10 Reasons John Cena Is This Generation's Mitsuharu Misawa

Both John Cena and Mitsuharu Misawa are cases of exceptional endurance, even by wrestling standards.

Misawa, being a student of AJPW’s ‘King’s Road’ wrestling style, was one of the toughest wrestlers in Japanese history, having taken an unbelievable amount of ‘head drop’ moves over the course of his career. But despite that pain, he still kept wrestling, even as his body wore down and injuries made it difficult for him to stay in shape. 

That’s one of the biggest parts of his legacy: a wrestler so devoted to his craft and company that he risked his own health and well-being in extreme ways in order to keep going.

Cena’s toughness is of a different kind. Not only has Cena been on the road for a ridiculously long time, but he also performed feats of endurance that Misawa never did. Cena’s had to hoist enormous opponents (like Big Show and Viscera) onto his shoulders, which could’ve caused him extreme back and blood pressure problems, and in 2008, Cena appeared backstage at RAW only hours after major neck surgery. 

He also recovered from major surgery in approximately four months, despite initial diagnoses suggesting that he’d be out for a year.

So while both of them demonstrated toughness and determination in different ways, both Cena and Misawa showed the world just how much passion they have/had for the wrestling business.