10 Wrestlers Who Proved Their Worth In A Crisis
4. John Cena
WWE was plunged into crisis in the tragic, transformative summer of 2007, in which Chris Benoit murdered his son Daniel and wife Nancy.
The news coverage was widespread and damning; WWE was excoriated for its systemic drug culture and a perceived bid to obscure it via the barely-enforced Wellness Policy implemented in the wake of Eddie Guerrero's 2005 death. The unspeakable tragedy brought WWE's various harrowing, normalised practises into focus. In a dual drive to cleanse its public image and protect its independent contractors, WWE transitioned into its PG Era of broader, childish comedy, chair shots to the back, and the blade ban.
John Cena was the square-jawed, dorky face of it; a man-child permanently resplendent is his own blinding gear, Cena emphasised the cartoonish elements of his act, scrubbed the blood from his face, and accelerated through his corny comeback routine to appeal to a young audience, who loved his Star Wars promos, Peter Engels-adjacent jibes and exaggerated facial expressions. Cena drew big to this audience, and his deeply admirable charity work restored WWE's public image.
He was the future of marketing, but he was not at all insufferable nor disingenuous about it.