10 Reasons John Cena Is This Generation's Mitsuharu Misawa

A common criticism against some of WWE’s biggest Superstars is how their finishers aren’t as effective anymore. John Cena is particularly guilty of this, as his Attitude Adjustment (AA) finisher has become so overused in recent years that it’s become very hard to take the move seriously.

In contrast, Misawa had several moves that were booked equally as match-ending maneuvers: the rolling elbow, the Tiger Driver, the Tiger Suplex, the Emerald Fusion, etc. However, in his most important matches, Misawa would use a special ‘big match finisher’ that would guarantee a three-count: the Tiger Driver ’91.

Now, Cena has adopted this mentality (to an extent) with an Attitude Adjustment from the turnbuckle. When it was first used against Cesaro on July 6th of this year, it was an outstanding move that elevated the quality of that contest even further.

Though he has only used it on a handful of occasions so far, it’s a sign of Cena adapting to a different and more dramatic wrestling style. With this new version of the Attitude Adjustment being saved for his biggest matches, Cena’s following in the footsteps of Misawa and company who, during the 1990s in AJPW, put on so many dramatic matches due in part to the prevalence of ‘big match finishers’.