10 Wrestlers We Had To Love Before We Could Hate

6. John Cena

john cena
WWE.com

This is a bit of an odd one.

WWE probably thought they had their new babyface sensation when John Cena started referring to fans as his gang and delivering witty rhymes that had the 18-30 demographic laughing their testosterone-fuelled asses off with approval. Between 2004-06, there was nobody with the coolness or popularity of Cena on WWE TV.

Something changed around that point. As they're prone to doing, fans started getting cold feet when they felt Cena was being pushed down their throats as Vince McMahon's new poster boy. Where there were cheers before, there were suddenly jeers, and the general view on his act changed from hip-hop bro to dorky cartoon for kids.

WWE's decision to embrace a new PG certification only pushed John's on screen role further into Barney the Dinosaur territory. Phrases like, "Poopy" didn't exactly reek of bad boy rapper, and so Cena carved out a niche for himself as a character who was effectively babyface but abhorred by a large section of the audience.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.