Where does John Cena rank among all-time greats?

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

John Cena has been the face of the WWE for almost a decade.

Like him or not, he's an all-time great.

However the question is where does he rank among all-time greats?

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I don't think he'll ever reach the level of guys like Rock, Hogan, Austin, Taker, Michaels, Hunter, etc.

I'd put him in my top 20, I think when his career ends he'll probably be in the top 10.

 

[GOOZEKING]

Cena is definetly going to be in the top 20 guys if he continues his super cena character. The only way he would ever be in top 10 is if his character changed a little. I am not saying going heel just let his character less Barney.

 

[Ijapa]

How is he anything less than number 4?

By what metric are you guys measuring "greatness?" He has been the number one person in the company for over a decade. HBK is better than John Cena? Again, by what metric? Wrestling ability? Well, then I guess HBK is better than Hulk Hogan by that standard?

Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and The Rock are considered the best because of how popular they were, how much merchandise they sold, and how successful the company was when they were at the top. Do people disagree with that or something? Because if you don't, then John Cena is at least number four.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

How is he anything less than number 4?

By what metric are you guys measuring "greatness?" He has been the number one person in the company for over a decade. HBK is better than John Cena? Again, by what metric? Wrestling ability? Well, then I guess HBK is better than Hulk Hogan by that standard?

Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and The Rock are considered the best because of how popular they were, how much merchandise they sold, and how successful the company was when they were at the top. Do people disagree with that or something? Because if you don't, then John Cena is at least number four.

Wrestling skills, mic skills, charisma, popularity, great rivalries, drawing ability, being part in great tag teams, great stables, the ability to be equally great as a face and as a heel, impact/legacy in the biz, doing the J.O.B, memorable moments, theme song, entrance, finisher, etc.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I voted for John Cena to be in the 1-5 all time WWE greats and frankly it wasn't a hard decision. In fact, I have no hesitation whatsoever to slide him into the #3 spot, sitting right behind Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin respectively.

John Cena has been the face of the WWE for about a decade now. Despite the negativity that the vocal minority loves to express, he is always at the top of the pile in the largest and most successful professional wrestling organization in the world. He is always in the main event or if not, he isn't too far removed from it.

By the time he calls it quits on his WWE career, he will almost undoubtedly surpass Ric Flair's record of the greatest number of championships. He has done so in an era where fans can be hostile, in an era where being a successful professional wrestler is arguably a little tougher than it used to be. In doing so, he has exhibited wrestling skills in the ring that are far better than what many guys think. His mic work is consistently stellar (right Jeff? ). His ability to recuperate from injury is consistently astonishing, and his work outside the ring in terms of PR for the company, which simply cannot be discounted, is second to none. When called upon, John Cena can step up to the plate and jump right into the main event and carry the company on his shoulders. At the same time, he clearly has no problem putting other guys over either, as he has displayed against the Rock, CM Punk, and others and I predict he will display again at WM30 versus Bray Wyatt. No one in the company works harder than John Cena, who I'm sure logs more hours than anyone else in the ring, in terms of active competition as well as out of the ring appearances. He has displayed versatility in the ring, playing both a heel and a face (albeit a face for the vast majority of the time), and if WWE had the balls to roll the dice with it, he could easily re-invent himself as a heel again, which would be the easily biggest shock to descend upon the world of pro wrestling in these days. He and he alone should be the only guy to even consider as a guy to end the Undertaker's undefeated streak at Wrestlemania (although in my opinion, even he should not do so, even as part of a shocking heel turn).

Bear all of this in mind, and the man is still only 36 years old. It is not unrealistic to think that he can continue to do all of this, and expand upon it all, for another decade. Sure he may have to slow down, but lots of guys have had plenty of success well into their forties and beyond. Considering the dude is a physical specimen, if anyone can do it, it's him.

There is no debate that Hulk Hogan is number one. Likewise I feel it is undeniable that SCSA is slotted in the number two position. There are lots of guys then who could be entered into the discussion: the Rock, HBK, Triple H, Ric Flair, Bruno Sammartino, Undertaker, Bret Hart, the list goes on and on. However, I would easily rank John Cena's WWE career over any of them. And even if I could be convinced otherwise, there's absolutely no way that three of these other guys have had a better WWE career than John Cena, to push him out of the top five.

The haters are gonna hate, but at the end of the day, John Cena is clearly in the top five in WWE history, there's absolutely no denying it. And he isn't even done yet.

 

[sjdigitall]

Pretty simple reallly.

1. Austin
2. Hogan
3. The Rock
4. John Cena

He isnt as great as Austin, Hogan & Rock were at being the face of the company in fact thats where i believe he's really failed. Being the face of the company means you really have 90-95% of the audience on your side, the boos he gets at alot of shows really do not look good. Especially if you are watching wrestling for the first time, you see someone who is being promoted as the face, as the number 1 guy yet half the audience hates his guts. Its a really confusing thing for potential new eyes on the product so i would say thats where Cena has failed where Austin, Hogan & The Rock really have excelled.

 

[Ijapa]

Wrestling skills, mic skills, charisma, popularity, great rivalries, drawing ability, being part in great tag teams, great stables, the ability to be equally great as a face and as a heel, impact/legacy in the biz, doing the J.O.B, memorable moments, theme song, entrance, finisher, etc.

Even by all of that, how is John Cena not number four right now? How is he not in the top 10? Who is your current top 10 guy and then explain how he's better than John Cena. Because I find it totally, totally unbelievable.

 

[backwardsrko]

Im not a fan or anything of John Cena. But honestly. If you were to put John Cena in front of all the past wrestlers from the past. Im pretty confident he would beat all of them in singles one vs ones. No interference, fair and square. Cena would beat them all! Hes a strong mother fucker.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Pretty simple reallly.

1. Austin
2. Hogan
3. The Rock
4. John Cena

He isnt as great as Austin, Hogan & Rock were at being the face of the company in fact thats where i believe he's really failed. Being the face of the company means you really have 90-95% of the audience on your side, the boos he gets at alot of shows really do not look good. Especially if you are watching wrestling for the first time, you see someone who is being promoted as the face, as the number 1 guy yet half the audience hates his guts. Its a really confusing thing for potential new eyes on the product so i would say thats where Cena has failed where Austin, Hogan & The Rock really have excelled.

Cena hasn't really failed. WWE wanted to go a certain way (the PG way) and Cena was their guy, the face of the company. That's why people hate him.

Hogan/Rock/Austin were mainstream, Cena is not.

Not necessarily his fault but he's part of the problem.

Also, I wouldn't put Cena ahead of Taker, Michaels, Hunter, etc.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

10 to 20
Probably closer to 12 to 15.

I think Jim Cornette said it best that you are only legitimately one of the greats if people outside your promotion consider you one of the greats. As for Cena so far his adulations and praise all come within the WWE environment.

On the account that he has been the #1 for the company for so long probably puts him in that 10/20 range I mentioned. However him being more on top has more to do with the WWE being the only major promotion company in North America with out competition. By that account Cena being on top has more to do with him being a "safe pick" in terms of PR, Merchandise Sales, and Ratings instead of making an impact in this industry.

And that's it in terms of being a "safe" steady ship, Cena has excelled in this. However in terms of making a huge impact in the industry and the WWE, i'd say he's not that high up.

I can't specifically rank him with a number. However if Hogan/Rock/Austin/Flair are 1st tier legends. If Bret Hart/Triple H/Shawn Michaels/Undertaker/Savage/Foley are 2nd tier. I'd put him closer to the 2nd tier below the guys I mentioned.

 

[GOOZEKING]

There is a difference between cena and all the greats, cena gave his soul to the devil. You guys don't think that they tried to push "super hero" gimmick to others. When the choice came to cena if he wanted to be the face he gladly accepted. He have up his dignity of a grown man into the man we see today. If that means he is one if the greats and is better than others than I don't know if you guys really know what you are talking about.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As much as some hate to admit it, John Cena has been, essentially, a more modern incarnation of the Hulk Hogan character. If you look at Cena's interaction with kids, his general displays of patriotism, his willingness to do the "right thing" even if the "right thing" isn't for his benefit and the consistent portrayal of being morally upright & even self-righteous kind of guy; it's essentially Hulk Hogan. Cena's just far more entertaining to watch inside the ring.

When you look at WWE over the course of the past 50 years, there have been a genuine handful of guys who can lay claim to being THE guy: Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and John Cena. Some debate as to whether Austin or The Rock was more over and both sides have solid arguments as to who was, but either side could lay claim to being THE top guy. I can't think of anybody in WWE that's gotten as consistently strong pushes or has just been flat out hyped as much as these 6 men:

Sammartino was the first real hero in the company and was essentially "the face" of the company for the better part of 1.5 decades. He had the single longest, undisputed World Championship run in pro wrestling history and was WWWF Champion for a combined total of roughly 11 years.

Bob Backlund was more of a traditional technical wrestler. He didn't have Sammartino's freakish strength, nor was he loaded with charisma, but that didn't keep him from being WWF Champion for a total of 6.5 years.

Hulk Hogan was an old school comic book character come to life. He came along at the right time with the right character: a patriotic, family friendly, morally upright superman who endorsed Christian values. He helped take the WWF to heights unheard of during the mid to late 1980s and continued to be the biggest star in pro wrestling into the late 1990s. He's a 12 time World Champion whose combined total is just over 9years and was the biggest draw in the history of the pro wrestling.

Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Rock were two icons of the Attitude Era. Whenever the Attitude Era is mentioned, these are usually the two guys who spring to the minds of most people. While neither guy ever had a particularly legendary run, considering that the Attitude Era also became the era of hot potato title reigns, they still struck a chord with mainstream audiences that hadn't been seen since the Hogan era of over a decade earlier. Austin was a foul mouthed, beer guzzling redneck tough guy that became something of a blue collar icon in the late 90s and The Rock was, for all intents & purposes, wrestling's version of Muhammad Ali.

John Cena, as I alluded to earlier, is cut from the same cloth as the Hulk Hogan character. His character is highly patriotic, family friendly and has the moral base of an old school comic book character. He's been the "face" of WWE for almost a decade, he's been a 14 time World Champion, his 3rd run as WWE Champion is the 2nd longest of the past quarter century and whether you hate him or not, nobody's worked harder at hyping & promoting the WWE brand than John Cena.

So yeah, I'd have to put Cena in the Top 5, MAYBE in the Top 6.

 

[TheT]

Top 30.

He's not more then that, because he's been a face under the worst era in wrestling history.

 

[TheChristmasCreature]

I believe this question is relative to a person's age and where in the history of WWE did they grow up watching the program.

I grew up watching Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold and The Rock and have enjoyed the program through the years to now where I have seen John Cena grow in WWE.

I also know the history of Bruno Sammartino and if I tried to list this objectively, Sammartino would need to be in the top 5... possibly even first but my subjective vote, he would not appear.

Objectively:
1) Sammartino
2) Hogan
3) Cena
4) Stone Cold
5) Rock

Subjective
1) Hogan
2) Stone Cold
3) Cena
4) The Rock
5) Undertaker

That's my two cents.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

As much as some hate to admit it, John Cena has been, essentially, a more modern incarnation of the Hulk Hogan character. If you look at Cena's interaction with kids, his general displays of patriotism, his willingness to do the "right thing" even if the "right thing" isn't for his benefit and the consistent portrayal of being morally upright & even self-righteous kind of guy; it's essentially Hulk Hogan. Cena's just far more entertaining to watch inside the ring.

When you look at WWE over the course of the past 50 years, there have been a genuine handful of guys who can lay claim to being THE guy: Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and John Cena. Some debate as to whether Austin or The Rock was more over and both sides have solid arguments as to who was, but either side could lay claim to being THE top guy. I can't think of anybody in WWE that's gotten as consistently strong pushes or has just been flat out hyped as much as these 6 men:

Sammartino was the first real hero in the company and was essentially "the face" of the company for the better part of 1.5 decades. He had the single longest, undisputed World Championship run in pro wrestling history and was WWWF Champion for a combined total of roughly 11 years.

Bob Backlund was more of a traditional technical wrestler. He didn't have Sammartino's freakish strength, nor was he loaded with charisma, but that didn't keep him from being WWF Champion for a total of 6.5 years.

Hulk Hogan was an old school comic book character come to life. He came along at the right time with the right character: a patriotic, family friendly, morally upright superman who endorsed Christian values. He helped take the WWF to heights unheard of during the mid to late 1980s and continued to be the biggest star in pro wrestling into the late 1990s. He's a 12 time World Champion whose combined total is just over 9years and was the biggest draw in the history of the pro wrestling.

Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Rock were two icons of the Attitude Era. Whenever the Attitude Era is mentioned, these are usually the two guys who spring to the minds of most people. While neither guy ever had a particularly legendary run, considering that the Attitude Era also became the era of hot potato title reigns, they still struck a chord with mainstream audiences that hadn't been seen since the Hogan era of over a decade earlier. Austin was a foul mouthed, beer guzzling redneck tough guy that became something of a blue collar icon in the late 90s and The Rock was, for all intents & purposes, wrestling's version of Muhammad Ali.

John Cena, as I alluded to earlier, is cut from the same cloth as the Hulk Hogan character. His character is highly patriotic, family friendly and has the moral base of an old school comic book character. He's been the "face" of WWE for almost a decade, he's been a 14 time World Champion, his 3rd run as WWE Champion is the 2nd longest of the past quarter century and whether you hate him or not, nobody's worked harder at hyping & promoting the WWE brand than John Cena.

So yeah, I'd have to put Cena in the Top 5, MAYBE in the Top 6.

Those 5 along with Andre are the BIGGEST stars in wrestling and the ones that drew the most no doubt.

However would you really rank Cena over Michaels or Taker?

 

[Ijapa]

10 to 20
Probably closer to 12 to 15.

I think Jim Cornette said it best that you are only legitimately one of the greats if people outside your promotion consider you one of the greats. As for Cena so far his adulations and praise all come within the WWE environment.

What other environment is there? You don't think people in TNA think Cena is one of the best?

Well I respect your opinion but trying to pass your opinion as a fact is simply absurd.

I don't think Cena is ahead of Rock, Michaels, Taker, etc.

Okay, well, how?

Compare the things Cena has done to the things Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker have done. I'd like to point out that HBK was the number one guy in one of the WWE's least profitable eras and was on top for only a few years. Undertaker has never been on top.

 

[enviousdominous]

For me to give this all the thought one of your lovely polls deserve, I have to list out my own personal ranking of all time greats until I reach John Cena. We're talking across the board, past, present and future greats from every corner of the globe. This isn't a list of who I love, it's a list of who I appreciate for making pro-wrestling into a more mainstream enterprise. Without further ado:

#1. Bruno Sammartino
#2. Ric Flair
#3. Andre the Giant
#4. Bob Backlund
#5. Hulk Hogan
#6. Randy Savage
#7. Bret Hart
#8. Shawn Michaels
#9. The Undertaker
#10. Sting
#11. Steve Austin
#12. The Rock
#13. John Cena


Keep in mind, a card carrying Cena hater is recognizing that John Cena has indeed paid his dues and has a place on my list of all-time greats. It's not just about who makes me mark out, it's about being mature enough to appreciate what someone has given to the business.

John Cena is what a majority of fans want and for that reason everyone is entitled to their impression that his contributions are on par with Hulk Hogan or Bruno Sammartino. It's very difficult for someone like me who grew up watching a different kind of show to recognize the full magnitude of John Cena's contribution, so for that I'm excusing myself for putting him so much lower than most obviously would. John is still an active performer, he still has probably 8 Wrestlemania main events and 3 more Royal Rumble wins before he considers hanging his sneakers up. I have no doubt that, even to someone like me who seems a little biased, recognizing him as number one isn't a question of "what if?" but "how soon?".

 

[Ijapa]

For me to give this all the thought one of your lovely polls deserve, I have to list out my own personal ranking of all time greats until I reach John Cena. We're talking across the board, past, present and future greats from every corner of the globe. This isn't a list of who I love, it's a list of who I appreciate for making pro-wrestling into a more mainstream enterprise. Without further ado:

#1. Bruno Sammartino
#2. Ric Flair
#3. Andre the Giant
#4. Hulk Hogan
#5. Randy Savage
#6. Bret Hart
#7. Shawn Michaels
#8. The Undertaker
#9. Sting
#10. Steve Austin
#11. The Rock
#12. John Cena
#13. CM Punk
#14. Daniel Bryan

Keep in mind, a card carrying Cena hater is recognizing that John Cena has indeed paid his dues and has a place on my list of all time greats. I'm a huge Daniel Bryan mark, but he's still got some hills to climb before even I'll recognize him as being higher than John Cena in terms of an all-time great. It's not just about who makes me mark out, it's about being mature enough to appreciate what someone has given to the business.

You think Ric Flair made wrestling more mainstream than Hulk Hogan? You think Jake Roberts made wrestling more mainstream than Steve Austin or The Rock? That is a unique perspective, I'll give you that.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Okay, well, how?

Compare the things Cena has done to the things Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker have done. I'd like to point out that HBK was the number one guy in one of the WWE's least profitable eras and was on top for only a few years. Undertaker has never been on top.

That's not the point.

I never even liked Michaels. I despised him in his original run but one cannot deny that he's arguably the greatest.

Not everything is about being "the guy", "the face of the company".


-HBK was involved in the first ever RAW and first ever Smackdown.
-HBK was involved in the first ever ladder match.
-HBK won back to back royal rumbles.
-HBK holds the record for most caree rumble eliminations.
-HBK won the first ever hell in a cell and the first ever elimination chamber and the first ever ironman match.
-HBK main evented 4 WMs against Bret Hart, Stone Cold, John Cena and The Undertaker.
-HBK's WM12 entrance is arguably the best ever.
-HBK vs Taker at WM25 is arguably the best WM match ever.
-HBK retired the legendary Ric Flair.
-HBK was the one that created D-Generation X.
-HBK vs Bret is in the top 5 feuds in wrestling history.
-HBK took part in the infamous Montreal screwjob and The MSG incident.
-HBK won PWI match of the year A record 11 times including a seven in a row from 2004 to 2010.

 

[enviousdominous]

You think Ric Flair made wrestling more mainstream than Hulk Hogan? You think Jake Roberts made wrestling more mainstream than Steve Austin or The Rock? That is a unique perspective, I'll give you that.

I knee-jerked the list and then amended it to omit Jake, because I kept Ric Flair above Hogan I'll address this.

I don't think anyone on here has direct statistics of ticket sales and tv ratings. For me, Ric was over because he was capable of promoting himself loudly enough, and he was more willing to allow other performers to look good on his behalf. Hogan was bigger than Jesus in the mid to late eighties, I acknowledge that.

For what I was able to observe growing up, all organizations benefited from the NWA's ability to sell pro-wrestling, and the NWA wouldn't have become so big if it wasn't being marketed by Ric Flair. Hogan vs Flair isn't an easy thing to balance when you know what you liked better than what would make the most sense to other people.

John Cena is definitely better than Jake the Snake, as we're Stone Cold and The Rock. This is supposed to be about where John ranks among the all time greats, so let's focus on that next time. Sometimes getting a perspective across isn't as easy as just winging it in ten seconds.

 

[No Count Pup]

Cena is #1, no joke. He led WWE to exponential growth. WWE is approaching its most lucrative period ever with Cena riding shotgun. Cena found a way to outdraw Hogan and Austin by traditional measurements (pay-per-buyrates, television licensing deals) and in blazing new trails in the WWE Network and new media. What else matters? If Hogan and Austin are credited for elevating their eras, Cena deserves the same praise.

Cena's crowd reactions are on par with Hogan and Austin's. Cena can work a match as well as Hogan and Austin. Cena can talk as well as Hogan and Austin. Like Hogan and Austin, Cena sits atop the WWE in merchandise sales. Hogan and Austin (in a less saturated media market) had the edge in television ratings, but Cena has drawn the most money. Checkmate.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Cena is #1, no joke. He led WWE to exponential growth. WWE is approaching its most lucrative period ever with Cena riding shotgun. Cena found a way to outdraw Hogan and Austin by traditional measurements (pay-per-buyrates, television licensing deals) and in blazing new trails in the WWE Network and new media. What else matters? If Hogan and Austin are credited for elevating their eras, Cena deserves the same praise.

Cena's crowd reactions are on par with Hogan and Austin's. Cena can work a match as well as Hogan and Austin. Cena can talk as well as Hogan and Austin. Like Hogan and Austin, Cena sits atop the WWE in merchandise sales. Hogan and Austin (in a less saturated media market) had the edge in television ratings, but Cena has drawn the most money. Checkmate.

Austin in 1998 ALONE brought WWF 500 million dollars, 12 million "Austin 3:16" T shirts were sold that year.

Cena will never be Hogan/Austin/Rock.

 

[Torgo]

Put him in the top 15ish. I hate him, but no doubt he is a fabulous wrestler, totally WWE grown, made one of the best debuts ever, recognized around the globe, many many titles, big WM moments, and poster boy for the E.

HOWEVER, he is not as great as wrestlers such as Andre the giant, HH, Macho Man Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, Jake the Snake, Sgt. Slaughter, etc. those guys are higher up than cena just because they made a forever legacy in wrestling. True that Cena has made a nice legacy, but those guys are just a tad higher.

 

[TheCrabtree]

In terms of in ring talent, he barely registers on the scale against the likes of Michaels, Hart, Angle etc.

In terms of superstardom and era dominance, he's top 4.

Hogan
Austin
Sammartino
Cena

For the record, I can't stand Cena's gimmick or the current era either. But he is well ahead of The Rock, who is so terribly overrated in these type of polls. Rock was Austin's number 2. He was never the main man in an era.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

In terms of in ring talent, he barely registers on the scale against the likes of Michaels, Hart, Angle etc.

In terms of superstardom and era dominance, he's top 4.

Hogan
Austin
Sammartino
Cena

For the record, I can't stand Cena's gimmick or the current era either. But he is well ahead of The Rock, who is so terribly overrated in these type of polls. Rock was Austin's number 2. He was never the main man in an era.

Really? I recall The Rock taking Austin's spot from 2000 and became the face of the company until he passed the torch to Lesnar.

More than half your posts are against The Rock. I suggest going to a psychologist, you have some serious problems there buddy.