How Good Was John Cena Actually?
Rivalries
The role of a World champion in pro wrestling is multi-faceted, but if you want to reduce it, the champion should possess the ability to reach down and elevate other wrestlers to that level. That’s not to say Edge wouldn’t have made it eventually, but Cena pricked his finger. Their classic rivalry solved the conundrum; Edge had felt for at least four years like he was cursed to remain on the cusp, an upper midcarder masquerading as a real star.
Cena versus the Rock dragged on a year too long, but Vince McMahon’s greed and lies should not overshadow the magic they created together in 2012. The trash-talk was deliriously entertaining, the whole thing felt absolutely enormous, and most importantly, it felt at times dangerously close to crossing the fabled line. That’s a monumental achievement. How often does that happen? The answer is “close to never”.
His feuds with CM Punk and AJ Styles shared certain similarities - a more technically accomplished wrestler trying to seize Cena’s throne - but both were excellent and fondly remembered.
Cena’s case for greatest rivalries is torpedoed when you consider who his great legacy rival was, and what they achieved together. Ric Flair had Dusty Rhodes. Steve Austin had the Rock. John Cena had Randy Orton.
This isn’t Cena’s fault, per se - Vince McMahon insisted on dragging it out over years and years because he was incapable of creating new stars - but it wasn’t even that great when it was good, and the peak didn’t last long. The matches, of which there were far, far too many, were repetitive and often just above average bell to bell. And then they became very convoluted and desperate.
At Royal Rumble 2011, Cena and Orton exchanged a stare-down. This coming-together of the two fierce rivals and modern living legends was meant to draw a massive eruption. The fans fell silent. They didn’t feel anything for their history and certainly didn’t want them to work a future match at WrestleMania. Cena and Orton never went one-on-one on the ‘Grandest Stage’. What does that tell you?
At Royal Rumble 2014, Cena and Orton collided in the ring, yet again, this time for the WWE title. The fans hijacked the match with chants of “We want Divas”, “Boring”, and “Daniel Bryan”. They were so bored of the traditional overlong Orton chinlock that they even chanted for the Undertaker and Chris Jericho - wrestlers who were hardly in the hipster zeitgeist. Those fans were simply bored stiff of WWE’s insistence that Cena Vs, Orton was a big deal.
7/10