What would WWE have been like if John Cena didn't exist?

[Avrusha92]

We all know that John Cena is the BIGGEST face in wrestling right now, he is representing the company, he has his whole CeNation. He is the kids hero. He sells out pay per veiw events, and is the reason kids tune into Monday Night RAW. As much as I hate him, I think he is the biggest thing on the market and represents the company MAJORLY!

1. What would WWE be like today if John Cena did not exist?

2. What if John Cena had never came to World Wrestling Entertainment? Who would be that Cena of WWE?


Orton? Jericho? Rey Mysterio?


I think the WWE would go with Orton, since he is young and a very great wrestler and represents the new generation, he is amazing on mic, and if WWE pushed him as a major face they would love him and stand by him always, and the merchandise sales would be way up high.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Blade]

Ok, let's get one thing straight. If there was anyone in the WWE who was good enough to be the John Cena had John Cena not existed, they would be on that level now and we would have an Austin vs Rock type situation going on. If Orton was meant to be the face of WWE, he would've shown that potential in 2004, before Cena even sniffed the gold. But Orton could never be the face of the company because he works heel. And Batista was supposed to be what Cena is today until it turned out that Cena was better than Batista.

So if Cena had never existed, WWE would be pretty screwed right now. If there was anyone in the roster who could be a huge star like Cena, they would be by now. WWE would have to beg, plead with The Rock to come back until they found the next huge star or perhaps try and persuade Sting to go to WWE.

 

[RockNWag]

If there were no John Cena, I think HHH would be in the spot he's in. Another excellent wrestler, and he has a lot of the power and size that Cena has. No, Orton would NOT be a good Cena-replacement, he's a perfect heel.

I really don't understand why people diss on John Cena. I understand that he's VERY popular a lot for his character and attitude, but have you "wrestling fans" actually watched him wrestle? How often does he flub up a move? Not only that but he is VERY well rounded with his style of moves. Of course, he has his power, but at the same time he has a VERY effective submission hold, that wins half of his matches. On top of that, for such a big guy, he hits that leg drop from the top rop PERFECTLY.

Thanks :-D

 

[Ben-Phillips]

Without John Cena, the WWE... No no, Professional Wrestling, would be in the gutter. John isn't the best technical wrestler, and he does repeat himself on the mic... Yet, people praise Randy Orton, Edge, etc. Who say the same things all the time as well. Randy Orton has had the same promo for about two years now.

This is simply the IWC hating who we're meant to like and liking who we're meant to hate. It's like when you watch a movie, for example: Star Wars. You kind of like the good guy, but the bad guys appeal to you much more, so, you favor the bad guy. We've grown accustomed to right being wrong and wrong being right, in many aspects of our every day lives (marijuana usage? It's illegal, but most insist it's fine.)

John Cena is UNDOUBTEDLY the #1 name in all of wrestling, regardless of promotion. He is the most over individual, he puts people over, and when he goes over he makes others look damn good (Orton, Umaga, Swagger and soon Sheamus). Let's face it, you might think Cena's boring, but he evokes more passion from his viewers than anyone... Period. And, I don't give a flying fuck how much you love or hate him, you have to admit, he can carry damn-near anyone to a decent match.

John Cena sells more merchandise, puts more asses in seats (You're either there to cheer or you're there to boo... You're their either way!), he has more charisma than those most deem "Better" than him, such as CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Edge, Christian, Randy Orton, etc. Sure, promos are stale, does that mean he's uncharismatic? Christian doesn't get mic time. Orton's boring as fuck, Jericho's said the same thing for a year and a half, and there's too much Edge on one SmackDown taping for my likings... Makes me despise him because I see him so much.

Have you all ever considered that John Cena is DOING HIS JOB? John Cena is dubbed "One of the most controversial champions in WWE history" for a reason. Do you think for one second that he earned that title on his own? WWE wants people to be torn for Cena, it's not him. John Cena had a huge fanbase, consisting in part of all YOU CONTRADICTORY SMART MARK IDIOTS! Apologies for that, but it felt necessary.

"John Cena was awesome and sooo much better when he was a heel!" "Cena was so much better when he rapped!" And now everyone says "He can't wrestle!" Yet, everyone cheered the fuck out of him, INCLUDING, the majority of those hating him now... John Cena used to be a piss-poor wrestler when he was a rapper, but he was entertaining on the mic, right? So now that he can actually work in the ring, and his promos are stale, you hate him? Of course he's stale, he's not allowed to just.. Go, on the mic like he used to be able to in 06-07.

So tell me, how is a guy who is GOOD in the ring, shitty now that he's evolved and carries a lackluster (right now, that is) promotion on his shoulders? John Cena is no technical messiah, and he's not going to be flying around the ring, but he's not a bad mat wrestler, he's a great brawler, and he's got a good ten or so moves he executes on an matchly (if it's not a word than it is now) basis!

-Attitude Adjustment
-STF
-Five Knuckle Shuffle
-Leg Drop Bulldog thingy from the top rope
-Spinout powerslam or powerbomb, whatever that thing is
-Frilly shoulderblocks
-Throwback (Or whatever it's called now) where he flips over you and drives you face first into the mat
-Fisherman Suplexs
-Bulldogs
-Funny lookin' sitout hip-tosses
-Thesz presses (or however it's spelled)

And he used to do spinebusters and belly to belly suplexs before his wigger (shit) gimmick. So I count 13 moves, and that's obviously not including the basic "Clothesline!" or "Suplex!" garbage.

John Cena brings in more money than the next guy, tenfold. Sure, his merchandise sales are huge, but people like Jeff Hardy wouldn't be THAT far off, but Cena would have the race won for sure. But mix in the money his CD made (Partially under the WWE label, mind you), his two movies and all the shit he does outside of wrestling for the company... He's wrestling's fucking golden boy.

Cena also has granted well over 100 wishes for Make-A-Wish, does plenty of TV interviews and cameos, as well as the shit I mentioned before.

So go ahead, give me negative rep, give me bad comments.. Disagree with me all you want! But think about this before you all resort to your typical smarky cop outs.

Chris Jericho got his chance to run with the ball... RAW's ratings were steady 3.1 - 3.5's. John Cena goes out on injury, then two weeks later Chris Jericho is World Heavyweight Champion... Monday Night RAW's ratings? 2.7's... And upon John Cena's re-arrival, the very night after he beat Jericho, it was a 3.7 or some shit like that.

So go ahead, tell me how Jericho is better than Cena. All-around, he is, I agree. But more important than in-ring skill is your ability to draw money and put asses either on the sofa in front of a television, or in the arena seats. If you can't do that, you'll never make it (aka Christian, SORRY.. Love him, but he'll never be a main event mainstay).

So now that has been said, go ahead. Tear into the -best- all-around worker in all of professional wrestling. Just because you think you know what's right for business.. Although, if smarks ran the WWE, it would go belly up within 1-5 years, guaranteed.

................................................................................................................................

Wow... In my gigantic rant I totally forgot to mention who I believe would replace Cena. Honestly, if Cena hadn't been around, I feel the WWE's big faces would be Chris Jericho (Tweening, obviously), Shawn Michaels and CM Punk. While it's primary heels would be Triple H, Randy Orton and Edge.

I believe WWE would give CM Punk the Cena role... Think about it, CM Punk doesn't smoke, drink, do drugs or have promiscuous (socially open or frequent) sexual activity. He'd basically be given the role model character for the younger audience watching the product.

I would definitely mark, hard, for CM Punk being the WWE poster boy. <3

 

[acstylez]

out of those you picked, I would have to say "Orton or Rey Mysterio".

Orton has the Look, skill, and physiological control over the fans emotions. Rey has his mask, his skill, and his ability to play the underdog or the aggressor is a true marketing asset the the WWE under-uses.

 

[RavensFlock1990]

lol did you seriously just call Orton "amazing on the mic"? Orton is one of the worst wrestlers/personalities to ever make it to the main event. He sounds like a brain damaged Ben Stein and has the personality of Steven Segal on crack. He doesn't even have a moveset. He just stands still making weird faces and occasionally stomps his opponets lims. Orton ain't no legend killer. The only thing he kills is ratings.

Now with that out of the way I'll answer your question. I don't think there's anyone that could take the place of Cena right now. He's rivaling Austin and Hogan when it comes to merch sells. He's a likeable guy with a great personality. He works harder than anyone else and you never hear one bad thing about him. That's probably why most of the IWC hates on him cause there's never any negative attention surrounding him.

If there was anybody who could be in Cena's place right now it was going to be Lesnar. Other than that the only 2 guys that come close to his level of being the face of the company are Undertaker and Triple H. Batista had his chance but his stock has fell so far since 2005 and nobody cared about him as a face anymore so they had to turn him heel. Jericho was alwas over as a face but he was never "top guy over". There was always 2 or 3 guys above him.

Now that I think of it Jeff Hardy could've been the face of WWE if he had re-signed and stayed out of trouble. He was getting some of the biggest pops since the Austin and Rock days and was rivalng Cena in merch sales. Vince was finally trusting him again and was ready to give Jeff the title for awhile and let him run with it but then we know how Jeff's story ended.

Guys like Cena come along once or twice an Era and right now there's nobody else in WWE that could fill his shoes.

 

[Avrusha92]

Jeff Hardy wouldve done the job but he was in TNA at the time Cena was getting pushed.

That is why as much as i hate John Cena, I appreciate what he is doing to the company. Seriously, Theres no one that could have filled the same shoes that Cena filled.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

don't you guys know that if talking about cena is only going to make him even bigger its no secret that we hate cena so why talk about him. yeah we know that his promos are repetitive...we know he used the "I've never been more serious in my life" promo last monday....as well as the time when orton punted his dad....as well as when edge bitch-slapped his dad.....as well as when edge cashed in money in the bank on him and didn't he use that same promo right before his iron man match at bragging rights? if we keep talking about him then we are doing nothing but encouraging vince to push cena more and bury everyone else.

so talk about something new anything other than cena because you will only make him more popular when you talk about him and the subject is getting old

So you come on a thread discussing Cena to tell us that we shouldn't be discussing Cena? Wouldn't have it been feasible to make another thread? Who has John Cena buried exactly? I will be waiting for some erroneous response.

On the topic at hand, WWE will be in some trouble. Orton was tried as a face but he was proven to be a better heel. They still would have tried to go with HHH and HBK as the top faces and sooner or later you needed a young face on top of the company for at least a decade. I don't know who they would have found to fill that void. Maybe Edge but that would be a long shot because you can arguably say that he wasn't credible as a main-eventer until he faced Cena.

 

[Alex]

To be perfectly honest WWE would've found someone else to push as the face of the company if Cena wasn't around, so long as they had the look and were ok on the mic whoever it was would be pushed the same way Cena was

 

[Ubiquitous]

Wow. Tons of people jumping all over the "O-M-G, JOHN CENA IS TEH COOLEST. BOO-HOO, YOU SHOULD ALL LIKE HIM TOO", when that has nothing to do with the thread at all. The question is what would happen had he never existed, meaning never been born. No one is asking to get rid of him or anything. Just clarifying.

I believe if not Cena, it wouldn't be hard to groom someone up to be the next Cena. He may not be HORRIBLE, but he's not exactly phenomenal either. He's just a guy that skyrocketed when the WWE put everything they had into him. The same thing that happened when WWE put all their stake in a 24 year old Brock Lesnar in 2004 at Summerslam against The Rock. Some people just take off when the WWE decide to pull the trigger on the "massive push" switch. There's people like Sheamus that get flack for being pushed to the moon, then there's people like Cena who was slowly built up to be the perfect face of the company, and it seems a majority of people didn't mind.

 

[WHATWHATWHAT]

John Cena is a star. But remember there was a time when HHH had the belt they wanted him to lose. And when he did we were happy only to see him win it back. Cena's problem is not that he wins or that he is a star. The problem is that he is too clean.

In regard to the WWE without him they might have pushed someone else instead. Cena is a security blanket if not for him the WWE would have to make the moves they use to make to keep the edge and to keep the viewers. But when you have a Clusterfuck (TNA) as would be competition its easy to jerk the fans of real entertainment and developments of stars because TNA has yet to find the Solution to Cena. When WWE went "attitude" WCW went NWO. If you want to see more stars and if you want to see Cena but not hate him so much you are going to have to wait for the competition to give Vince a reason to change his formula. Ratings and ppv buy rates aside we will have so much Cena to watch that you will need a dump track to get rid of the leftovers. Its to bad because WWE has stars but its the same ones headlining. All Cena can do is continue to carry Raw until someone else steps up.

Kofi may be a good start in terms of new faces. But I think if they removed Kofi's smile and had him as a heel he would succeed alot better and being that Cena is the champ fans can take it as betrayal on kofi's part making Cena the sure shot face in the match. Cut it how you want but Cena is our new Bret Hart and once Bret went single and won belts it was hard to keep him out the title picture so at this point Cena is no different than any other guy we have been force fed. But if he were not in the WWE we would just have someone else to hate and have more threads on how the WWE does not know what they are doing.

 

[The Best At What I Do]

Wow... Really Ben-Phillips? If it wasn't for Cena, the entire professional wrestling industry would be in the gutter? Really?... Really??? Well thank god for the coming of the savior to wrestling-kind. Ben you are so ridiculous that you're a lil' diculous. Cena is nothing special. Just a hard worker. If he wasn't around, just another hard worker would've gotten the superman push he got. Somebody more worthy I'm sure. I would've guessed an unstoppable face CM Punk. Sigh, only if...

 

[Mat FTW]

I would have to say Jericho. If Jericho had stayed a face all this time, he would surely be the face of the WWE especially after his return. Jericho has the mic skills, ability, and the controversy to be an epic face. Feuds with Jericho would be extremely interesting most likely due to his mic skills. Lets face it, Cena is great on the mic but he gets really cheesy. Jericho has the mic skills just like The Rock does, and that is an epic thing to do.

 

[lenguy]

lol did you seriously just call Orton "amazing on the mic"? Orton is one of the worst wrestlers/personalities to ever make it to the main event. He sounds like a brain damaged Ben Stein and has the personality of Steven Segal on crack. He doesn't even have a moveset. He just stands still making weird faces and occasionally stomps his opponets lims. Orton ain't no legend killer. The only thing he kills is ratings.

orton may not be "amazing" on the mic but honestly i look forward to his promos way more than IM NEVER GONNA BACK DOWN. YOU WANT SOME COME GET SOME.THE CHAMP IS HERE. Granted everybody sounds repetitive on the mic every now and then but id really wish hed come up with something new and well if you hate orton glad to see hes doing his job right. But this isent about orton

If john Cena never came to wwe then i think the company would be in serious trouble right now. they would probably be struggling to make a new company face right now..because its clearly not as easy to impress todays crowds that easily. If Eddie were still alive i bet you he would of got the push as one of the top faces along with reyrey. Other than that nbody on the roster can really match cena's charisma and intensity If lesnar would of stayed he would of been the likely candidate for sure..but he didnt.

I dont know, it all depends on whos ready to step up. A lot of people would say Jeff Hardy. but i dont think wwe would really trust him as the main company man to carry the wwe. I dont think wwe had much faith in jeff as a main eventer. the only reason he got their was because of his mass popularity. I think wwe would of took cenas gimmick/ character and probailly just slapped it on somebody else. the only problem is i cant think of anybody who would do it as well as cena does. This ones up in the air for me.

 

[X]

Where would the WWE be without John Cena? Up shit's creek, that's where. Cena is the biggest star the company has had since The Rock and Austin left (sorry Triple H), and love him or hate him (and I'm not very fond of him myself), he brings in a shitload of money for the WWE and is one of their very biggest cash cows. Without Cena, we're talking a loss of millions and millions of dollars here. Without Cena I wouldn't be shocked if the ratings were down to the mid 2.0's at this point.

 

[RavensFlock1990]

Where would the WWE be without John Cena? Up shit's creek, that's where. Cena is the biggest star the company has had since The Rock and Austin left (sorry Triple H), and love him or hate him (and I'm not very fond of him myself), he brings in a shitload of money for the WWE and is one of their very biggest cash cows. Without Cena, we're talking a loss of millions and millions of dollars here. Without Cena I wouldn't be shocked if the ratings were down to the mid 2.0's at this point.

This. And I don't see how some of yall can seriously believe anybody could've been put into Cena's place. Are yall forgetting how over Cena was before he even became world champ for the first time? He has tons of talents and works his ass off in and out of the ring for the company.

WWE has tried pushing guys like as superman" so many times only for it to fail. Look at a recent attempt like Bobby Lashley. They pushed him to the moon and beyond yet the fans still didn't give a flying fuck about him. You either have "it" or you don't. Cena has the it factor that only guys like Austin, Rock, Hogan, Flair, Savage, Taker and a few others have had. I wouldn't put him in the same class as those guys just yet (except for Rock) but by the time he calls it a career he's gonna be remembered as one of the very best of all time.