Does John Cena’s Armband Gesture from WWE SummerSlam Have Meaning?
John Cena dropping his “Never Give Up” armband in the center of the ring potentially has significance.
John Cena’s mantra has always been “Never Give Up”. He uses this in and out of the ring. This has reached people of all ages, not just children. The Face That Runs the Place professes this all the time, and is arguably his gimmick.
Fans will rarely see Cena actually give up in a match. He’s booked to be incredibly strong, so when someone defeats him, they have to put in top notch work to do so. This became the case at WWE SummerSlam, as AJ Styles defeated Mr. HLR in a hard-fought match.
However, the post-match moment may be something worth talking about.
After Styles left the ring to celebrate, the focus got placed on Cena. He placed his “Never Give Up” armband in the center of the ring, and walked down the ramp. Cena saluted the fans and proceeded to the backstage area. It’s not something fans ever see the 15-time world champion do, as he is usually upbeat. He seemed distraught after the loss to The Phenomenal One.
Um, did John Cena just give up?
— SB Nation (@SBNation) August 22, 2016
(via @WWE) https://t.co/LnyJP92OOa pic.twitter.com/sIwLea3HK3
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The question of “What does this mean?” is fair to ask, because it could have a few interpretations.
This could simply be a gesture to the fans to never give up. As noted, it’s the phrase Cena goes by, so he may be reiterating to the crowd to follow this.
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Could this symbolize Cena giving up?
Since scrapping the Dr. of Thuganomics gimmick over one decade ago, Cena hasn’t turned heel. It hasn’t been teased much, and the closest we’ve seen is him acting more aggressively toward foes. This had been seen throughout his match with Styles at SummerSlam, and in previous feuds over the years. He comes close to blurring the lines, but never actually goes far enough.
At age 39, though, maybe it’s time for The Face That Runs the Place to switch things up. Dropping the armband could indicate a potential change in his mantra, especially with two losses to Styles. Cena rarely loses multiple singles matches to the same person at pay-per-views. Maybe this signal the beginning of the end of the current version of Cena.
There is also Cena’s media career to factor in. He has been starring in movies, commercials, and does promotional work. The FOX reality show “American Grit” is hosted by Cena, too, and he will be hosting Season 2 of the program. If filming is set to begin soon, could the armband symbolize a hiatus? It should be noted that he is advertised by WWE for the August 23 SmackDown Live show, though.
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John Cena’s message as he walked out of SummerSlam speaks volumes. There are multiple reasons what this could represent, which could be discovered by Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown. This may have even meant nothing. So, is there even meaning to what he did?