turned up. Yes, normal people doing normal things would be boring and would result in an inability to differentiate wrestlers, but 'real' people are easier to relate to, cheer for or hate. A gimmick and a set personality traits just aren't the same thing.

Also, I didnt say Austin was a gimmick wrestler, I used a wrestler that had been used as an example earlier in the thread.

 

[MrMars]

Personality is part of a gimmick, but the two arent mutually exclusive.

 

[MattRKuhns]

Alright, I have a very simple way to settle this..


Shadowmancer, SHUT THE F*CK UP! Okay? You are ******ed.

Quote that..

 

[Heartburnkid]

I just figured his overall gimmick is that he's superman without the costume. IDK though.

Actually it seems to be an expansion of the Matt Hardy "I WILL NOT DIE!" gimmick. He won't back down or give up no matter what. The only thing is that even though it didn't really take off for Matt Hardy he's better at it.

He is superman dude.

Big wes you asshole, why warn me for having a large sig when I never had one? Fucking idiot. Learn how to mod.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Alright, I have a very simple way to settle this..


Shadowmancer, SHUT THE F*CK UP! Okay? You are ******ed.

Quote that..

There you are quoted. But you are a dumbass to begin with. I am the mod of this section and I can make you leave I can have you Imprisoned and Teddy Harted.

How is saying that every Wrestler has a gimmick even if it is their personality turned up. It is still a fucking Gimmick. Why can't People see what I am trying to get at when talking about Gimmicks. I am looking at the Gimmicks as what every single wrestler has. Carlito has a Gimmick, Charlie Haas has a gimmick maybe not a good one but he has one. I am trying to get at this from the idea of you can name almost every single gimmick that a Wrestler in the WWE has, even in TNA before the explosion of the Comedy Gimmicks you had gimmicks you could name and define. Cena I cannot do since he has gotten back from Injury at the Royal Rumble.

 

[MrMars]

Yeah, but problem being is that you aren't listening to all these people who are giving you very reasonable answers. If you didn't want to listen to the pretty much universal opinion, why ask the question? Why not say 'I don't think Cena has a gimmick'. If you wanted everyone to agree with you and you're waiting for that to happen by repeating the same 'you don't understand what I'm saying, but I'm not going to even attempt to reword anything' kind of approach, I really think you're barking up the wrong tree.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Someone bought up CM Punk, he has a gimmick that of a Straight Edge Wrestler. That can be used in either a face way, which he has been doing for some time now in ECW. And He can go down the Heel route with it in that he says that he is Straight Edge so he is better than everyone because of that fact, as he did on the Indy Scene. That is his Gimmick.

What I am trying to get at is where is Cena's defineable Gimmick, he doesn't seem to have one. it is fairly simple when you try and look at it from that perspective. I can go through most of the current Wrestlers on the WWE roster and can define their Gimmick in terms of a name and how that reacts with their character alignment. Cena I struggle with because I can see no clear definition of his gimmick anymore.

 

[MrMars]

Yeah, we understand your question, its just that we don't know what kind of answer you want.

Superman didnt cut it for you
Hulk Hogan v 2.0 didnt cut it for you
Working Man's Hero didnt cut it for you

All these examples and suggestions were given with a fairly good argument as to why they might apply, but you didn't ever even address them, really. You just kept repeating your question...

Maybe John Cena is just the little engine that could. Despite whatever odds are put in his way, despite whatever setbacks he encounters and hurdles he has to overcome, he just keeps trying to climb that hill. "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."

 

[Shadowmancer]

Superman is not a Gimmick it is a Poor Booking Decision in the part of the Head Honchos in Titan Towers as it damages credibility of a Shitload of the Roster. Hulk Hogan V 2.0 doesn't cut it because what hoganesque mannerisms does he have. and how the fuck is he a Working Man's Hero? He is as far removed from the working man as Triple H and Cryme Tyme. What is Cena's father. He is a Promoter. How does he Identify with the working man? The salute last time I checked that was Military, the Rapper Chains and Hang 10 hand gestures? Neither of which are able to be seen as Working Man type things. If however you add in 5 Questions where he was going in Drunk and doing it then yeah there you have the Working Man's Hero.

 

[MrMars]

What are you talking about? To be a working man's hero, you don't have to come down to the ring in overalls and a hard hat. But fine, maybe the 'common mans hero' would have been a better way to put it. He plays to joe average. Give's kids someone to look up to, gives adults a cheap laugh, and in the world of the WWE busts his ass to get what he wants against all odds. He's the underdog that the average american sees himself as, only jacked up and doing something to better himself. That's something the working man/common man can get behind and cheer for.

Also, just because something is a bad booking decision, how does that make something any less a gimmick? Hogan did the same thing, as did Backlund before him. The babyface 'underdog' that 'upset' all his opponents in the end. Saying its not what you insist on calling a gimmick because its bad for business is pretty weak.

 

[chrisgod]

What I am trying to get at is where is Cena's defineable Gimmick, he doesn't seem to have one. it is fairly simple when you try and look at it from that perspective. I can go through most of the current Wrestlers on the WWE roster and can define their Gimmick in terms of a name and how that reacts with their character alignment. Cena I struggle with because I can see no clear definition of his gimmick anymore.

Isn't Cena a white rapper??? Yeah... I know he doesn't do that anymore... but he is suposed to be that...
1. he keeps the rapper outfit,
2. wrestles with sneakers instead of boots, I don't know if those are "pimped" sneakers... lol
3. The WWE title is like an accesory to his outfit... spinning bling belt... It's weird to watch it on someone else... I think the current name plate on the title doesn't say Triple H, it says "Reserved for John Cena"
4. His entrance movie keeps the bling and that stuff
5. His theme song...

Now he has some "add-ons" after the movie... instead of the chain and lock he's got this necklace and this plates with his name... he has some soldier-themed merchandise... and after the new movie he will get some boxer merchandise... I don't know... spinning boxer gloves??

 

[huwtimbrell38]

if u wanted to put a name to cenas gimmick u cud steal it from another relatively famous wrestler who im sure most of u wud have heared of...dusty "the american dream" rhodes...
cena fought his way up from the nothing of a jobber to become the biggest and best in the roster...to go from the start and work ur way up through hard work and commitment...to be the best from effort without necessarily having the skills that others posess..
as someone else has already mentioned, he isnt the most gifted wrestler in the business, but u would find it hard to argue against him being the hardest working and most committed. and that is his gimmick...being committed to being the best..
and while he doesnt have a catchy nickname at the moment...he did...he had "the champ"...his gimmick is constantly working to be the best...being a good role model...not letting things stand in his way...

 

[MattRKuhns]

Well, Shadow. You really don't seem to get it. Everyone is giving you an answer, you just won't accept it. Therefore, you are stupid. And now, please tell me 'Charlie Hass's Clear/Definable Gimmick'.. Okay? I don't care if you are the administrator of this section, I am not going to ignore the fact that you are rather stupid. Teddy Hart me if you wish, it won't stop me from just going under another name.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Wow we have a live one here folks. You want me to give you Charlie Haas' gimmick look at it, does he do anything to get a pop? is his music enough to get people pumped up? No and No. Half of that is the fact that is that the fans have read about the Charlie Haas pop and think it is cool to not pop in anyway for him, those are the same dumbass' that don't like Cena because he is popular with Kids and women. Charlie Haas' gimmick is similar to Chris Benoit's he is a no nonsense Wrestler that is as effective in movement and ability in a match. I haven't seen anything from when he is masked yet, I can't exactly watch Heat because it is Impossible for people outside of the US and Canada to sign up to watch it.

 

[MrMars]

We dont have a 'live one'. We have a terribly frustrating lack of communication.

 

[Shadowmancer]

I was talking about the guy that flamed me.