How Good Was John Cena Actually?
Drawing Power
You might not agree with the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer when it comes to his star ratings. What you cannot in good faith question is Meltzer’s deep knowledge of pro wrestling history and his analytical ability of the financial side of the business.
In 2024, upon the announcement of John Cena’s retirement, Meltzer attempted to determine how much of a draw Cena was. Meltzer used the metric of most years spent as the biggest arena draw in wrestling. Cena was the biggest annual arena draw for seven years, tied in 4th place with Lou Thesz and Bill Longson. Cena might not have drawn as many punters as his historical competition, but was the top draw amongst his peers each individual year.
Dave also compiled a top ten biggest draws ever, based on “top ten placings for the years and era dominance”. Cena ranked 10th, behind only Jim Londos, Bruno Sammartino, Thesz, Longson, Hulk Hogan, Ed ‘Strangler’ Lewis, Ric Flair, Buddy Rogers, and Argentina Rocca.
[Dave conceded that this method was somewhat flawed, in that Mexico’s records are “sporadic at best”, and that it is skewed to reward longevity, failing to address that the Rock and Steve Austin out-performed Cena for a shorter amount of time.]
Cena presided over a monopolised business that was rarely super-hot. TV ratings were never hugely impressive during his time, at least relative to the competition, though his quarter hours were strong. WWE pushed Cena as hard as they did for a reason.
This does hurt his case somewhat. Was he a big fish in the smallest pond?
Perhaps, but his merchandise sales live up to the legend.
John Cena remained a monster attraction even when he was goofing around in glorified house show tags before his retirement tour - and this late-career run compares favourably to Hulk Hogan, who was far more of a short-lived novelty during his part-time years. Back in January 2023, facing strong competition in the Orange Bowl, Cena drew 2.63 million viewers to SmackDown, its best number in an age.
Cena was a level below Steve Austin, the Rock, and Hulk Hogan as a box office attraction, but otherwise, they get no bigger.
9/10