WWE: The John Cena factor; You don’t know what you got until it’s gone
“I would put John Cena in the history books as being the greatest WWE Superstar of all time. And It’s not because John is the best wrestler. He’s one of the best, I wouldn’t put him at the very top of the list, but he is one of the best. He also has the ability to sell more merchandise than anybody else, and at the same time he’s done a lot for charities. And the fact that John has been consistent on top for 14 years completely amazes me”. – Kurt Angle on John Cena.
The year is 2005. John Cena has just won his first WWE Title from JBL at WrestleMania 21 in Los Angeles and he would be positioned as the face of the WWE for the next decade. This decade-long run at the top would be the longest tenured run of a top guy in company history. Cena was able to stay relevant and adapt through two respective eras: the Ruthless Aggression Era and, moreover, the PG Era, an era in which Cena’s popularity reached new heights with the children’s demographic.
Cena would be labelled as a “polarizing figure” – meaning half the crowd would be on his side, and half the crowd would be in the favour of his opponent. No doubt, this made for some excellent TV and matches that are going to discussed for several years to come. However, now that he’s virtually gone from the product, the question needs to be asked: does the WWE product miss Cena? It certainly does.
The way the WWE markets their brand has vastly changed. Previously, they utilized Cena and marketed him as the main attraction. The attraction to sell tickets, the attraction to sell PPVs and the attraction to sell merchandise. That’s changed, however, in recent years, in favor of a marketing approach that markets the WWE brand itself as the draw rather than one specific person.
Whether this shows a lack of faith on WWE’s part in their crop of current talent or moreover the fact that Vince McMahon himself is yet to find someone he feels is truly worthy of labeling as “the guy” or “the woman.” Even Roman Reigns isn’t positioned as the top guy from a marketing perspective. Yes, he is heavily featured on WWE programming, but to say he’s the face of all their marketing would be a mistake. If you look at what content is marketed towards the casual audience, it’s very much focused on the experience of seeing WWE live and that’s simply it. Maybe this can be put down to WWE having faith in three letters as the brand and the draw rather than a specific person.
It’s a very rare approach that WWE have taken and not a lot fans would have noticed it without looking in-depth at how WWE market their brand to domestic and international audiences. What this new marketing approach shows is that WWE in their minds both from a business point of view haven’t replaced Cena. They feel like they don’t have that one man/woman who they can market as the draw, the draw to get people in those seats every Monday, Tuesday and for those important weekend house shows (where getting people in the seats is vital in terms of revenue).
The way the marketing of the overall brand of the WWE product has without a doubt influenced the reception that Cena receives whenever he makes an on-camera appearance. Cena, is virtually a semi-retired talent with his last full-time run coming to a close during WrestleMania season in 2018. You can see this influence by way of crowd reception and also perception via social media. Gone are the days of “Cena Sucks” during his promos and matches. Instead, there is an acknowledgement there; an acknowledgment of respect.
It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment the audience garnered this respect and admiration for the former 16-time World Heavyweight Champion, my point of reference is Cena’s acclaimed United States Championship Open Challenge back in 2015.
The Open Challenge series that John Cena ran on a weekly basis was truly the highlight of WWE programming back in 2015, week-after-week, Cena would have tremendous match after tremendous match with talents such as Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Neville and my personal favorite match-up, a debuting Sami Zayn on the May 4 episode of RAW taking place in Zayn’s hometown of Montreal, Canada.
This series of matches where John Cena went a solid 20-minutes with some of the newer stars in the company really left the fan-base wanting more. They wanted Cena and the US Title in a featured match on a weekly basis. So much so that when Cena dropped the US Title to Alberto Del Rio – of all people – there was an evident desire that the crowd wanted Cena back as the US Champion as quickly as possible. You can clearly see this during the Cena v Del Rio US Title rematch on the December 28, 2015 episode of RAW.
Every time John Cena has made a return since the US Title saga, he has been well received. In 2016, Cena would work an renowned feud with AJ Styles culminating in one of the greatest matches in WWE history at the Royal Rumble in 2017 leading to Cena winning his 16th World Title. The feud with AJ took place within a backdrop of SmackDown Live 2016-2017, which has a common perception of being the best WWE main roster output in the past decade.
Additionally, Cena has no doubt been more willing to put over newer talents in recent years. Most notably, putting over the likes of Roman Reigns, AJ, Bray Wyatt, Finn Balor and Seth Rollins clean in convincing fashion. This hopefully hasn’t gone unnoticed, especially as it’s a common perception from fans and wrestling analysts that top guys are usually unwilling to cooperate with clean losses.
There is a clear cut argument that Cena was always appreciated and indirectly admired by fans. The fans who purchased the anti-Cena merch (which is a strange anomaly in itself), clearly wanted to see him (maybe to boo him), but I think it was all done in jest. There is a clear need for a Cena type figure in the WWE landscape. Someone with energy, grit and excitement. Ultimately, it’s fantastic to see Cena achieving big things in a different avenue: movies.
Cena, similarly to his good friend and former rival, Batista, started off by taking small parts in independent movies that had a wider external release through the use of digital media, and then building to the larger productions with larger casts and larger budgets. Cena’s role in 2018’s Bumblebee, a Transformers spin-off was well received by many fans of the wrestling product and Transformers fans alike. Cena is even rumored to feature in the next Fast and Furious movie alongside Vin Diesel, who strongly hinted at the rumors being true in cryptic videos. If this rumor turns out ome substance, it’s safe to say, Cena’s Hollywood career will really begin to hit its stride.
No doubt, everyone should be thrilled that Cena has achieved success in a different avenue, but I think it’s vital as fans of professional wrestling, that we look back on Cena’s time within the WWE with respect and gratitude. The product misses him and I think deep down, we all can acknowledge this.