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John Cena’s True Worth in the WWE

By Robin Leacock

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The John Cena story is lined with championship runs and unparalleled success. However, in what could be his final act, his true worth in WWE is the effect he can have on the careers of those around him.

If John Cena were a stock, he’d be hitting an all-time high.

He’s credited for strong ratings when he’s around and used to explain weak ones when he isn’t.

Attend any WWE live event and it’s impossible to look in a direction where someone (male, female, child or adult) isn’t wearing a Fruity Pebble-colored t-shirt, hat, wristband or headband with his likeness or catchphrases on it.

He owns the record for most wishes granted for the Make-A-Wish foundation, he’s hosted the ESPYs and he’s set to star in a Transformers movie.

That being said, John Cena’s real value isn’t necessarily the mainstream attention or the money he brings to the company. The biggest role he plays is lending an air of legitimacy to his opponents.

These days, a program with Cena could be the golden ticket towards success and longevity in WWE.

As wrestling fans, our lives are better when Cena’s around. Plain and simple. Maybe you don’t want to admit it or maybe you just don’t realize it, but you miss him when he’s gone and your happy when he comes back. Like Brock Lesnar, Cena is beginning to reach that “special attraction” level because of the frequency of his extended absences.

As a result, the feuds he works – and who he works with – become that much more important than they already were.

Let’s be honest: professional wrestling isn’t a legitimate athletic competition. X Wrestler defeating John Cena is no more “real” than Batman taking down The Joker. What makes it feel real is the aura that’s been built up around Cena.

The Joker escaped Arkham Asylum and terrorized the city. Cena has won the world title sixteen times and hasn’t had a semblance of a losing streak in over ten years. Simply standing next to him makes a wrestler seem more important by association, and gaining a clean victory over him is even more valuable.

Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura have a few things in common. They’re fantastic workers, they were very, very big deals outside the WWE bubble (on the independents, in TNA, in New Japan) and finally, after their long-awaited debuts, they all benefited from being put over by John Cena.

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In 2015, Owens beat Cena at Elimination Chamber. On commentary, Michael Cole exclaimed that it might have been “the most monumental win in WWE history”. Ridiculous hyperbole aside, what it meant was that Owens would be a star in WWE, and he eventually became Universal Champion.

The same can be said for Styles, who defeated Cena in a match of the year candidate at last year’s SummerSlam. Shortly thereafter, he won his first WWE championship.

In theory, this could be a good omen for Nakamura, who pinned Cena on Smackdown Live a couple of weeks ago. It stands to reason that he should be in line for a title run in the very near future.

One of the most common critiques of John Cena is related to creative direction, otherwise known as the “he never loses” defense. This has been a recurring discussion amongst wrestling fans for years. What we never realized was that WWE’s long game (perhaps accidentally) was to create a character that could be used to elevate other talent simply and effectively.

It’s fitting that Cena has started referring to himself as Super Cena. He’s basically the boss at the end of the video game.

Cena’s match with Nakamura ended with a literal show of respect, a bow and a raising of the victor’s hand.

Because he’s lost so infrequently, every Cena defeat is like a symbolic passing of the torch, a way for Cena and WWE as a whole to announce to fans that “this is the next guy”.

There is one caveat: a win against Cena isn’t truly meaningful unless it’s a 1-2-3 pin in the middle of the ring. Just ask Rusev, who feuded with Cena for the first half of 2015. He never got the coveted “clean as a whistle” victory over Super Cena, and (surprise, surprise) hasn’t come close to a world title since then.

Cena’s match against Baron Corbin at this year’s SummerSlam is seemingly underwhelming in its importance; Corbin’s no longer a threat to cash in his Money in the Bank contract and there are no titles on the line.

However, the true importance of the matchup lies beneath the surface, as it could answer an important question: how do WWE officials feel about Baron Corbin?

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A clean win could mean that he is being pushed to the next level. A loss and/or a tomfoolery ending would indicate otherwise.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned at this stage of Cena’s career, it’s that a clean win over him is just as good as winning a world championship, because Cena is the archetype of a major champion: seemingly unbeatable and utterly invaluable.

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