10 Reasons John Cena Is This Generation's Mitsuharu Misawa
3. He Does Whatever He Can To Help Elevate Younger Stars
One of the reasons Misawa was so deeply-respected by his peers was his incredible selflessness. When in a position of influence, he put his own interests aside in order to make sure his friends and lower-card stars got the chance to shine.
This was true in AJPW, when he was wrestling outstanding singles and championship matches and elevating his opponents through dramatic storytelling; and it was true in NOAH, when he booked himself as a secondary act to help rookies get over, and never used his position as NOAH head booker for selfish gain.
The same could be said of John Cena.
Throughout the 1990s, Misawa rarely lost whatsoever. But when he did, he made sure that those wrestlers got elevated, and Misawa did everything in his power to make other wrestlers look strong when facing him.
Right now, Cena's doing the same so that he can to bring out the best in his opponents. Why else would Cena’s U.S. title open challenges showcase such great matches? Cena, like Misawa before him, is aware of his own star power, and wants to use that to elevate younger stars.
Some might be critical of the notion that Cena’s making other wrestlers look good, especially because Rusev and Bray Wyatt, have fallen considerably after facing him. However, this isn’t Cena’s fault, but the fault of WWE’s creative team for failing to book those wrestlers strongly after facing him.