Would John Cena be where he is now if Brock Lesner stay in the WWE?

[CM Steel]

After Wrestlemania 20 in New York City, the then face of the WWE Brock Lesner had left the company and pretty much the pro wrestling industry to go try for a shot playing football in the NFL. Brock took part in a few plays for the Minnasota Vikings on special teams for a few games. But that's as far as Brock's NFL career has gotten.

Now Brock Lesner is fighter and a former heavyweight champion in the UFC MMA world. But ever since Brock Lesner left the WWE. His OVW classmate John Cena stock started to rise in the WWE with Brock's departare. A year later it was John Cena who started a run in headling Wrestlemania's until this very day.

Before Brock Lesner had left the WWE. The WWE creative team already had plans for Brock if he had stayed in the WWE. The plan was for Brock Lesner to wrestle Triple H as a face at that next year's Wrestlemania in Hollywood. But that never happened. Some people may say that Vince McMahon himself and other tops in the WWE who made John Cena Brock Lesner's unofficial replacement. And that may have been a good choice with the results of that.

I think that when Brock Lesner defended his WWE championship against John Cena at the Backlash PPV in '03 was an unofficial passing of the torch in it's self. That was a test if John Cena could handle being in the main event in the future. In which he passed at a very young age.


So do you think that John Cena be where he is now if Brock Lesner stay in the WWE?

 

[PsychoBlack]

I don't think Cena would be where he is now, but, he would still be a multiple time world champion. He just has star power that very few people have and you can't ignore that. However lets try not to play the What if game because it can go on forever and there really is no right or wrong answer.

 

[Elementz of Fear]

I've said this plenty of times before both on forums and to my friends and the short answer is no, John Cena would not be where he is right now. That doesn't mean he wouldn't be a star, however. The WWE has always had 2 top talents at any given time. Cena/Orton, Cena/Batista, Rock/Austin, etc. The WWE would have elevated either Cena OR Batista if Brock was staying, but not both at the same time. There simply wouldn't have been room at the top for the 3 of them and since Brock was already established before the 2 of them rose to fame, so he would have been a lock. You were spot on in saying the original plan for the main event of Mania 21 before WWE figured out he was leaving after 20 was to have Brock face Triple H for the title which would mean Batista got that spot. That said, Cena would have always been playing 2nd to Brock and he would basically be what Orton is now. Orton is the 2nd biggest star in company (outside of legends like Triple H and Undertaker, obviously) so if Brock had stayed, Cena would be what Orton is today and Brock would be the face of the company. Orton & Batista would still have gotten pushed but would likely be heels.

Lesnar leaving essentially created 2 stars in Cena & Batista because WWE had to replace him while also build someone to ride along side him the way they always do. If Lesnar were around today he would undoubtedly be "the guy" and John Cena would be 2nd in command at best.

 

[Da Big Champ]

We will never know however I think if Lesner had stayed in WWE Cena would not have had such a good career. Lesner was a hot thing and really was a dominant force and now John Cena is the hot thing who trys to be a dominant force.

 

[LegendKiller716]

I'm not to sure where Cena would be. I'm a little more curious where he would be if Lesnar returned when he wanted to.

A few months after leaving Brock wanted back in, Vince said no. Longer after that, Brock and Vince had a meeting, but it ended with Lesnar going to NJPW.

I want to know where Cena would be if Lesnar returned during Cena's push.

 

[silrock316]

Yes, he would. Simply put. Do you think WWE just has plans for certain people? Most of these guys they bring in they bring in with hopes they will be something special. Regardless of Lesnars stature the fans were gonna take to Cenas rapper gimmick REGARDLESS. This thread is flat out stupid, I am sorry. Cena's character would have taken the same line NO MATTER WHAT LESNAR DID. The more stars the merrier. Is this serious? Especially this day and age with fandom. Fans are twisted. They cheer for heels against faces almost every week. If anything Cena may have gotten a longer heel run and became that much more popular. God this is dumb.

 

[bluejt16]

I think that Cena would be where he is now, Cena had a lot of things going for him back in those days, and just because Brock was the face of the company doesn't mean Cena could be face either... just look and Cena and Orton.
both huge faces in the WWE. I think that if brock had stayed in the WWE odds are Cena would have stayed on the same path that he's been on the past 6 years and Batista would have been the one to pay the price. What you have to remember is back on 2005 after WM21 both Cena and Batista were on HUGE pushes.
If you had to pick out of Cena and Batista to become a face of the company, I know who i'd pick... and i'm a huge Batista fan but Cena wins every time.

 

[GideonGodsend]

no way in hell john cena would be JOHN CENA if lesner never left, lesner never would have been LESNER if the rock and stone cold left either, stone cold wouldnt have been stone cold if bret hart never left, its all a continuing patern that shows wwe always has to chose someone else to lead them

 

[Matth3w]

I think Cena would still be big. At the time of WMXX, he won the US title; and you could tell a star was on the rise. The guy was getting massive pops every where he went. People soaked up his raps, and I always saw countless 'Word Life' shirts in the crowd. It may not have happened as quick as it did, but it was inevitable IMO.

 

[wushady]

I think Cena would still be the face of the company if Brock stayed. Cena was on a huge roll and getting very popular with the fans for a year leading up to his first WWE title win. If anything Batista wold have suffered more if Lesnar stayed than Cena would have. If Lesnar didn't leave I doubt JBL would have had a long reign if any reign at all. In that case Lesnar may have been the one to drop the title to Cena. Then when Cena and Batista switched brands Lesnar and Batista would have probably feuded and passed the title back and fourth for a while.

 

[TM Punk]

Things would not only be the same, they'd be better for cena. If you can remember at the time of WMXX he was wayy over. At the rumble in PHILADELPHIA. You know, ECW, smarks everywhere, hates everyone popular. That's philadelphia crowd. Well, they bood like crazy when cena was eliminated!!! WM21 would have been brock lesnar vs john cena with cena going over. Thus starting a new era of WWE, and what would have been a great feud. Everyone remembers that brock was best as a heel right? Anyways, HHH would have faced... get this... ready for it? Batista!!!! The shock of the century. Batista is HHH's boy, we all know that, which is reason enough for him to not get lost in all of this. HHH (rumor has it) did not like brock and did not want to put him over. Hence they never wrestled. The guy who gets lost in this is JBL, and honestly... who cares? That's how it would have been PERIOD. Close the thread.

 

[Da Truth]

I'm not a Cena plan, but I believe he would be very close to it. By now Lesnar would probably be getting stale. He probably would have flip flopped a coupole more times between heel & face. Cena would be ok; he'd just have to share the spotlight with another guy. The Problem with Lesnar stying is that a couple of the young talent on the main stage would probable still be in FCW such as Sheamus, Barrett, Swagger, McIntyre, etc.

 

[king4day]

Maybe I'm the only one but I was bored out of my mind of Lesnar's character. It wasn't WWE who made Cena. Cena was already making a name for himself. People hated his rapping and personality.

I'm not a Cena fan but if you've got it you've got it. He woulda found a way to pave himself to the status he's at now one way or another.

Lesnar was no where near Rock/Austin/Taker/HBK. I don't think he ever would have been.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

As long as there were still two titles, as in the WWE title and WHC then yes, yes he would still be in the same spot he is in now. In reality both Cena and Lesnar came into the WWE in the exact same fucking year. So, it took Cena a little longer to get to the top but he got there, and got to bigger heights than Brock did. I think the question you should have asked was, "Would RANDY ORTON be where he is now, IF Brock Lesnar hadn't left." Then again, I didn't make the thread.

 

[jhauth11]

Cena would still be a house hold name and be where he is now .. maybe playing second place to Brock. Batista would have became big not as big as he was and not as fast but the real question is where could have Orton been. Personally i highly dout he be anywhere as big as he would be due to him having to play 4th maybe even lower to everyone else. I would have seen him manly in the mid card maybe stepping up to main event in say a 6 man scrabble

 

[CM Steel]

Things would not only be the same, they'd be better for cena. If you can remember at the time of WMXX he was wayy over. At the rumble in PHILADELPHIA. You know, ECW, smarks everywhere, hates everyone popular. That's philadelphia crowd. Well, they bood like crazy when cena was eliminated!!! WM21 would have been brock lesnar vs john cena with cena going over. Thus starting a new era of WWE, and what would have been a great feud. Everyone remembers that brock was best as a heel right? Anyways, HHH would have faced... get this... ready for it? Batista!!!! The shock of the century. Batista is HHH's boy, we all know that, which is reason enough for him to not get lost in all of this. HHH (rumor has it) did not like brock and did not want to put him over. Hence they never wrestled. The guy who gets lost in this is JBL, and honestly... who cares? That's how it would have been PERIOD. Close the thread.

Close the thread? I see that I got me some haters on this thread.

I believe that Triple H had a respected business relationship with Brock Lesner behind the scene's. In fact I remember Triple H putting Brock over in a triple threat match with the Rock back in the day while the WWE was on tour in the down under.

As for Batista, he would have still gotta that push in the main event. But as a heel oppose to a full fleadge babyface. And what does ECW have to do with this thread what so ever punk?

 

[TM Punk]

The ecw was in reference to philly. That's where ecw was founded? They are notorious for booing the good guys and being smarks, yet they were fully behind cena at the rumble in 04? Read? And IMO Orton would also be in the same spot. You guys are acting like this 1 person being here would totally change the landscape of WWE. In truth, no one cared about brock leading up to maniaXX. He was stale! Orton and batista were riding the HHH wave. He wouldn't let them become nothing. And WWE wouldn't let the sone of a hall of famer fail. Cmon.

 

[whoopin' ass]

Either one of two things would have happened - either Cena would not have been given a push period since Lesner would have been the top guy and they would not have been looking for anyone else or he would be in that Edge/Orton spot where be is important but not the top guy in the company. I am leaning towards the second one since he was already being given a bit of a push when Lesner was there so I think they would have built him up. Funny thing is Cena got over as a heel, then turned face. With Lesner able to play either, Cena's push might have not worked so great if he was forced to play face first.

 

[Shilon006]

It's tough to say. I believe he would. Idk if lesnar would be as popular with the kids/woman as Cena is. That's where majority of the cash flow seems to come now. Lesnar def has a more of a grown mens appeal. I see Cena becoming what he is and lesnar maybe being the ultimate force. He could come and treat the kids a certain way and get all that heat. It would only drive the kids behind Cena even more. Someone pointed out there's always @ least 2 top guys. As long as Cena went down the same road to become the personality he is today, his popularity would be the same.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Absolutely. He might have had to wait a little longer though to begin grabbing titles and for his big push to come. Cena would still have had a rise to the top as his rapper persona. Had Lesnar stuck around, it may have affected JBL more than Cena. JBL got his WWE Championship push on Smackdown when it was without any top heels. Lesnar would have filled that role if he was still around. Cena would then still have earned his Wrestlemania 21 push, but against a different opponent. He still would have gotten over and earned the right to be the top face of the company following his first world title victory. So, the answer is yes. Cena would still be where he is now. The only things that would have changed are that he might have faced Lesnar instead of JBL or that he might have had to wait a little longer for his big push to come.

 

[LFC till i die]

Cena defiantly wouldn't be where he is if Lesner was still with the WWE. Yeah Cena would be champion every now an then but wouldn't be the sucess he is if Brock hadn't had left.

 

[Blue Chipper]

Cena defiantly wouldn't be where he is if Lesner was still with the WWE. Yeah Cena would be champion every now an then but wouldn't be the sucess he is if Brock hadn't had left.

That's completely unfounded. John Cena would be exactly where he is now because he is a good wrestler and would inevitably show that talent (the ability to entertain crowds), and Vince would pick up on it and he would still be the figurehead of the company.

 

[god-soldier]

This thread is easy to comment on because Brock Lesnar had the WWE in the palm of his hands no one could beat this guy at all. He was massive in size powerful and brutal to all his opponents. One of my favorite memories of Lesnar was when he throw Zack Gowen down the flight of stairs like a frisbee a hilarious but powerful display. Lesnar would have dominated the WWE that I don't think Cena would of stood a chance at defeating and I believe that Batista would have become the bigger star because he would of been the only man to take on Lesnar head on and end his destruction of all contenders for his championships only other wrestler I could see maybe give Lesnar a challenge beside Batista is Lashley because he was just as big and powerful as Lesnar. I honestly don't think Cena would of done anything if Lesnar would of stayed. Lesnar would have replaced HHH instantly maybe HHH might have not been a factor and I think Lesnar
would have also ended Undertaker WM streak as well if He stayed

 

[WWWYKI777]

I beleive he still would be where is he even is Lesnar was still around

Because look , Batista was around in the midst of John Cena also being around and John Cena was still on top at all times anyway

Batista was over , and a huge guy just like Lesnar and Cena was still a total main eventer , so yeah

 

[abraxasdeux]

I really don't know.

Brock was and still is a monster (as was Taz and if Taz was still wrestling with the WWE instead of being a fantastic color commentator, the two of them could probably have had some excellent matches together) and the steel cage match with Big Show where they ended up breaking the mat still gives me shivers up and down my spine.

But the WWE creative team could have given the spotlight to anybody.

But yes, let's consider what would have happened if they had chosen to give the spotlight to Lesner for his deligated 15 minutes of fame, when the promotion shifted and had gotten rid off the Attitude Era, Brock probably would have been booted out because of how geniunely savage his MMA style of wrestling is.