Who Will Be The Next Cena?

[PlayTheGame]

Okay, so everyone knows that theres always a top guy at pretty much every point in the WWE over the years. In the early years it was Hogan, then Bret Hart, then Austin/Rock, then Lesnar, and now its Cena (these are just roughly picked out, but you get the general idea). Now, we have Cena at the top of the mountain in the WWE, and no one can really dispute that he's the face of the company, the WWE's top guy. Period. Now, my question is, who will be the next John Cena? Who will be the next top guy? Has he debuted yet? Maybe its a Legacy member? Maybe its a rookie in ECW? Who, in your opinion (if anyone on the current roster at all), can you see becoming the next Cena of the WWE in the next 5-10 years?

 

[thewrestlinghero]

well this is a somewhat a hard qustion for me personally but im going with cm punk the guy has the mic skills over with crowds better wrestling skills then cena and sell merch give it couple of years and the right push he will be or something close and be the next cena

 

[PlayTheGame]

I dont know if the timing would work with CM Punk, I mean, he's only one year younger than Cena, and I dont see Cena stepping down anytime soon, so I would think that it would take a rookie or someone on the main roster thats in their 20's to be the next Cena of the WWE. Just my opinion tho. Good post.

The only way I could see Punk ever becoming the top guy is if Cena steps down in the very near future. But, as I said, I just dont see that happening just yet, and theyre really just too close in age in my opinion.

 

[Blade]

Since I assume you're only talking about midcard guys being the next Cena, then my choice would be Punk too.
He's the biggest midcard guy in the company. Hell, He's probably as over as Cena was when Cena was US champion. He has the in ring ability, has great chemistry with alot of the Main Event guys right now like Edge and Jericho, and can talk.
The only thing he needs to do is forget about the World title run, forget it never happened. You need to be very good to recover from such a bad title run. We know Rey Mysterio never recovered from his terrible reign, for example. But I think Punk is good enough to start over and become a great ME player. Assuming some of the veterans start stepping down soon.

 

[thewrestlinghero]

Thats true but they need a wrestler who is over with crowds sell merch and is good on the mic last year i could seen kenny dystrka as the next cena i mean he has the look mic skills the wrestling just not the sell merch part

 

[jmt225]

It's still too early to say who is the next "John Cena". Cena will be around for a long while and I don't see his popularity dying down if he remains the same performer and person he currently is.

And honestly, if I were to look deep into the future, I'd still say there will always be only one John Cena. I really believe Cena will never burn any bridges with the company (How many of WWE's top draws could ever claim that?), and he will remain top spot in the company for years and years. When you think about it, Cena is in a league of his own period; you can’t compare him to past Superstars either. Hogan lasted in WWE from 1984 until like 1993, and Austin only main evented the WWF for only five years. Cena is more comparable to Bruno more then anyone, but at the end of the day, his legacy will remain intact since I don't think he'll ever cross a line with any of the McMahons.

Bottom line… Cena is building a legacy right now, whether he outdraws Hogan and Austin or not, as the greatest asset WWE has ever had. I don't see anyone else coming along any time soon who will be able to surpass that or even come close to being compared to that.

 

[cmdave]

its a tough one, i really cnt see whos gona break out next and be as big as cena! kennedy should be near the top by now if he wasnt injured as much, i hope now that he stays fit and gets a push! anthoer guy would be shelton benjamin, he has loads of in ring potential, its his mic skills and attitude thats holding him back at the moment! if the wwe got rid of john morrisons horrible cheesy gimmick, then he cud be up their aswel. the guys got what it takes in my view!

 

[ad21k]

No-one currently in WWE has shown enough potential to be as good as Cena. To be honest there arent that many wrestlers on any roster that are even showing main event potential- MVP, and Swagger are the only two that come to mind.

Oh and anyone who thinks CM Punk will ever be anywhere near as big as John Cena is seriously deluded. The guy had a shot at been champion and blew it, the guy is a complete bore,both in the ring and on the mic. He is where he belongs for the forseeable future, and thats the lower mid-card.

 

[SavageTaker]

i dont think there will ever be another cena.just like there might never be another undertaker.hogan.rocky.austin,etc.however there might be someone that might come close to him or maybe surpass him but not another one like him.

my choice is actually going to be Mr.kennedy,yes people say he is going to be like stone cold...well imo he could be near cena's popularity.when i look at kennedy,idk why but i see him more as a babyface then heel.idk what it is but i just see him as a face.kennedy definetly has the mic skills and the in-ring skills,his only problem is that he is injury prone.

 

[RATEDRKO4LIFE]

Who will be the next John Cena?

My Choice would have to be Mr.Kennedy. He's A Face now and hasn't wrestled in a while. When he returns on the 22nd Of February he will likely be in the title hunt. Possibly after Wrestlemania.

M.V.P is another likely choice. He's only had one singles title in his carreer. The United States championship. Remember Cena's first singles title was the United States championship.

Jeff hardy is slowly making his way up the ladder. But he's coming down fast on all of the WWE. He's now a former WWE Champion and the crowd loved it. So his next reign won't be long coming. And he's also loved by the Kids of WWE. Thats another John Cena definatley.

Points to become John Cena
. Become a Peodophile
. Hold Titles for a Century
. Always be loved

 

[SavageTaker]

No-one currently in WWE has shown enough potential to be as good as Cena. To be honest there arent that many wrestlers on any roster that are even showing main event potential- MVP, and Swagger are the only two that come to mind.

Oh and anyone who thinks CM Punk will ever be anywhere near as big as John Cena is seriously deluded. The guy had a shot at been champion and blew it, the guy is a complete bore,both in the ring and on the mic. He is where he belongs for the forseeable future, and thats the lower mid-card.

it wasnt punk who blew it,it was wwe creative being scared to make him look like a legit champion.they never put him over a real main eventer.had they done that then he would have been considered in my eyes a true main eventer.making him beat JBL like 3 times does nothing for him.had they put him over hbk then that would helped him alot.also it wouldnt have made hbk look weak at all.

i will be the first to admit but im no punk fan,but i was actually a little bit excited when he cashed in the money in the bank because it came out of no-where,even if it ended it up being edge losing his title.

 

[ad21k]

it wasnt punk who blew it,it was wwe creative being scared to make him look like a legit champion.they never put him over a real main eventer.had they done that then he would have been considered in my eyes a true main eventer.making him beat JBL like 3 times does nothing for him.had they put him over hbk then that would helped him alot.also it wouldnt have made hbk look weak at all.

HBK was feuding with Jericho, WWE werent going to end one of their best feud in years, just because Punk was struggling to make an impact. JBL not a legit main eventer? He was WWE champion for like a year, and who was it Cena feuded with when he broke into the main event?! In addition Punk went over Batista who is anothe rlegit main eventer.

i will be the first to admit but im no punk fan,but i was actually a little bit excited when he cashed in the money in the bank because it came out of no-where,even if it ended it up being edge losing his title.

Exactly WWE gave him the title in an exciting fashion, and he didnt make an impact. He lost viewers, and had medicore matches. Theres no real way you can defend him by blaming creative when they gave him the title in such an exiciting way. If it had been Cena he would have got the most out of it even if it was bad booking, he has had sucessful feuds with pretty much every big name in WWEand not all were booked in the right way.

 

[quink987]

if you look at history the only reason hulk hogan was so over with the fans was wwe was goin though the pg era and trying to get the kids to watch and buy thair product for years to come.
just like thair doing now with john cena how meny kids love john cena and buy all of his merch and see him as a superhero but most 21 to 30 year olds dont like him because thair the old school fans who have already lived though the pg era before.
but if i hat to say the next big star in the wwe is mr kenndey because he is like a rebal and can talk on the mic and put on good matches and has a good gimmick the next big heel in the wwe is either john morrison or mvp

 

[Kyphael]

The next face of the company mighy very well be in ECW and he happens to have a lisp, which makes his promos God awful to listen to. However, if they get him a mouth piece then he can be pretty big. Considering he has only been on TV for a few months, Jack Swagger is pretty solid in the ring and given how young he is, if he has a passion for the business then he can be around a long time and only improve.

 

[DudeFriendly]

hopefully, and i'm prayin for this, there will never be another cena. i tried hard to keep an open mind about cena, but his matches are they same match every time just a different foe. as for his popularity put anybody else in a bunch of commercails and movies and let the mainstream see that all the time see what happens. what pisses me off the most someone else said on another post: the salute, i have family in friends fightin for our country right now and to me it's just disrespectful.
Future face of the wwe: i agree if he sssticksss with it (get it? sssticksss) isss jack sssswagger

 

[SavageTaker]

I was saying HBK as an example.they could have gone another route with another real main eventer,but i was just saying hbk as an example.and plus they really didnt have to end the jericho michaels feud just to help punk,they could incorporated him in that feud then later on have him feud with hbk.

while JBL did hold the wwe title for over a year that was sometime ago.im talking about now.at one point yes he was a legit main eventer but when he was feuding with punk i saw jbl more as a upper mid card guy.

 

[CCS]

I think that Bryan Danielson could do big things in the WWE as a face. Danielson has the look and the skills for the fans to love him. He just needs to be pushed the right way. I honestly think that he was a very odd kind of charisma that most people dont have. The kind of charisma that just makes you want to like him. So I could easily see the American Dragon being a big name high merchandise selling player in the WWE.

 

[corvis]

In all honesty I don't know for definite.

I mean back in 2002 when Cena debuted I never saw him being where he is now, so that factor kind of surprised me. Hell if you go further back I doubt many people would've thought that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels would've had the careers they've had.

You could sit here for days on end speculating, could it be someone like CM Punk? It certainly could be. I'm not a big fan of Jack Swagger, but regardless it could just as well be him.

It could be someone who hasn't even appeared on TV yet or someone we don't expect.

Vague as hell I know, but those are my 2 cents (or whatever the UK version of that saying is)

 

[Starchild]

I don't think the "next Cena" is necessarily in the company yet (or at least not on the main roster) for two main reasons.
First and foremost, there will only ever be one Cena and he's of course there now. The top guys are never even close to being the same. Hogan was this larger than life American hero, Hart was just a great wrestler, Austin was a beer-swilling anti-authority rebel, Rock was a joke-making true entertainer, and now Cena is essentially an ex-Marine type guy. Who knows what the next big face of the company is gonna be...maybe it'll be recycled and be like Hogan, or maybe it'll be a character akin to Flair..we don't know yet.

Secondly, barring any major injuries or anything like that, Cena will remain the face of the company for years to come. At least another 10 I'd think if he stays the same (though I do see a big heel turn at some point down the road as all of these guys had). But I find that generally the top guys in the company don't overlap..at least not as main eventers.
Hart was there during some of Hogan's era but only as a tag team and later IC title contender; now Austin and Hogan did overlap but when Austin really got to being that guy was during the last couple months of Hart's time, and when he won the title was after Hart left; Rock got big after Hart left as well; and Cena wasn't around during the time Rock or Austin were there. So you see, they might very well not overlap and if they do, the other guy probably won't be a main eventer until right at the end of Cena's time or after he leaves.

 

[ncberz]

Main eventers have overlapped in every era of wrestling. Sure there may have always been one who seems above all others, but he always has 2 or 3 wrestlers around him who when they have a bout you "whose gonna win?".

Hogan: Andre, Savage

Hart: HBK, Diesel, The Undertaker, Austin

Austin: HBK, The Undertaker, HHH, The Rock

The Rock: HHH, Mankind, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle

Brock Lesnar: Kurt Angle, The Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero, Big Show

Cena: Orton, HHH, Edge

 

[eXtremely-Priceless2K9]

He is where he belongs for the forseeable future, and thats the lower mid-card.

CM PUNK is in the upper mid card, The I.C champ, a former World tag champ and a world title run (which shows Punk is obviously impressing Vince) but unfortunately it was too early, he under preformed due to pressure. But soon he will be able to cope and could be the next Cena

 

[The Magic Taco]

To be honest, I really think Jack Swagger will be the next John Cena. If they gave him a proper gimmick that maybe saw him giving less promos, it might just work. He has a lot of in-ring ability and could probably go over quite well as a face.

John Cena started off a a complete ass-hole wannabe rapper, who definitely wasn't aiming to be a role model for kids, and look at him now. I think Jack Swagger could revolutionize the wrestling business. I seriously think that he needs a new gimmick though. Post a few ideas on this thread maybe, and see what we can come up with for him.

 

[NSL]

I don't see how we can crown "The Next John Cena", when the current John Cena is still very much in his prime.

Cena still has numerous title reigns ahead of him, and will probably still feud with the top names in the company for a long time, before feuding with the guys that are still on the rise (i.e. Punk, Swagger, Kennedy, MVP, etc.).

If I had to guess who the next Cena could be, out of the young stars right now, I'd go with DJ Gabriel. I haven't seen much of his in-ring stuff, and have only heard about his gimmick and character. He's playing a cocky young gun that thinks he's going to rule the world, and fro mwhat I've heard, has a fair amount of charisma. If he's booked right, and is given a chance before too long, there's a shot that in 5 or 6 years, we'd be watching him in the main event.

When Cena first started as a face, he was over, and everyone loved him, and you could see him moving on to the main event. However, when he started the "white boy rapper" shtick, he was quickly bogged down by the midcard. The fact that he continued to do well, is probably the main reaosn he eventually got the push into the upper tier of the WWE.

 

[Crush1]

The title of this thread should be who is going to be the next Main Eventer. Because there is no way that John Cena is or will retire in at least 10 to 15 years. The guy is the tope face of the damn company for a short period of time. Do you know how long the WWF fed us Hogan? almost 10 years my fellow IWC. And to top that off WCW did the same for 6 and that makes a total of 16 years! And Cena has been around since 2002 but had his breakout in 2003. So thats not a lot of years. Anyway to answer you're question as to who is going to be the same level as Cena. I for one think it's going to be CM Punk. Why? because the guy isn't such a bad wrestler, his gimmick doesn't suck either. Get's a decent amount of pops, can work as a heel, is over with the fans. Is a campaining sign for wrestlers as to '' We dont do drugs!'' and Vince Mcmahon himself is high on Punk. But not now no, no no first Punk should prove himself in the Midcard which I doubt is going to cause a lot of trouble for him. And afterwards maybe in 2010 Punk's popularity may rise to Cena/ Main Event level.

 

[PlayTheGame]

The title of this thread should be who is going to be the next Main Eventer. Because there is no way that John Cena is or will retire in at least 10 to 15 years. The guy is the tope face of the damn company for a short period of time. Do you know how long the WWF fed us Hogan? almost 10 years my fellow IWC. And Cena has been around since 2002 but had his breakout in 2003. So thats not a lot of years. Anyway to answer you're question as to who is going to be the same level as Cena. I for one think it's going to be CM Punk. Why? because the guy isn't such a bad wrestler, his gimmick doesn't suck either. Get's a decent amount of pops, can work as a heel, is over with the fans. Is a campaining sign for wrestlers as to '' We dont do drugs!'' and Vince Mcmahon himself is high on Punk. But not now no, no no first Punk should prove himself in the Midcard which I doubt is going to cause a lot of trouble for him. And afterwards maybe in 2010 Punk's popularity may rise to Cena/ Main Event level.

Altho I see where youre coming from and respect your opinion and the high possibility that it is correct, there is also the chance that, due to Cena's hectic schedule and mounting amount of injuries, that his career might be shortened slightly (I created another thread on this very subject). So, if Scenario 2 does indeed occur, then we may be seeing a Cena replacement sooner than many might expect.