10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE In 2002

5. Ruthless Aggression Was A Myth

Triple H Shawn Michaels
WWE

WWE concedes that John Cena's debut didn't automatically launch him to superstardom.

He looked competitive against Kurt Angle in a story designed to get him over in defeat. John Cena himself knew that he didn't do anywhere near enough to earn his spot, and after that loss and a pay-per-view win over Chris Jericho, he didn't.

He played a one-dimensional "raw prospect", and was exposed after he was no longer positioned as an emerging fan favourite. The Cena push epitomised their failure of the storytelling device of "show, don't tell," and when WWE stopped telling people to care about Cena, he didn't show them that they should.

And that's fine, of course - Cena was a very raw prospect - but it's no less true. Cena was a suck-up, mechanically clunky when not deeply basic, and it continues to be strange that six full years of WWE are named 'the Ruthless Aggression Era' in fan circles.

Cena himself doesn't think he had ruthless aggression, WWE stopped staying the phrase almost immediately, and the TV tone and format did not change to any appreciable extent beyond the 'SmackDown Six' - and Vince and Stephanie McMahon morphed SmackDown into Raw 2 when they didn't like Paul Heyman showing them up, anyway.

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!