Would Cena have survived....

[RavensEdge]

the Attitude Era?

I have no doubt that his thuganomics gimmick would have done fine. It worked for him during "Ruthless Agression" which was pretty much Attitude Era part 2. I mean Cena's character as he is now.

During a time when anarachy ruled I don't think fans would have ever taken in a squeaky clean super hero type like Cena. With all the "risky" type angles they were doing at the time I really don't think the kids who would've been his biggest fans would even be allowed to watch. I think the only chance he would've had to get over back then would've been a Right To Censor type thing where he's trying to clean up the WWE and make it PG which would've made him a huge heel at the time.

Thoughts?

 

[The Death Rattle]

Simply put, yes. There have been countless discussions over the merits of his character, microphone skills, charisma, wrestling ability, etc. The fact is, love him or hate him, Cena connects with an audience. Just watch any episode of Raw for the proof. Cena is one of the rare guys who is essentially a heel and face no matter what he does. He has his supporters and he has his detractors, every single time he performs. That is the biggest factor to his continued success. The man knows how to draw a reaction. Most wrestlers struggle to find the right gimmick, catchphrase, or move that gives them the connection needed to truly become a star in wrestling. Cena has that, no matter how anyone tries to argue any different. Armed with that, it's obvious to me that Cena will find success no matter what time period or era you fictionally put him in.

 

[The Future Rises]

If he had his rapper gimmick then I think he could have been huge in the Attitude Era. It was a very edgy gimmick that would fit perfectly with the direction the WWE were going for back then.

His current gimmick? He would have been a heel with it. All the fans back then hated the "goody two shoes" type of guy.

I think he would have survived if given the right gimmick(rapper) and booked right. Hell he would have probably been a main eventer with that gimmick and would have been given Rikishi's spot in the 6 man Hell in a Cell match.

 

[Big Sexy]

His current gimmick certainly would not have gotten over much back in the Attitude era but there is no way he would have had this exact gimmick. If he was around in the Attitude Era then his gimmick would have been more like it was back when he was first getting introduced into the main event scene. Cena as a talent would have been a top guy no matter what era he wrestled in, it's just a matter of tweaking his gimmick for the different eras.

 

[javierjiminy]

Cena would not have survived the attitude era. His gimmick is aimed for kids, not adults. He would be at best, a mid-card wrestler.

 

[Roodey]

Like him or not, Cena has what it takes to be a big star. With some minor tweaks I think he would have done just fine in the Attitude Era. So survived? Yes. Been as successful? No.

The Attitude Era was also a strange time... for all I know he could have been rapping the Nation Of Domination's entrance instead of PG-13, or tagging with 2 Cold Scorpio as "Funky Pebbles"... ah the possibilities!

 

[Jeff]

Cena is entertaining regardless of what anyone says. The man can talk on the microphone, he has a great look to him and I certainly think he would of worked in the attitude era. I also think his current gimmick would work, maybe even BETTER in the attitude era since he would have a lot more to work with. Look at the confrontations with him and The Rock. Personally I LOVE them. Now if he was in the attitude era, he would have these type of confrontations with Austin, The Rock, DX, Undertaker, etc. I think it would have been great.

I think if they kept him away from Austin, his current gimmick would be fine. I can easily picture him feuding with the corporation, saying WWF should be about the fans, not about the management and how if the fans like Rebels like Austin and DX they should embrace it not fight it, etc. I could easily see his character also saving Stephanie in the famous unholy wedding when Taker tried to marry Stephanie, but was saved from Austin. I also can see Cena feuding with HBK right after the Montreal Screwjob.

Cena's character totally could have worked as long as it was done right. Cena's character is all about giving the fans what they want. Have him drink a beer with Austin, Austin stuns him grabs a mic and says "I like you kid but I do things on my own" and bam, fans like a wholesome Cena but still have the attitude from Austin.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Cena would have found a way to get himself over because he was destined for greatness at the top. I think that he would have fit in perfectly as his rapper self back then. His current persona would have clashed with guys like Stone Cold or The Rock but that would have led to some great matches/feuds though, and thus he might have done alright. If not, he would have found a way to get there. He would have cussed more, as the PG boundaries would not be there. Cena would not be looked upon as being as cheesy as some of the Attitude Era fanboys might think, and I bet a good number of them would have become fans of him if he was around back then. Even in his current persona. The original poster mentioned Right to Censor, who were hated for being so annoying. They could have tried to recruit Cena, only for him to remain face and beat them all up. There's just one of many great potential moments right there. I can't even imagine how epic Cena/Rock or Cena/Austin could have been back then. Seriously, Cena would still have done great and been a top guy.

 

[Captain Mike]

John Cena 2003 would have survived in the Attitude Era without a doubt, more so as a heel if anything. I couldn't see him getting over as a face as by 99 you had Austin, Rock, Foley as the top faces of the company. I don't know if he would have gotten a WWE Championship run or not but he would have easily made a great Intercontinental Champion. I could see him feuding with a face DX and maybe acting as a tweener between the WWF Roster and the Corporation. Running around and causing havoc on both sides of the fence...

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

The question is: Why would Cena have been an All American Babyface in the Attitude Era at all?

If Cena would have existed in the Attitude Era, his persona would have gotten a natural evolution just like what happened to him early in his career and what happened to Rock in 1997. He would have debuted as a goody two shoes face, gotten booed just like The Rock got booed early in his career and then he would have had to adjust his character which would have been, in my opinion, very similar to his rapper gimmick.

Cena would have obviously been very successful in the Attitude Era just like I believe a Steve Austin would have been successful in the PG Era as well. It is talent and hard work which defines success, not a gimmick which is mostly an expression of the times in which a wrestler wrestles. A talented worker like Cena, Austin or Hogan would have succeeded in any era. Their gimmicks, however, may have been different.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

His thuganomics gimmick back in 03-early 05 would have worked much better for him than his current super cena gimmick in my opinion. I think he would have survived just fine in the attitude era.

With that said he wouldn't have been in the position he currently is because they had Austin, Rock, Foley, Taker and HHH, all four guys are IMO better and bigger draws than Cena ever was or will be. Cena would have had a successful run, at the very least in the upper mid-card, maybe even a world title or 2 but he wouldn't have all the titles he currently has and he DEFINITELY would not have been the face of the company in the Attitude era. I have no question he would have done well for himself in the late 90's but he wouldn't be on the same level he currently is, there was just to much competition back in those days.

 

[Jeff]

I'm actually not really convinced that his thuganomics gimmick would have worked that well in the attitude era. Maybe after Eminem came on the scene but still I am not sure. I think people would have taken his gimmick as a joke during that era since white rappers weren't really a common thing. People would most likely compare him to Vanilla Ice, and after Eminem, the fans would rip on him for being a wannabe Eminem. When Cena did his whole thuganomics gimmick, around 2003-2005, that was the perfect time for him to use that gimmick. Rap was very popular, Eminem was very well established and Eminem proved that Rap wasn't about race. Not saying he couldn't have had that gimmick in that era, just think his current gimmick would have been his best shot of being a main event talent in that era. People wouldn't have been ready for the thuganomics gimmick at that time.

 

[Tastycles]

John Cena's character isn't particularly incongruous with the attitude era. It's a guy who tries hard, cares about the fans and disses his opponents. All that would happen is that his knob joke frequency would be decidedly more, and he'd be a bit more crass. Don't forget that his move is called the five knuckle shuffle, which is about as attitude era as you can get. Indeed, I have some vague recollection of X-Pac saying it to Shane McMahon or Ken Shamrock or someone. Cena may not have been the top face during the attitude era, but he would have easily been over. The point of the attitude era was to be edgier and real, but it still had characters like Kane and Undertaker being over, so it could obviously accommodate people outside the narrow definition that rose tinted history has given it.