8 Things We Learned At WWE Live In London

3. John Cena Is Still A Huge Deal

Becky Lynch WWE
WWE

There is, obviously, only so much you can read into house shows. However, as a measure of what is working for WWE in the mass market - the demographic they not only live and die by, but also the one that secured the eye-watering TV deals that guaranteed the long-term future of the company - there are few places that tell you more.

By an astonishing margin, the most popular Superstar™ being represented in the merch of fans at WWE London was John Cena.

That's the same John Cena who has worked 3 televised matches in the last 2 and a half years. The same John Cena who was brought back for a SummerSlam match with Roman Reigns, but was only allowed to work dark matches on Raw and SmackDown. The same John Cena who hasn't held a world title since 2017.

As a mark of his enduring popularity (and possibly his rising star in Hollywood) it's an incredible achievement; but as a reflection of WWE's continuing failure to get someone to connect with the audience on quite the same level, that sea of green and orange painted a damning picture.

In this post: 
Becky Lynch
 
Posted On: 
Managing Editor
Managing Editor

WhatCulture's Managing Editor and Chief Reporter | Previously seen in Vice, Esquire, FourFourTwo, Sabotage Times, Loaded, The Set Pieces, and Mundial Magazine