10 Reasons Why John Cena’s WWE Legacy Is Disastrous

5. A Ruined Generation

Barrett BURIED
WWE Network

The intense and full focus on John Cena resulted in an entire generation of lost talent.

Wade Barrett, a great talker with a marketable WWE-style physique, was squandered in service of maintaining Cena's dominance. Years later, Bray Wyatt was depicted by Cena as a joke, his supernatural aura knackered by Cena's unfunny stand-up act. The Miz endures as a midcard act in spite of the gradual water torture to which Cena subjected him. As a midcard act; any notion that he was capable of lasting main event stardom was quashed when Cena squashed him in 2009 and 2011. Alex Riley annoyed Cena backstage. That was career sabotage. Eventually, Cena would come to live the gimmick, burying Baron Corbin at SummerSlam 2017 in his latter-day role as a modern JBL. We associate these performers with the extent to which WWE failed them, and thus perceive them as failures.

Part of the fun is tracing the origins of greatness; even if you watch WrestleMania VI for the main event, the origin point of the future can be traced back to the Rockers Vs. The Orient Express.

WrestleMania XXVII's dark Battle Royal, featuring a field of jobbers, isn't even available to watch back. And with good reason.

In this post: 
John Cena
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!