Cena Da Goat
By Scott Keith on 14 November 2024
Need some feedback from you and the blog cause I have spent enough time today arguing with a person I can only assume who is a 13 year old boy who just started getting into wrestling. It's one thing to say Rhea and Gunther are crappy acts, but this person told me today that 50% of the WWE audience though John Cena sucked during his run because they booed him. That was his smoking gun, boos and metrics went down, without mentioning how we watch tv completely changed during his peak. And he is logic was why would the crowd boo him if they really liked him or thought he didn't suck. They didn't boo Hogan or Austin, so that must mean they really thought Cena sucked cause he got boos.
Look, I get not being a Cena super fan, as we all know about the 5 moves of doom and unwavering babyface gimmick that got stale. Cena is the opposite of the anit hero like Punk. He was definitely a polarizing figure, and they prob could have leaned into a heel run. But he got that reaction cause it was the cool thing to do, especially in the 2010s, and the reaction was more so because of WWE fans were super snarky at the time and creative for that decade sucked. But saying John Cena sucked, like he wasn't an over act with a majority of the crowd and respected by everyone, is some crazy revisionist history where I feel comfortable saying you are watching it wrong. He doesn't have to be your favorite, but he is really top 20 all timer. What say you, did the WWE crowd really think John Cena sucks, John Cena sucks, John Cena sucks.
He certainly didn't suck, no. I was personally bored of the act very early on, but there's a big difference between “This isn't for me” and “This is terrible” and certainly John understood how to be a top guy and carried his end when a five star classic was needed a few times. He even got a watchable match out of Johnny Ace when Johnny was a retired exec.