10 Most Ridiculous WWE WrestleMania Entrances
5. John Cena: WrestleMania 25
This was ridiculous because, if a pro wrestler compares unfavourably to a more iconic and more popular cultural icon, it’s not particularly well-advised to drive that comparison home—which WWE did at WrestleMania 25.
A strange…homage? to Eminem, several John Cena clones ran down the entrance ramp and formed a guard of honour for the real John Cena, who subsequently stood up. These clones, wearing bizarre square-jawed masks, or prosthetic make-up (their faces looked too uncanny to look at long enough to reach a final decision), violently performed Cena’s trademark ‘You can’t see me’ gesture. There were about 60 of these extras, so they probably could see one another—or, at least, the flailing arms of those diagonal to them.
What was the purpose of this? Was John Cena no-selling himself, which admittedly made for a nice change? Was this parade of doppelgängers meant to convey that Cena was an everyman, just like you or I, who also are wealthy professional athletes who dress decades out of time? Were these men hired in a dual role as floor-fillers, to add elusive bass to the ‘Let’s Go Cena/Cena sucks’ chant?
Jerry Lawler didn’t shed any insight on it, but, by 2009, he’d given up saying anything of value at all.