Why hate the top guy??

[cult_of_icecream_bar]

There is a massive trend in the net community to hate the top dog,the main eventer.Want examples?John Cena,Randy Orton,Sheamus,CM Punk,Triple H and it goes on and on.They have allegations(some of which are true) of being stale,boring,not being good draws,hogging the spotlight and more.Most intresting fact is they were all loved by the IWC at sometime.So my question is why hate your favourite guy when they excel??Can someone explain?

 

[Darkseifer330]

I wouldn't necessarily call it hate. It's more like being tired of the same thing over and over again. Sometimes things have to evolve after a certain period of time. If you see too much of something, you're going to want to see something new, right? Top guys for example Cena get a lot of hate because he's is constantly in the main event and other superstars are not getting a chance to breakout on the top and bring something new to the table.

 

[JaylisJayP]

I think it's 3 main reasons.

1 is what Darkseifer said, repetition breeds impatience, which turns into hatred and the demand for something new.

2 is plainly that people always love to hate the best...Yankees, Patriots, etc...

And 3, I really think there's a jealousy factor, even though 99% of fans probably have never had any aspirations to be an actual wrestler, but it's human nature to react that "If it's not me and it's the best, I'm going to hate it and try to devalue the achievement."

Cena to me is still entertaining, and just because he hasn't turned full heel doesn't mean there hasn't been an effort to give us something different with his character over the last year. If you told me today that Cena was out for a year with an injury, I wonder if I'd even bother tuning in each week. They'd have to turn Punk back to a corny face to go with corny Sheamus and stale Randy Orton.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

It's easy.

People get lazy. Not with their work ethic or what they do with the company, but when it comes to evolving their characters guys get to a point when they get over where they just stop trying. Randy Orton got over big with his predator persona, and since solidifying himself as a top dog has run said persona into the ground to the point where he's no longer interesting.

Look at John Cena, people have been calling for him to turn heel for forever, it's because they desperately want something fresh out of him and not the same old crap he's been serving up since 2006.

Triple H garnered most of his hate in the early 2000s where he was vastly overexposed and overused.

Characters have to adapt and evolve and if they don't they get old and stale. Then you get these old and stale gimmicks keeping the fresh and new one's from getting air time/main event spots.

 

[TCBT]

I wouldn't necessarily call it hate. It's more like being tired of the same thing over and over again. Sometimes things have to evolve after a certain period of time. If you see too much of something, you're going to want to see something new, right? Top guys for example Cena get a lot of hate because he's is constantly in the main event and other superstars are not getting a chance to breakout on the top and bring something new to the table.

Couldn't say it better.

Here's the thing with today's WWE. The PG Era isn't what's wrong with the pro wrestling. It's the writing. The writing is repetitive and stale.

Was there hatred towards Stone Cold when he was the top guy for well over a year? Was there hatred towards The Rock or DX or Mankind? You booed them when you had to boo them.

Can't say fans were different then. They weren't. Before the Attitude Era, Hulk Hogan was getting the Cena reaction because he grew just as stale as Cena has. It was the same thing - eat your vitamins, say your prayers, and I'll hold everyone else back. And wrestling doesn't have to be like that. I, for one, am sick of Cena and I truly believe that while he's the biggest draw WWE has today, he's hurting the WWE long term. The day he retires or leaves, good luck establishing another main event star out of all those Superstars who've been no more than mid-card talent for their entire career.

As for Sheamus, I, personally, have no idea why he's the WHC. I can't stand his mic work, I don't find him entertaining, and I swear to God I've fallen asleep watching Smackdown 3 weeks in a row when Sheamus is either cutting a promo or wrestling.

 

[xavyer]

This is basicly something very common for the IWC, first, they worship someone, they want that someone to be in the main event, as soon as that superstar gets there, all of a sudden they hate him, is like they want someone to succeed, and as soon as they do, now they are boring, the WWE or TNA is shoving him (her) down our throats, they are stale, etc. right now a lot of people (IWC) want Barret, Ziggler, Sandow to have a push, to be in the main event, and i guaranty that as soon as they reach that level, the same people (IWC) are going to say that Barret is boring, that Ziggler is geting stale, that Sandow is being pushed down our throats, and are going to want someone else to be in the main event, or event they will want Cena or Triple H to return, just give it time and you will see, i think is the curse of success........

 

[asiatic7]

I think The Attitude Era spoiled a lot of us. We were used to seeing guys with an edge to them being badass all the time (Austin, Rock, Taker, HHH). So even when they were faces, they still had... an attitude. So, for a long time, we could bear these guys as the main eventers. We didn't grow tired of them.

Now when a guy turns face, he becomes to hokey. They lose the edge that won them over with the fans. Remember when Cena was the Doctor of Thug-a-nomics? People ate it up and enjoyed it. Now he's GI Joe and the thug persona is long gone. Sheamus was a wrecking ball when he debuted, he ended careers, threw Mark Cuban through a table and basically owned Cena on his was to the top. Now he's cheerful "fella" and boring. Same with Randy. The Apex Predator who punted his way into our hearts is gone and been replaced by a guy with no personality.

They would all be better if they showed a mean streak every now and then. I think they're boring to us because now, they are cheered by people who normally would'nt cheer for them. We remember why we liked them in the first place and that dynamic is missing now.

The edge is gone and there is no more attitude. Plain and simple, we were spoiled...

 

[thedon2001]

there's a fad in America since the 60's where people thought it was cool to be defiant and abandon the norm. Everyone wanted to rebel against authority to make a statement, yet those that rebelled could never provide an accurate reason as to why they rebelled. As decades went on rebellion became a norm and the pressure to rebell against authority got more intense. IMO it runs deeper than entertainment, but it's the reason why beating up on your boss was cool (Austin vs McMahon), Gang mentality (NWO) showing attitude every chance you got (Attitude Era), and hating the company man (Cena).

It doesn't matter who the person is or where their from. It all has to do with rebelling against authority. Nowadays it can be seen everywhere from school to work to entertainment. This is the reason why people are anti Cena, it's because he stands for something good, he's the company man, the guy authority backs. For children he's a hero and for people such as the IWC he's a villain.

 

[JaylisJayP]

This is basicly something very common for the IWC, first, they worship someone, they want that someone to be in the main event, as soon as that superstar gets there, all of a sudden they hate him, is like they want someone to succeed, and as soon as they do, now they are boring, the WWE or TNA is shoving him (her) down our throats, they are stale, etc. right now a lot of people (IWC) want Barret, Ziggler, Sandow to have a push, to be in the main event, and i guaranty that as soon as they reach that level, the same people (IWC) are going to say that Barret is boring, that Ziggler is geting stale, that Sandow is being pushed down our throats, and are going to want someone else to be in the main event, or event they will want Cena or Triple H to return, just give it time and you will see, i think is the curse of success........

I think part of what sours the IWC these days is that when someone gets to the top, they automatically get switched to these corny, ridiculous super-faces. Cena was already there, they tried to do it to Punk and Sheamus. Randy Orton has no charisma or personality, but they tried to do it with him, too. He went from being the Legend Killer to "My name.................

.....

....is Randy Orton."

The IWC gets behind a character and they want to see that character get a run as champ. They get pissed when WWE changes the character prematurely or turns them into something worse. The EXACT same thing will happen to Ziggler if he gets the belt and then turn him into a bland face, not that he still doesn't have a long way to go on the mic as a heel right now anyway, but....

I am someone rooting for a Barrett title run, or at least I was...let's see how they bring him back. He has a new look, but will he still be a heel? Will he catch on quickly and start getting cheered even if they push him as a heel? We'll see.

The one guy they still let be a heel even after holding the belt has been Bryan, and he's been a success in part because of that. He wasn't doing much as a face character before they gave him MITB, and then he cashed it earlier than he said, thus starting his heel run.

 

[sdelfin]

Often, the qualities that lead to fans supporting a wrestler who becomes a top guy get abandoned for whatever reason once said guy makes it to the top. I wasn't a witness to Cena's rise, but it's obvious he's not what he was. Diesel was loved as a contender and in his early days as champion but the fans turned on him. And I vividly remember the fans turning against Shawn Michaels when he was on top. His character was way different after he became champ. Now, I've had no problem with CM Punk as champ(though not on top), but they obviously killed his voice of the voiceless deal, probably because they didn't want to keep telling the fans about change that won't happen any time soon.

And yes, as others have said, there is also the issue of things getting stale. Back in the day, top guys were left off the majority of TV, except for promos, so that they would always have impact. Hogan is a good example of the character changing AND getting stale.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Here's the thing... the Attitude Era didn't have one top guy, it had Austin, Rock, Taker, Foley and Trips. 5 while Austin was without question the bigger fish to the fans and the outside world, the others were all being pushed as close to if not equal to him in the ring and at different times outside of it.

When Foley's book came out, he got the ball and for a short time was "the guy". When Rock took off and got the title, he got that rub and was equal to, if not slightly higher than Austin at that time. Most of this was down to the fact you could buy a Taker or Rock or Austin, even a Foley shirt. The fans were genuinely split on who they liked best and they could choose their guy.

WWE doesn't have that now... Cena sells the merch to the kids period. If you want to be a smark then you have Punk, that's it. If you like "Old School" you're stuck with Jericho or the odd DX reunion cos Taker and Trips aren't around as much and Shawn's gone. If you want new blood, it's there, but it ain't going to the top over Cena and Taker, however much you Tout for it.

Hating Cena cos he is in that position is dumb, I am sure he'd love to be able to cut loose a bit with his character, he was at his best when he was doing the raps, being edgy as you say and genuinely funny at times. Ultimately, blame Vince. He is the guy who chose this path, not cos of Linda but cos he chose it 28 years ago when he unleashed Hulkamania, Ice Cream Bars and Foam Fingers.

The Attitude Era was a blip, a last chance to save the WWF. Happily it worked, but it was never gonna last cos Vince sells toys and tickets to kids first...

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I think it is quite simple really, WWE has been on 1 BIG trend in the last few yers:

- Fortelling which talents will be "stars" & focusing almost all ther time & efforts on those select few they think will be "Big Superstars"
- As well as, Pushing all their talent faster to find those stars

And therfore they CONSTANTLY shove a select number of guys down the audiences throats in attempts to either annoy them to all hell or eventually give in and realize what they see, and therefore forming an opinion about the talent one way or another.

They did this most prominently with Cena and it seemed to work and he has become a very polarizing figures.

For example:
I was a big fan of Punk from the indies and never cared for Cena besides the funny raps. So naturally when each came to prominence my original emotions became ALOT stronger, loving what I loved to begin with or hating more what already botherd me.

I think WWE has realized it pretty much works too.

Because I found either you react how I did or if you don't know the talent before hand, forcing them down you throats FORCES you to make an opinion, sooner rather than later.

It is due to this recent "forcing" of the product over the last several years that I think people, IWC marks especially, tend to act out negatively toward these talents being shoved in our faces. Most likely because it feels like people are trying to make decisions for us.

 

[Ethelion]

So my question is, why hate your favorite guy when they excel? Can someone explain?

You just contradicted your own question. Why would anyone hate their favorite guy? That's the thing with the word "excel". I think people hate the top guy because they think that they don't excel, in terms of being relevant.

John Cena was my favorite in 2002, 2003 and 2005, but I completely turned on him in 2006 obviously because he was quickly getting boring and stale. In addition, after hearing wrestling fans say that he can't wrestle, I completely jumped into the Cena Hate Train. I never really paid attention to his wrestling skills - until they voiced out their concerns - probably because I was too blinded by his charisma. That's when he no longer became a favorite of mine, hence my point of not hating my favorite guy.

 

[whoopin' ass]

because it is the cool thing to do. seriously. for some people, it is never right.

how many times did we hear "they need to make a new star" and then when they do, people complain. Sheamus was pushed and people said "oh, well he's Triple H's boy so that is why he is getting pushed". no matter who is pushed, it isn't the right person for them. not saying that the top guys are perfect - you don't get to the top without kissing ass a little - but if you want to complain, complain about Vince and not the guys. Vince has final say. I am not a huge Cena mark but he busts his ass for the company. why wouldn't Vince push someone like that? but in the end, it is Vince who is pushing them. John Cena didn't walk up to Vince and say "make me the champ or I'll leave the company", Vince decided to push him. but it is easier and "cooler" to complain about the top guy getting pushed than to look at why. in the end, it is real simple - you don't like the top guy, stop watching the show. ratings drop and Vince will find someone new.

 

[Y2J__Y2J]

It's not hating the guys, it's hating what WWE is doing with their characters. Especially with the top faces.
Cena - Stale and panders to the crowd in every promo.
Sheamus - A face should not be beating the top heels EVERY week and looking strong. The heel should come out on top more often than not, which leads to the big pay-off with the babyface winning against all odds! They've have Sheamus destroy Del Rio so often that it makes no difference how many times Del Rio hits Sheamus with a shoe, or how many times they show that video package of him slamming the hood of the car on Sheamus (which they've done a lot!!)
WWE need to build the heels up properly so when the faces come out on top it's not the same crap we have seen for the last year!
Seriously how many times do they think Sheamus can beat Del Rio without Del Rio losing all the credibility he had left..
Well my little rant is over..

 

[DANIELBRYANrealwrestler]

Cena to me is still entertaining, and just because he hasn't turned full heel doesn't mean there hasn't been an effort to give us something different with his character over the last year. If you told me today that Cena was out for a year with an injury, I wonder if I'd even bother tuning in each week. They'd have to turn Punk back to a corny face to go with corny Sheamus and stale Randy Orton.

So Punk,Sheamus and Randy are stale and corny while Cena is "still entertaining"? They've only been top guys for a few years and have had character changes done while Cenas been doing the same crap since 2005.LOL silly Cena fans,barely make sence.

 

[pipebomber]

I speak only for myself and not for any other member of the IWC as my connection to it extends as far as this forum and main page, in my small time I know nobody else who is a member.

That being said, I dont hate John Cena, however I boo John Cena. I boo Cena because when I was 14 or 15 I loved Cena, he was a heel but he never failed to make me laugh. He went face and kept rapping, kept making me laugh. He makes his run for the WWE title and stops rapping very often. I didnt like it but I understood the need to be more serious, so I still was a big fan of cena. It eventually becomes obvious he is the next "face of the wwe". Im still ok with it at this point.

Then the marine comes out. He slowly drops everything that originally made him popular. He stops being a thug and starts being a marine, all because he played in a movie. The Chain Gang becomes the CENAtion, his hand sign changes to an overused hand sign (see 3 count and the dudley boys). Te changes wouldnt bother me if they were explained on screen but WWE just changed them because thats who they wanted Cena to be, not what the fans loved about the guy to begin with.

I respect Cena, he is a hard worker who loves his job and this business, I have more respect for Cena than most people in the WWE but my boos are about the direction they have taken Cena since the days when people originally got behind him.

But for me its only Cena, I like HHH, I still like Punk, I still like Sheamus, Randy Orton I still like but he needs some more interesting storylines.

 

[H33LTurn]

It all depends on personal preference. Imo Cena has been the elephant in the room on WWE Tv for the longest now. The crowd has grown resentful of him, hes gone through his fare share of embarrassing personal problems, and most recently is rumored to be a backstage bully. Being a thorn in the eye of fans and becoming a PR nightmare for WWE is not helping him in the slightest and it would do the product good if he disappeared for a while and came back a bit more fresh.

Triple H pushes his weight around as Steph's husband. The ridiculous amount of title reigns, burying people, and lets not forget taking up a ridiculous amount of time on RAW with promo's and fake retirements.

Sheamus is just bland and CM Punk, while being a talented wrestler, is not the best in the world and the fact that some of the people out there who claim to be experts of the wrestling biz actually believe this cheesy catch phrase is what bothers people more than anything.

That being said I'm a huge Orton fan. I dont think he hogs the spotlight at all and his character is not as bland as people say it is. The rough spot hes reached in his career can be expected of anyone whos been as active of a wrestler as he has.

 

[R.K.O]

The thing that made me dislike some wrestlers when they become top guys is that they lose the attribute that made them popular in the first place.

The one that I am most frustrated about is Randy Orton. When he first started his apex predator gimmick, he was red hot. Punting wrestlers as he sees fit, voices in his head, unpredictable, dangerous and a silent killer. Everyone was full of praises for him including Paul Heyman. When his music plays I feel sorry for his opponent because he was so dangerous, he feels like the Kane character at its peak. After he turned face, he began to slowly lose these attributes and ended up at the "My name is Randy Orton...." character now whose only attribute is being a smiling superface like Cena and Sheamus. On this week's Raw when he celebrated with Sheamus after the victory shows how low he had fallen, the old Orton would have RKO'd him as soon as Sheamus turn his back on Orton. I still like him but I really miss his old character.

As for Cena, he is far worst than that. He has been the same for more than five years and is beyond stale. Watching him feels like eating the same food for dinner for five years in a row, it feels stale and eating it feels like a chore.

 

[crippler]

Couldn't say it better.

Can't say fans were different then. They weren't. Before the Attitude Era, Hulk Hogan was getting the Cena reaction because he grew just as stale as Cena has. It was the same thing - eat your vitamins, say your prayers, and I'll hold everyone else back.

Then WCW turned Hogan heel and eventually the fans loved him again even thought he was heel but it was different and a side of him that was never done before and wrestling fans loved it. Yes this is where i say a Cena heel turn would be great for the character and WWE.

 

[BigLuther]

I'm gonna relate this to football as opposed to wrestling, because this isn't something that is exclusive to wrestling. It's the same reason people hate the Patriots, the Steelers and the Colts for so long. Now that the Colts suck, do people hate them? Nope. Or take this example - my best friend is from Boston and is a diehard Patriots fan. He never understood why people hated Tom Brady. The simple answer is because he's good. When Aaron Rodgers started lighting it up, he told me that he gets it now. Whenever he sees Rodgers play, he thinks to himself "could you just... stop it."

Point being - it's easy to hate the best at anything. Patriots, Lebron James and John Cena all alike. They're on top, so they'll be hated. People love an underdog because it's something new and exciting and not just more of the same.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

It's called the IWC being the IWC in the simplest terms.

They always want to see someone new on the top and it doesn't take them long usually to get bored, then they go onto the next person they see being a top star. I also feel the IWC has a bit of a bias when it comes to strictly in ring work and nothing else, that's why you always hear people saying stuff like "Morrison should be champ, Ziggler should be champ, why wasn't Swagger's title reign longer, Cena bores me". Too often they see someone put a good performance in the ring, think they are better than the top guy for some reason and then thinks that person should be the top guy. I'm sorry but anyone who thinks Ziggler should be in the main event over guys like Cena and Orton really don't understand what it takes to be a top guy in wrestling.

I'm all for new guys being in the main event but I would rather have the right people in the main event and if I have to deal with seeing Cena main event every PPV so be it. I would rather have someone who should be there instead of having some internet darling (like Ziggler) who has no business as a top guy in the main event. It's not the fault of guy's like Cena, Orton, Punk and Sheamus that the guys under them aren't good enough to keep up, or at least keep up for the long haul.

Being a main event guy is a lot like an endurance race. It doesn't matter if you are leading the race in the 1st 5 miles, what matters is where you are when the race ends. A lot of guys get momentum and look like they belong for a month or 2 but eventually their faults start shining through and it becomes apparent what they are really worth, especially next to the big dogs with proven track records.

IWC will always bitch because they have short attention spans, I definitely see the faults in the current product but eventually you realize to just accept and enjoy things the way they are. If you can't turn off the TV and come back when the product is to your satisfaction.

 

[TCBT]

It's called the IWC being the IWC in the simplest terms.

They always want to see someone new on the top and it doesn't take them long usually to get bored, then they go onto the next person they see being a top star. I also feel the IWC has a bit of a bias when it comes to strictly in ring work and nothing else, that's why you always hear people saying stuff like "Morrison should be champ, Ziggler should be champ, why wasn't Swagger's title reign longer, Cena bores me". Too often they see someone put a good performance in the ring, think they are better than the top guy for some reason and then thinks that person should be the top guy. I'm sorry but anyone who thinks Ziggler should be in the main event over guys like Cena and Orton really don't understand what it takes to be a top guy in wrestling.

I respectfully disagree with what you said about the IWC. True, some fans have little to no concept of what it takes to be successful in an entertainment medium like "Sports Entertainment", but some fans have a list of great, strong ideas as to what can make the product work. And we hope each week something will change the monotony of the WWE.

I am by all accounts a member of the IWC. But I also work in the entertainment industry and I'm quite successful at it, believe it or not. And I don't like Cena's character - not because I don't like him, because I do respect what he does - but because of the way he's been booked. It opens the door for failure. For 7 years he's been shoved down our throats as the guy that stops the unstoppable.

For example, Nexus was the hottest thing one summer. Two months later, Cena exposes them as nothing more than midcard talent, beats them, and then they fail. Brock Lesnar was WWE's biggest signing in quite some time. He comes back, wrecks havoc, and then loses to John Cena. And then WWE is back to the same ol' same ol'. Johnny Ace - arguably WWE's biggest heel - gone due to John Cena. Big Show FINALLY becomes relevant again... and then loses to John Cena. Momentum gone. And those are just examples from the last couple of years. Like I said, he's been the same Cena for the past 7 years.

See what I mean? The way they book Cena blatantly hurts the company.

WWE IS Entertainment. Plain and simple. Imagine if the biggest movie out each month always had the same star. Won't you be a bit peeved? It gets frustrating, especially because they DO have other stars they can build up to the same level, they just don't.

 

[vaevictis]

There's no one collective opinion on the internet, and people are generally louder than they complain.

Oh, and as great as every angle is, it always could have been better. So there are people complaining about that.

Remember now, this is the same group of people who for years have said "man, RAW was so awful this week, I hope it's not as awful when I religiously tune in next week"

I really think people had a point back in like 06-08, about the general quality of wrestling. But hell, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan are certified main eventers, Antonio Cesaro's the US Champion, Seth Rollins is tearing it up on NXT, Austin Aries is TNA World Champion. Coming from someone who was, like a lot of the IWC, a huge Ring of Honor fan during its "Golden Era" with these guys as stars, the current state of WWE couldn't really get any better.

But at the end of the day people find faults with everything.

 

[theBec2101]

I don’t think we hate the top guy we always just think that another person would be better than the said guy at the time. I also think the internet has a lot to do with it. I think the internet allows people to put on their tough guy pants and say whatever spews out of their mouth.