John Cena

[Mr Wrestling X]

Whilst I'm not Mr Cena's biggest fan, I do appreciate his presence in WWE. This is a guy who has been a lifelong fan, has dedicated all aspects of his life to the business (presumably his marriage broke down in part to his schedule), and has quite possibly become the biggest ambassador for WWE in the history of the company. Furthermore, although I'm going to heavily criticise Cena's wrestling ability, I will say that given the right opponent (CM Punk and Shawn Michaels both spring to mind as opponents that Cena has never had anything less than a very good match with), he can perform stellar contests.

 

So where does the problem lie? Well I feel the need to break this down into sections:

 

Pure Wrestling

 

John Cena has been a pro for well over a decade now, yet in that time, he still hasn't learned fully how to wrestle appropriately. Although most fans criticise Cena's lack of moves and innovation, it's probably a good thing that he doesn't get too innovative, given his track record at botching when he pulls unfamiliar manoeuvres out in matches. Even with his established offence, he still manages to fuck up quite extraordinarily, at Wrestlemania XXVIII for example, his sloppy execution of a diving leg drop, caused The Rock to tear a muscle. At TLC 2012, he attempted a Hurricanrana, only to completely botch the back tuck, which not even Ziggler could save upon the sell. He regularly attempts a drop kick, which he just cannot get the height for because of his sheer amount of muscle mass and compact frame (Cena's only around 6,1/6,2 believe it or not), which looks shit, especially as his opponent still has to sell it. I cringe at how recklessly Cena slams his opponents when hitting his "snap" variation of the Attitude Adjustment (the one where he doesn't bother with theatrics). Sure, they are only taking a back bump, but it could still be made safer by Cena continuing to keep hold of his opponent during the move. When Cena first started to rise up, many critics made note of how bad and uncovincing his punches looked, he still hasn't improved much upon this, although it isn't particularly necessary, since he's not in the business of heavy striking, a'la Triple H or The Undertaker.

 

The STF (so bad it needs it's own section)

 

John Cena comes across as the ONLY guy in the wrestling world who hasn't watched any Lou Thesz or Masahiro Chono tapes. He honestly doesn't seem to understand that the "illusion" of pressure is key to getting the move over. Thesz must spin in his grave every time Cena slaps the move on, since even a casual viewer can see that Cena has no grip applied to his opponent (who is again forced to sell the move like it's agonising, regardless). Maybe it's a problem with Cena's build, in that he cannot get a decent lock with his hands? In that case perhaps he should perform the STS (Chono's variation), in which he need only slap on a Sleeper. I speculate about this, because when Cena executes the Crippler Crossface (rarely, but he pulls it out in his "longer" matches), he doesn't seem to have as much trouble with the Crossface part, as he does when performing the STF.

 

Wrestling 101 - The Art Of Selling

 

Don't get me wrong, Cena knows how to sell, he just chooses not to during crucial stages when his selling (and absence of superhuman recoveries) are beneficial for telling a story (and giving his opponent credibility. The scratch-my-back/I'll-scratch-your's unwritten rule in the wrestling business, seems to be lost in this case. Far too often has Cena recovered all too quickly from his opponent's big moves or "devastating spots" (the stuff in the Nexus match at Summerslam 2010, and in the No-DQ match with Miz in 2011 were appalling). Indeed, whilst "overcoming the odds" is a big part of Cena's character, one simply cannot suspend disbelief when a wrestler simply gets up continues at regular pace, quickly after receiving a DDT on the concrete floor (Nexus 2010). It goes beyond move taking, whilst most experienced wrestlers will continue selling an injury or the impact of a move in the short term, Cena has always come across as being 100% the following day. His Raw matches have never told the story of the previous night's conflict, no matter how epic the battle.

 

The Character

 

This isn't all down to John Cena, since WWE creative (and Vince McMahon of course) ultimately decide the direction he takes, what kind of promos he cuts, and what direction he takes in other aspects. However, Cena has this annoying trait of adding tomfoolery into a humourless situation, be it smiling and making goofy faces as his rival cuts a resentful promo, or not stepping up to cut a serious promo himself. His pre-Royal Rumble promo on Raw most recently was dire and embarrassing. Whilst all the other main runners talked about how "important is was to get the Wrestlemania opportunity", Cena stereotyped the audience, made some rather half-assed popular culture references, and then ended the promo by essentially saying that nobody else in the Rumble mattered and that he would win (which he did). A promo like that is something a heel should be doing.

 

So overall, where does John Cena fit in the grand scheme of all things wrestling? He's not made nearly as much of a popular culture impact as Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin did, although his popularity, be it good or bad, is on par with them from an internal-wrestling point of view. I'm starting to think that John Cena might drop out of the full-time WWE schedule, either this year or next year, in order to prolong his shelf life, since he's been working beat up for the past year, and has never taken any respectable time off, even with injuries (Cena was out for 4 months when he injured his neck, and around that same amount of time when he had to have his arm surgically repaired). It's a work ethic people can admire, but it does nothing for John Cena, if he wants to be able to wrestle matches long term (hell, Flair was part time from his mid-40's). If you look at Steve Austin, he was done by 40, having sidestepped mounting injuries and continued with the brutal WWE schedule during the height of his popularity. I'm quite confident had they negotiated a reduced date schedule (a'la Flair), that he would have got two more years out of the business.

 

So, John Cena, under the microscope?

[Dylan Waco]

Whilst I'm not Mr Cena's biggest fan, I do appreciate his presence in WWE. This is a guy who has been a lifelong fan, has dedicated all aspects of his life to the business (presumably his marriage broke down in part to his schedule), and has quite possibly become the biggest ambassador for WWE in the history of the company. Furthermore, although I'm going to heavily criticise Cena's wrestling ability, I will say that given the right opponent (CM Punk and Shawn Michaels both spring to mind as opponents that Cena has never had anything less than a very good match with), he can perform stellar contests.

 

So where does the problem lie? Well I feel the need to break this down into sections:

 

Pure Wrestling

 

John Cena has been a pro for well over a decade now, yet in that time, he still hasn't learned fully how to wrestle appropriately. Although most fans criticise Cena's lack of moves and innovation, it's probably a good thing that he doesn't get too innovative, given his track record at botching when he pulls unfamiliar manoeuvres out in matches. Even with his established offence, he still manages to fuck up quite extraordinarily, at Wrestlemania XXVIII for example, his sloppy execution of a diving leg drop, caused The Rock to tear a muscle. At TLC 2012, he attempted a Hurricanrana, only to completely botch the back tuck, which not even Ziggler could save upon the sell. He regularly attempts a drop kick, which he just cannot get the height for because of his sheer amount of muscle mass and compact frame (Cena's only around 6,1/6,2 believe it or not), which looks shit, especially as his opponent still has to sell it. I cringe at how recklessly Cena slams his opponents when hitting his "snap" variation of the Attitude Adjustment (the one where he doesn't bother with theatrics). Sure, they are only taking a back bump, but it could still be made safer by Cena continuing to keep hold of his opponent during the move. When Cena first started to rise up, many critics made note of how bad and uncovincing his punches looked, he still hasn't improved much upon this, although it isn't particularly necessary, since he's not in the business of heavy striking, a'la Triple H or The Undertaker.

 

The STF (so bad it needs it's own section)

 

John Cena comes across as the ONLY guy in the wrestling world who hasn't watched any Lou Thesz or Masahiro Chono tapes. He honestly doesn't seem to understand that the "illusion" of pressure is key to getting the move over. Thesz must spin in his grave every time Cena slaps the move on, since even a casual viewer can see that Cena has no grip applied to his opponent (who is again forced to sell the move like it's agonising, regardless). Maybe it's a problem with Cena's build, in that he cannot get a decent lock with his hands? In that case perhaps he should perform the STS (Chono's variation), in which he need only slap on a Sleeper. I speculate about this, because when Cena executes the Crippler Crossface (rarely, but he pulls it out in his "longer" matches), he doesn't seem to have as much trouble with the Crossface part, as he does when performing the STF.

 

Wrestling 101 - The Art Of Selling

 

Don't get me wrong, Cena knows how to sell, he just chooses not to during crucial stages when his selling (and absence of superhuman recoveries) are beneficial for telling a story (and giving his opponent credibility. The scratch-my-back/I'll-scratch-your's unwritten rule in the wrestling business, seems to be lost in this case. Far too often has Cena recovered all too quickly from his opponent's big moves or "devastating spots" (the stuff in the Nexus match at Summerslam 2010, and in the No-DQ match with Miz in 2011 were appalling). Indeed, whilst "overcoming the odds" is a big part of Cena's character, one simply cannot suspend disbelief when a wrestler simply gets up continues at regular pace, quickly after receiving a DDT on the concrete floor (Nexus 2010). It goes beyond move taking, whilst most experienced wrestlers will continue selling an injury or the impact of a move in the short term, Cena has always come across as being 100% the following day. His Raw matches have never told the story of the previous night's conflict, no matter how epic the battle.

 

The Character

 

This isn't all down to John Cena, since WWE creative (and Vince McMahon of course) ultimately decide the direction he takes, what kind of promos he cuts, and what direction he takes in other aspects. However, Cena has this annoying trait of adding tomfoolery into a humourless situation, be it smiling and making goofy faces as his rival cuts a resentful promo, or not stepping up to cut a serious promo himself. His pre-Royal Rumble promo on Raw most recently was dire and embarrassing. Whilst all the other main runners talked about how "important is was to get the Wrestlemania opportunity", Cena stereotyped the audience, made some rather half-assed popular culture references, and then ended the promo by essentially saying that nobody else in the Rumble mattered and that he would win (which he did). A promo like that is something a heel should be doing.

 

So overall, where does John Cena fit in the grand scheme of all things wrestling? He's not made nearly as much of a popular culture impact as Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin did, although his popularity, be it good or bad, is on par with them from an internal-wrestling point of view. I'm starting to think that John Cena might drop out of the full-time WWE schedule, either this year or next year, in order to prolong his shelf life, since he's been working beat up for the past year, and has never taken any respectable time off, even with injuries (Cena was out for 4 months when he injured his neck, and around that same amount of time when he had to have his arm surgically repaired). It's a work ethic people can admire, but it does nothing for John Cena, if he wants to be able to wrestle matches long term (hell, Flair was part time from his mid-40's). If you look at Steve Austin, he was done by 40, having sidestepped mounting injuries and continued with the brutal WWE schedule during the height of his popularity. I'm quite confident had they negotiated a reduced date schedule (a'la Flair), that he would have got two more years out of the business.

 

So, John Cena, under the microscope?

 

I think this is filled with the most obvious cherry picked criticisms of a wrestler I've ever seen.

[Mr Wrestling X]

I think this is filled with the most obvious cherry picked criticisms of a wrestler I've ever seen.

I wanted to get my criticisms out of the way, whilst providing some fuel for thought.

 

I didn't really touch upon it in my original post, but I view John Cena as being the most over personality currently in the wrestling business, both face and heel (depending on the demographic), and with that comes respect. Sure, we'd all like it to be more organised, I'd especially like it if John Cena catered to the area, being a face in some cities (and public appearances), whilst acting more heelish in other cities and playing to the negative reception he gets (Chicago, New York and Miami are places where Cena is particularly loathed).

 

Cena's match with Lesnar last year was one of the few matches that I highly rated in 2012. What was so good about it, in particular, was Cena's sell job. He made no big superhuman comebacks, sold exclusively for 90% of the match, and did so convincingly that a great number of audience members began to cheer for him. The post-match didn't exactly help things, but the stuff with Lesnar was a highlight in Cena's wrestling career. It reminded me a lot of Ric Flair in some ways, especially when he was matched against the likes of Vader.

[Bix]

Oh not with the fucking STF again.

 

Watch the YouTube video of Tony Cecchine teaching it in a shoot context. The stepover toehold his 90% of the STF. Reaching for the facelock does almost as much damage as the actual facelock.

[KrisZ]

Yeah when Cena breaks out the mega STF it's awesome though.

 

[Bix]

Here's the video I was talking about:

[tim]

Cena's execution of moves is fantastic more often than not. Of all the perplexing common Cena criticisms, that is probably the most perplexing.

 

Bringing up the fact that Cena "never seems banged-up" the day after a PPV match as a way to criticize his SELLING seems like absurdity on the level no other wrestler would ever endure.

[Matt D]

I like how his dropkick the other night looked like the dropkick from WWF Wrestlemania Challenge from the NES.

 

 

I saw Sabu vs Cena the other night. That was a lot of fun. Sabu was rabid.

[Matt D]

I like how his dropkick the other night looked like the dropkick from WWF Wrestlemania Challenge from the NES.

 

 

I saw Sabu vs Cena the other night. That was a lot of fun. Sabu was rabid.

 

Here's a question. Who garners sympathy better vs a monster? Cena or Hogan?

[Loss]

Most of this has been discussed before.

 

Is John Cena a better worker than Kurt Angle?

Would John Cena make your personal top 100?

Better In-Ring Performer - Hogan or Cena?

 

Please use the index and bump old topics as needed. Thanks.

[Matt D]

I totally forgot we had that Hogan vs Cena note. I've got nothing then. I just wanted to post that picture mainly. I really loved that Wrestlemania Challenge game as a kid.

[NintendoLogic]

In wrestling, perception is more important than reality. If people think Cena's STF looks bad, then it does.

[Dylan Waco]

In wrestling, perception is more important than reality. If people think Cena's STF looks bad, then it does.

Then it must look good.

[Jimmy Redman]

Far too often has Cena recovered all too quickly from his opponent's big moves or "devastating spots" (the stuff in the Nexus match at Summerslam 2010...one simply cannot suspend disbelief when a wrestler simply gets up continues at regular pace, quickly after receiving a DDT on the concrete floor (Nexus 2010).

I see things like this said all the time, and it makes me wonder if anyone has actually watched the match.

 

Cena didnt blow off the concrete DDT. He didnt "simply get up and continue at regular pace". He sold it as a knockout and was deadlifted back into the ring. He rolled out of the way of the 450 and rolled Gabriel up, then collapsed dead. Then he tripped Barrett from the ground and yanked on the STF long enough for Barrett to submit, then collapsed dead again. Then he struggled to his feet and did the loopy "Oh, did I win the match?" sell. He used the last gasps of energy he had to do three things from his back.

 

I have zero problem with people thinking a concrete DDT should be a stretcher job death move, however without further evidence of other concrete DDTs in WWE in recent memory to point to the contrary, the concrete DDT in WWE is obviously not a stretcher job death move. It was a big move for Cena to overcome to put heat on the finish. And I have zero problem with people disliking that, although that is more a problem of the layout of the match rather than Cena's selling technique or decision making. But claiming that Cena blew off the concrete DDT or that he didnt sell it just to fit the narrative that Cena blows off offense is patently untrue. There are enough examples to point to of Cena shrugging off damage (not that I think the vast majority of those are bad either, he's Superman) to make the argument without making stuff up, just because "he blew off the concrete DDT" is a nice soundbite that everyone has accepted as fact.

[ohtani's jacket]

Jerry recommended I move these to the Microscope, so here they are:

 

MIDCARD HEEL CENA

 

Cena vs Rey Mysterio - Smackdown 6th November 2003

This was all right. A good, basic sort of match, though nothing really memorable past the week it aired. Cena's promo to start with sucked, but I thought he displayed good intensity after the bell and stood out fairly well for a midcard act. He was a bit too anxious about getting into position and watching him call spots was off putting, but I liked his aggressiveness. It was too short to be much of a bout and not really structured that well other than to give Cena a cheap win, however a decent start to this project.

I'd go about **

MIDCARD FACE CENA

 

Cena vs Rene Dupree - Judgment Day 2004

This is the first time I've seen Rene Dupree. I have no idea how good or bad he usually was. Having seen many of the great French heels, he didn't impress in that regard, though I did like his flick of the torso (very Rick Rude/Martel-ish.) Cena's promo was slightly less cringe worthy than the last one, but still a different world from what I like. The match wasn't bad for a midcard level bout. It was highly choreographed and a bit telegraphed at times, but that's what happens when you're working to a script I suppose. As someone else mentioned, I also find it strange how the WWE can look so much like other styles of modern wrestling that are criticised and lambasted yet is somehow championed. The finishing stretches are counterrific the same way that modern New Japan matches are, although in this case there weren't any exciting nearfalls. What's more, I don't think you can argue that the body of the match played any part in the outcome. The bear hug spot was badly worked. Cena didn't time his comeback at all well and they dropped it to head into stretch run. From there it was just button mashing on the controller. It's only 2004 I'm looking at, but I don't see a lot of natural talent from Cena and I don't really see (at this stage) a guy who exhibits the confidence or control that a great worker shows. He's a hard working dude trying his best to stick to the plan. But like I said, Dupree could have been absolutely terrible outside of this and I wouldn't really know. I'd go about ***

[ohtani's jacket]

LONG, WORKRATE-Y MAIN EVENTS

 

Cena vs Shawn Michaels - Raw 23rd April 2007

 

This was okay. I appreciate the fact they went out and delivered a long main event by television standards and something close to pay-per-view quality. The structure was kind of simple but fairly well staggered to get them through to the end. The problem for me was that the work just wasn't that interesting. The early takedowns were too slow and Michaels was monotonous with his chops, back elbow and use of the heel. The big moments like Cena catching Michael's plancha attempt really weren't that blow away amazing, and the whole STFU vs. sweet chin music slant was boring really. Michaels as technician is not something I buy or want to see, and without seeing the build-up I couldn't really understand why Cena was being such a prick. On the other hand, I give them credit for going long and not losing me. I can see how if you really like these two it would be captivating. JR and Lawler's commentary was another weak point. Ross sounded jaded. His reaction to Michaels winning was startling lukewarm. *** 1/2 for effort.

[Jimmy Redman]

If by being a prick you mean the opening stuff with the STF teases, then yeah I think that stuff does need the context of the build and the WM match.

 

In general it was basically Cena giving back to Shawn what he gave to him. The ENTIRE build to their WM match was centred around Cena and Shawn being feuding tag team champs (I know) and the idea that "well, at some point before Mania Shawn is going to turn on Cena and Sweet Chin Music the fuck out of him. It's inevitable." And so every week they'd tease it, and every time they were in the ring together Cena would be looking over his shoulder and Shawn would be lying in wait, or pretending to, or pretending not to. And then finally on the go-home show at the very last possible moment, Shawn finally catches him off guard and superkicks the fuck out of him. So there was always that whole "it only takes one second for Shawn to hit SCM" that often gets played up with Shawn, and it definitely was here.

 

The WM match began by Shawn working as the 'Greatest of All Time' and outwrestling Cena for a long time. Then he took over Cena's knee and worked that over. Cena came off like he was getting schooled a bit and was "off his game". (WM is worth watching as an example of a Cena sell job that a lot of people take issue with, even though I don't. I have a lot to say about that match as well.) The story of WM was that Shawn wrestled perfectly, was winning for long periods and tried as hard as he could...and still lost. Cena still came out of it through his heart and blah blah blah.

 

So I think when it comes to the Raw match, the pressure that Cena had going into a WM title defense against the "Greatest of All Time" was gone. He won. He made Shawn submit. So when Shawn keeps blathering on about "I'm still better than you", even though it's coming from the GOAT and Cena respects him, it is ringing a lot more hollow now. Cena no longer feels like a kid going up against him, which is how he came across at the start of the WM match.

 

All of which feeds into the opening. Here Cena is like ten times as confident as he was before. He knows he can take him. So it's time to give a little back, make Shawn jump by threatening him with the STF at any moment. Just like Shawn threatened him with SCM before. Cena keeps using the headlock and controlling Shawn because it was Shawn who was controlling him at Mania. It's a little dickish, but Shawn was already being a dick to him.

 

As an aside on that point, that's one of the things I like about their matches, the fact that at times they both do come off a little dickish. These two do not like each other. They're both babyfaces, there's respect there and they don't hate each other...but still, they don't like each other. And they act accordingly. They jerk each other around. And they get offended when the other guy jerks them around. One of my favourite parts of this opening was Shawn's pissed off reaction to it. When Cena teases using the STF that Shawn tapped to at Mania, Shawn doesn't sell exaggerated fear of the deadly move. He doesn't laugh it off as a cutesy warning shot. He is PISSED OFF that Cena has the fucking temerity to try and use his finisher two seconds into the match and taunt him about it. Who the FUCK is this guy?! It's complete and utter outrage that this guy is making a fool of him. It's a real reaction. If the match were hypothetically real and that hypothetically happened, that is exactly how Shawn would react. I love the feel that these matches have that it is two guys who don't like each other trying as hard as they can to beat the other guy in a wrestling match.

 

Another minor point but a lot of the spots in the match - particularly the attempted piledriver on the stairs - are playing off Mania as well. The stairs piledriver was a big moment in the first match.

 

I now regret not telling you to watch Mania first. I just figured you'd only want to sit through one overly long Shawn Michaels main event.

[ohtani's jacket]

I see. That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.

 

SELLING FOR MONSTERS

 

Cena vs Great Khali - Judgment Day 2007

 

This was the first match that I thought was actively bad. I wasn't expecting much from Khali who's a horrendously bad pro-wrestler, but Cena's punches and the moves he did to try to knock Khali down were appalling bad. Cena's selling was passable I guess, but he was never in any serious trouble, the jeopardy didn't match the stakes, and after all the hype that Khali had never been pinned or submitted, he lost in incredibly weak fashion. Surely, Cena could have gone to greater lengths to beat him. This wasn't even passable for a RAW match. About a *

[Dylan Waco]

Watched that match not that long ago. I'd rate it safely above just about every Tanahashi match you've praised over the last year. The gap between your taste and mine has never been bigger

[ohtani's jacket]

I've never bothered to watch Tanahashi vs. a bad opponent since I really just cherry pick his stuff, but I wasn't judging it on any sort of Tanahashi scale. I was judging it as a pro-wrestling match and it wasn't very good. I just checked and Dave gave it * 3/4

[Dylan Waco]

I thought I wrote it up here somewhere, but maybe not. I legitimately loved the match, maybe I'll watch it again and review it.

[ohtani's jacket]

VIDEO GAME-Y BOMB THROWING

 

Cena vs The Rock - Wrestlemania 29

 

I'd already seen the Cena/Bryan and Cena/Punk matches so I went with this instead. It wasn't a bad match, but it was really flat up until the finishing stretch. It didn't help that the crowd were so subdued or that the commentators kept prattling on about how high the stakes were and how important the match was to both men's legacies while they were in the middle of some boring ass hold. Cena was generally a better worker here than he was in 2007, but the first third was unashamed filler and they started trading finishers earlier than I expected. I liked Rock's counters to the STFU, but everything else was tiresome. The problem was that I didn't really care about Rock beating Cena the year before and the mistake Cena had made in toying with him, so the psychology behind the finishing stretch didn't really interest me. It was noticeable that the crowd were sitting around waiting for it to happen though and that both guys repeatedly hitting their finishers was the only thing that got them up and standing. To me this didn't really match the big match billing, so I'd probably give it ***

[ohtani's jacket]

MORE TRADITIONAL FACE/HEEL DYNAMIC

 

Cena vs Batista - Wrestlemania 26

 

I was a bit unsure how this fit a more traditional face/heel dynamic as it seemed to be a workrate match, but it was a solid bout and I couldn'rt find much fault with the work. Without seeing the build it's difficult to judge how good the payoff is, but as a stand alone bout it didn't exactly live up to my expectations of a big time fight. The two best Cena matches I've seen are the Umaga fight and the Money in the Bank match. I'd rate those amongst the best WWE matches of all-time. But I haven't seen a lot of evidence so far that Cena is one of the best big match workers ever. The other thing I realised watching this is that I'm just not a fan. His acting is shoddy and when he poses I don't get amped in the way I'm sure his fans do. He strikes me as a good main event worker, but I'm iffy on his greatness thus far. Nevertheless, this was solid. *** 1/2

[W2BTD]

VIDEO GAME-Y BOMB THROWING

 

Cena vs The Rock - Wrestlemania 29

 

I'd already seen the Cena/Bryan and Cena/Punk matches so I went with this instead. It wasn't a bad match, but it was really flat up until the finishing stretch. It didn't help that the crowd were so subdued or that the commentators kept prattling on about how high the stakes were and how important the match was to both men's legacies while they were in the middle of some boring ass hold. Cena was generally a better worker here than he was in 2007, but the first third was unashamed filler and they started trading finishers earlier than I expected. I liked Rock's counters to the STFU, but everything else was tiresome. The problem was that I didn't really care about Rock beating Cena the year before and the mistake Cena had made in toying with him, so the psychology behind the finishing stretch didn't really interest me. It was noticeable that the crowd were sitting around waiting for it to happen though and that both guys repeatedly hitting their finishers was the only thing that got them up and standing. To me this didn't really match the big match billing, so I'd probably give it ***

 

The match from the year before was significantly better (not sure if you've ever seen it). 29 wasn't any good, and honestly, a lot of that was The Rock blowing up (and also getting injured, which I guess you could blame on Cena if you wanted to).

[Jimmy Redman]

Ahh you've seen Cena/Umaga. I was just about to tell you to skip ahead to that, because if that match didn't do anything for you then you can close the book because nothing he does will ever impress you ever.

 

Maybe I was thinking more of the build to Cena/Dave, but the entire story is a very nice "good beats evil" kind of story. Dave is the big bully heel who stole the title and happened to break Cena's neck the last time they fought. So here we are and at WM, Cena starts out a bit uncertain, and they're thinking maybe Cena is worried about getting hurt, or that he can't beat Dave. But as the hero does he mans up against adversity, then in the key moment he eats the big powerbomb off the top (which was a little botched but whatever) that broke his neck in 2008, but this time he KICKS, and goes on to submit the big bully. Good triumphs over evil, Superman overcomes the odds, everyone is happy. It's just nice.

 

And yeah to echo, Cena/Rock II is not that great, it's one of the worst matches I threw out there, but it is an example of Cena playing video games, for better or worse. It was actually the exact moment I started to worry that Cena was turning into Kurt Angle. WM28 is a great match and I love it.