15 Exact Moments Failed WWE Ruthless Aggression Gimmicks Actually Got Over

13. John Cena | December 19, 2002

On June 24, 2002, Vince McMahon cut his “ruthless aggression” speech. 

Far from the dawning of a new era - the phrase was effectively dropped within weeks - he only really said it to tee up John Cena’s push. And it wasn’t much of a push, either: just an introduction. The genesis of Ruthless Aggression basically amounts to Vince being moody that the ratings were bobbins and asking you to get behind Cena for a few weeks. That’s it. 

And Cena did not get over. He was so mechanically hopeless that his atomic drop looked like the old comedy spot where a wrestler accidentally headbutts somebody’s balls, and he wore the colours of the local sports teams in order to suck up to crowds. He was rave-reviewed down in Ohio Valley Wrestling, but so were countless others. If anything, that was a mark against many developmental hopefuls. Cena was a legitimate dud who was close to getting bounced - until Stephanie McMahon overheard him freestyle rapping on a tour bus. Cena was asked to do that on TV, and effective from that date, was never not over. 

He first rapped in a Halloween party skit on the October 31, 2002 edition of SmackDown. His “flow” was good and impressively complex. He did it again in the form of an elaborate (and rubbish) fat joke at Rikishi’s expense a week later. 

It was on the December 19, 2002 edition of the show that it all came together - “it” being the white rapper attire, B2 sidekick and gross homophobia. Cena devised the rhyme you’d expect for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his pre-match rap, and as vile as the material was, it connected with the audience at the time - and indeed Michael Cole and Tazz, who pissed themselves on commentary. It was low-hanging fruit, but he carried himself like a genuine superstar that night. The genuinely overnight transformation was incredible.