10 WWE Superstars John Cena Has ALREADY Ruined Since Going Part-Time

2. Samoa Joe

john cena roman reigns
WWE.com

Transitioning to full Brock Lesnar on the night 'The Beast' ironically contributed best shift in years, John Cena made the most pointless of all his recent returns in the chaotic Survivor Series main event.

Joining Team SmackDown Live! for no adequately explored reason (and picking the very worst moment to throw away his blue ensemble for a brand new lime green horror show), Cena was useless in the match. It seemed unthinkable that the formerly unflappable 'Champ' would ever look like a payday performer, but Survivor Series was all about topping up 'Big Merch John's mammoth savings account.

His exchanges with Kurt Angle didn't vaguely echo the 15-year-old intensity they'd tried to pay tribute to. The stand-off mirrored his infamous Royal Rumble Randy Orton silent sigh in 2011 instead, a sight thankfully saved on this show by their placement on the same team.

He did at least lay down for Finn Bálor's Coup De Grace, though frustratingly only permitted Angle to actually pin him after the move was hit. Worse still, it was this diluted neon shell of a man that casually eliminated the deadly Samoa Joe from the clash with a single Attitude Adjustment. Men have looked near-death in combat with 'Samoan Submission Machine', and many more will have to following the ease with which Cena put him out to pasture.

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