Would TNA Benefit From Having Their Own "John Cena"?

[LegendKiller_RKO]

Allow me to start off by saying that although I AM a wwe fan I am not taking a shot at the TNA product. I watch wwe programming regularly and although I do have some complaints, for the most part, I'm pleased with the product as it continues to draw me back weekly. I have watched TNA on and off for the past 2 years. Actually a more accurate time table is when I heard Hogan to TNA and that the show was going live my curiosity got the best of me. Since then my viewership has been on and off as it seems to me( IMO of course) that TNA refuses to just establish a top guy and stick to them. It seems just when a star is gaining momentum as a top face of the company, they pull some shock value heel turn or some other maneuver that lowers his credibility. So my question is...

Do you feel TNA would benefit from having there own "John Cena"?

Could having that main draw potentially draw in more viewers and exposure?

I say this because I actually want TNA to do well. It gives the fans more quality PW to tune into, and also competition by nature would increase the quality of both products.

Your thoughts?

 

[suffolkspur]

I dont know why you really need to establish a singular "top guy". In my opinion it would be better to make a number of credible main eventers who can come in and out of the title scene to keep things fresh as possible.

TNA having a John Cena at this stage would make little to no difference. The viewership will be the same because casual fans and a large number of WWE fans are not invested or do not want to watch TNA for whatever reason. John Cena is who is is because he was pushed by the WWE brand to a large global audience. If JC in WWE never existed and he was recreated as an original TNA wrestler now he wouldnt have anywhere near the exposure that he does for himself or the company.

TNA does need to establish fresh main event talent which they are in the process of doing and i believe they are doing well. However they need to attract casual fans and through consistently good booking and they need to persuade those WWE fans who just refuse to give them a chance that in all honesty they are just not that bad.

 

[MoizH28]

Do not hate me for saying this but I honestly think thats what they are trying to do with Garrett Bischoff. Who I think is completely the wrong guy. He is still to green and at times bores me. If they would have pulled the gun earlier with Roode or decided to finally push Matt Morgan they could have been a bigger names than they are now possibly. Neither up to John Cenas level but probably the face on Impact.

 

[wrestlemaniac]

they do, he's erick young lmao I remember when they had super eric (EY) do that double fireman's carry as his finish, I fuckin popped at that shit....wasnt really a finish cause well it was in that xdivision dome thing and I wanna say kaz won

 

[JackRabbitt]

I think that TNA already has their "John Cena", and that man is AJ Styles. John Cena, in some subtle yet crucial way embodies everything that is the "WWE Universe" in his current mode. It is highly unlikely that Cena will ever be able to shed this identity, even if he ever does turn heel.

Another good example to think of would be what Tommy Dreamer was to ECW. He was not necessarily the most popular, the coolest, or the world champion, yet, he somehow transcended the ECW ethic. He was the symbol of ECW, and a fued with him meant that you were disrespecting not only Dreamer the man but also ECW the organization, and the same is true for Cena. The same can be said of Sting and WCW, and to a lesser and shorter extent, Goldberg.

Considering, Styles has got to be the TNA original wrestler that has plummeted the most since the Hogan/Bischoff era. I read an online interview where it seemed that AJ took the whole Ric Flair apprentice angle as a sign of low confidence and disrespect. I can see where he's coming from, but I am also critical of his performance since that angle. However, he is one good angle, or push away from being right back in the mix at the top of the card. I wouldn't mind seeing a pissed off at everything AJ Styles. IMO, AJ has not gone "all-in" enough to achieve wrestling greatness. If he were to do this, and be given the proper booking, TNA would greatly benefit from it.

 

[suffolkspur]

Im not convinced by Styles as a true main event talent. Dont get me wrong i think he is amazing in the ring and can outperform anyone on his day but from a promo perspecitive he does come across as corny and forced. In my opinion to hold the top position you need to have a decent level of wrestling and also have the ability to attract some reaction from the crowd through your words. AJ get a reaction from the crowd due to an appreciation of his skills in the ring but i just dont believe people truly by into what he says when he speaks.

Then again Jeff Hardy has made it and his promos are far worse than AJ's. He just shouts CREATURES

 

[darkrain888]

Hell no! john cena is the reason i HATE wwe. he's nothing but a stupid ass wigger. not surprising its a question coming from someone named legendkiller_rko. randy is another asshole backstabber. them and the miz are the reason wwe sucks so badly. its not about the ratings, its about the quality, and right now the quality is bad (thankfully cm punk and daniel bryan are two of the bright spots at the moment). tna needs to get rid of hogan and bischoff and bring in paul heyman and see if he can do some wonders or the company like he did for wcw. its worth a try. i agree with hogan on one thing: tna is destined for greatness.

 

[LegendKiller_RKO]

Hell no! john cena is the reason i HATE wwe. he's nothing but a stupid ass wigger. not surprising its a question coming from someone named legendkiller_rko. randy is another asshole backstabber. them and the miz are the reason wwe sucks so badly. its not about the ratings, its about the quality, and right now the quality is bad (thankfully cm punk and daniel bryan are two of the bright spots at the moment). tna needs to get rid of hogan and bischoff and bring in paul heyman and see if he can do some wonders or the company like he did for wcw. its worth a try. i agree with hogan on one thing: tna is destined for greatness.

People like you aggravate me. I blatantly said I have NOTHING against tna and want them to strive. I DONT want a JOHN CENA rip off in tna. All I was saying was that would it help if tna had some big name self produced star like john cena but in tna form. So your comment was pretty much irrelevant. If it was at least opinion based I wouldn't care but your just trolling. And all that shit about Randy Orton? Who gives a shit how he is backstage? He performs in the ring (quite well actually) and can cut a promo... Currently right now the only guy I am genuinely interested in tna is bully ray. That guy can cut a fuckin promo... But wait... Where did he spend most of his career?... ;]

 

[ABMorales787]

...The fuck is "a John Cena"? No, I'm not being sarcastic. I'm seriously asking. What does that even mean? One wrestler in particular that carries the product name's face value? One wrestler that is the consistent point of interest? Or do you want a cookie-cutter babyface that sells merch? Why would you want that last one? Jeff Hardy's not enough?

TNA isn't driven by merch sales or propaganda. It runs on it's TV shows, PPV's and house shows and nothing more. There's no need to have one particular guy be the product's focus for long because they have a lot of room to experiment. WWE has the benefit of having 2 separate rosters meaning there room for someone else to have that main event spotlight besides John Cena. TNA can't take that luxury and have a boatload of talented, fresh young guys they can experiment. So there is no real need for "a John Cena". Which I'm not really certain what one is.

 

[Vinco Menz]

Stupid question. Of course TNA could benifit from a Superstar that is popular with a large portion of the audience, makes tons of money, makes tons of appearences, devotes his life to the company, and does not get in trouble with the law. I may not like the dude's on screen character, but I will never deny that John Cena is good for any wrestling company. That said, knowing TNA they would probally find away to screw it up and shoot themselves in the foot.

 

[Self High 5]

Sure, the mainstream exposure couldn't hurt, but they have Hogan for that. TNA could benefit from something WWE lacks these days - roster depth and well booked feuds - which TNA are actually doing relatively well with currently.

Also, one particularly popular wrestler could be a good thing, but not a 'John Cena'. Correct me if I'm wrong, but TNA's average/target audience is a bit older than WWE's? The last thing they need is an insipid, goody-goody git like John Cena fronting the brand.

 

[ABMorales787]

Stupid question. Of course TNA could benifit from a Superstar that is popular with a large portion of the audience, makes tons of money, makes tons of appearences, devotes his life to the company, and does not get in trouble with the law. I may not like the dude's on screen character, but I will never deny that John Cena is good for any wrestling company. That said, knowing TNA they would probally find away to screw it up and shoot themselves in the foot.

Why should TNA focus one sole guy? They are not trying to take their appeal to the mainstream. They don't need one sole wrestler to be TNA's personal spokesperson. They focus on different tastes for different fans. It keeps things fresh constantly as new guys walk in. A revolving door of talent for anyone willing to try and give it a shot. There's no rush to it and the show isn't gonna instantly gonna reach the masses with one particular guy on focus.