10 Things John Cena STILL Can’t Actually Do

9. The Springboard Stunner

CENA AUSTIN STF
WWE

The Springboard Stunner is now best-known as one of Will Ospreay's many weaponised aerial assaults. 'The Oscutter' suits Ospreay's risk/reward style, flying unexpectedly as he does into the standing start he gives his opponent before their neck-down demise.

Cena's use of it from 2015 onwards has yet to fit the context of one of his clashes, and that's when he actually manages to connect with it.

It debuted during his WrestleMania 31 clash with Rusev, deployed for shock value alone in front of a crowd so unprepared for it that their lack of pop could be heard above Michael Cole's caterwauling shock. It also got a two-count, killing its significance on Night One before he'd even managed to perfect the execution.

This sort of disregard for the old ways was peak Cena. A roster of midcarders could have used the move instead, but it was taken by the man that had reached the pinnacle with barely a high spot to his name. That it made a mockery of the Stone Cold Steve Austin's iconic finisher drew derision from 'The Rattlesnake'. It wasn't the first time Austin would be moved to comment, either...

In this post: 
John Cena
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett