WWE: 5 Ways To Eliminate John Cena's "50/50" Crowd Response

5. Update (Or Altogether Remove) John Cena's Hip-Hop References

Yes, we're all well aware that if John Cena didn't dress as Vanilla Ice and freestyle on a 2002 Halloween edition of Smackdown, his career would be in a very different place. However, over the past 12 years, rap music has evolved, and as a part of Cena's gimmick, it's remained stagnant, or (likely due to shifting goals for WWE marketing and branding) has been stripped away. Originally named the "FU" (as a dis to Brock Lesnar), Cena's finish is now known as the "Attitude Adjustment" Originally called the "STFU," John Cena's submission finisher is now simply the "STF" John Cena once wore jorts and Reebok Pumps to the ring. In fact, Cena pumping up before hitting a big move was a big deal. For some time, his Pumps have been replaced by simple athletic sneakers. As a build to the "Five Knuckle Shuffle," John Cena wiping the dirt off his shoulder is an allusion to a Jay Z song that was released in 2003. It's been 11 years, and just to show how out-of-touch WWE is, Jay has evolved from clandestinely referring to Beyonce Knowles as "the flyest chick in the game wearing his chain" in "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" to Beyonce touring the world as "Mrs. Carter." John Cena busting out with a bunch of current rap references to "swag" and "turning up" would be silly, and I can't imagine that securing a Reebok Classics sponsorship specifically for Cena is high on WWE's brand marketing priorities. Therefore, would it be crazy if at some point Cena walked out on a PPV wearing shorts that looked more say, athletic? Under Armour would be an ideal brand for WWE to partner with for allowing their wrestlers to sport their athletic gear as from Cena wearing their shorts to someone like Seth Rollins (who outside-the-ring is a crossfit fanatic) down the line wearing Under Armour-branded tights makes sense. Evolving Cena past hip-hop would go far in making him appear a little more hip and far less out-of-touch. Would that help his crowd response? That's a great question, but from experience, few people frown at an old car with a new coat of paint.