What Will the Legacy of John Cena Be When His WWE Career is Over?

At the end of the Wrestle Reaction Raw Review show, the hosts had an interesting conversation on the legacy of John Cena. It made me think of how I will look at WWE’s top guy once his career is all said and done.

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John Cena debuted in WWE in 2002 in a match against Kurt Angle on SmackDown. While he picked up the loss in the match, cameras showed him receiving high praise from a significant part of the roster, even The Undertaker himself. Little did anyone know that from there, a 25-year-old kid from West Newbury, Massachusetts would become the face of WWE just a handful of years later.

From the “Doctor of Thuganomics” to “Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect,” the character of John Cena has shoved in front of our faces for over a decade. He has been built up to be a superhero-esque character during that time, kind of like Hulk Hogan was in the old WWF in the 1980’s. The leader of the Cenation usually faced a ridiculous amount of odds stacked against him and just as you think he’s about to lose, he picks himself back up and wins the match against his rival. Folks over the internet have described this sequence as “LOL John Cena” since it has become so frequent that most fans today expect it. It has become a staple of the Superstar’s on-screen character.

A lot of the time, when Cena has done this, it has been against WWE Superstars who are making the rise towards upper-card status. Many call it the “burial” of a character and argue that this has kept him at the top of the pole in WWE. While we do not have any concrete facts that this is true, it is certainly hard to ignore.

You can post more names in the comment section below this post, but the names that first pop into my head of Superstars that Cena has buried over the past five years are Bray Wyatt, Ryback, and Wade Barrett (Now known as Bad News Barrett). Each Superstar was on the rise to main event status and were missing that one key win to get them over. All of them went up against Cena on a PPV, and all of them lost. Is it a coincidence that all three stumbled following their losses?

In the age of the Internet, with so many ways of searching the history of events, people, shows, etc., people still talk about those matches to this day and grow angrier at John Cena. Go look on Facebook, Twitter, or one of the many top wrestling website’s live message boards, people still talk about the past with Cena and expect him to not put over Superstars when the golden opportunity is there. It’s something that’s going to be connected with Cena for a long time as the Internet continues to grow.

…people still talk about the past with Cena and expect him to not put over Superstars when the golden opportunity is there.

There’s also the fact that Cena has been at the top of the company during a very stagnant time period for WWE. Now, an argument may be made that this is because of no other talents being good enough to share the spotlight with him. However, new Superstars also need to be given the chance to be one of the next top guys in the company. Has anyone really been given that chance (Outside of Roman Reigns recently) over the past handful of years?

Not quite.

It’s been made pretty clear that the top spot is Cena’s until he leaves the company. Remember what happened with him a few months ago after losing to Brock Lesnar? Vince McMahon felt that he had to bring back momentum to the face of WWE so fans wouldn’t think less of him. Sorry Vince, but after how Cena has been built over the years, no one is going to think any less of his spot in the company. While this, from what we know, is not Cena’s fault, it’s just another reason that gets to fans and could hurt his legacy.

Then there’s the unknown; has Cena been heavily involved in backstage politics over the years?

We have no information to know this for a fact, but in a decade, like with Hulk Hogan, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this revealed after all the times he defeated rising stars (Which can be connected to what was said earlier).

It could also be possible that Cena’s booking through the years has been all McMahon’s doing. Since he outsells the entire roster in merchandise and grants dozens of Make-A-Wish requests every year, McMahon may feel the need to keep him at the top.

The last part of looking at John Cena’s legacy is comparing him against the former top guys of WWE.

Would you put John Cena ahead of Hulk Hogan? No.

Would you put John Cena ahead of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin? No.

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Would you put John Cena ahead of The Rock? No.

Would you put John Cena ahead of Triple H? Probably not.

This leaves Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, who faced a similar task to Cena, as they had to carry WWE during a period of “down-time” in the mid-90’s. We look at Hart and Michaels as two great wrestlers and overall great performers, but ahead of the previous four on this list? No (Except for Hogan, since he was never the best wrestler out there, but was the first icon of the company). Cena is a very good overall performer, but he’s not a great wrestler. That’s not to say the guy can’t wrestle because he’s not the worst one on the roster at all. However, it just has never stood out; his gimmick is what has stood out during his time at the top of WWE. This all probably puts him below Hart and Michaels when it’s all said and done.

Now, there’s obviously no doubt about it – John Cena is going into the WWE Hall of Fame the year after he retires from the company. He’s been the top guy for years, so he deserves the honor. However, the perception of him is going to be hindered in the minds of many fans when they seem him approach the podium to give his speech in front of thousands of fans.

Its your turn – what will be the legacy of John Cena in your eyes?

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