You're A Genius And Here's Why 4.05.07: John Cena

Posted by Rob Halden on 04.05.2007

No idiots this week, only a John Cena shaped Genius.

The format of this column was fully intended to be You're An Idiot And Here's Why, with a little back-up plan of doing a ‘Genius' edition if I ever hit a dry-spell. I mean, what are the chances that the wrestling world wouldn't provide me with an idiot, right? Well, Wrestlemania weekend wasn't too good for that, so I'm playing the Genius Card a little earlier than originally planned.

This Week's Genius: John Cena

Wrestlemania 23 presented the WWE with yet another opportunity to back out of their commitment to John Cena, to pull back on his push and do it in such a way that no one would lose face. They could bow to the fan-backlash that began back in 2005 and end ‘Mania with either a new champion, or a heel-turn for Cena. Yet again they resisted, and this is pure f'n genius.

The fan-backlash against Cena began when he was drafted to Raw in 2005, immediately going into confrontations with Christian, Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle. All three men with very strong and dedicated fans who will cheer for them whether they're heel or not. After pin-fall victories over both Jericho and Angle firmly established Cena to the Raw audience, his title reign had lasted for an extremely long time for the current pro-wrestling climate (280 days) and the WWE felt the need for a change. At New Year's Revolution, Cena went into the Elimination Chamber with veteran main eventers Shawn Michaels, Kane and Kurt Angle, as well as the new heel team of Carlito and Chris Masters. If the WWE wanted him to drop the title, surely now would be the best time to do it? With multiple opponents involved in such a gimmick match, Cena wouldn't lose much face in dropping the belt to any of the other five men. But WWE pushed forward with their plans to cement John Cena, having him win the chaotic match. Then WWE played a masterstroke, having Edge cash in his Money In The Bank title shot immediately following the match. Even that wasn't enough to take the champion out, as Edge had to deliver two Spears in order to pin Cena. The message was very clear. Edge was the new champion, but John Cena was the new Hogan/Rock/Austin. Cena reclaimed the WWE title at the very next opportunity, thusly proving he could only be beaten by complicated and underhand tactics.

Even against Edge the crowds seemed vocally split, with Cena being booed more often than not. Surely the ultimate heel, the #1 WWE villain Triple H could turn the crowds back to John Cena's side? Despite Hunter coming from a hated run against the beloved Ric Flair, he was still being cheered as he went against the WWE Champion in the build up to Wrestlemania 22. As ‘Mania approached the crowd reactions towards John Cena were becoming more and more negative. Yet even in the face of this adversity, WWE did not go the safe option and put the title back on ‘old faithful' Triple H, and they didn't go in the other direction and have Cena turn heel, fully capitalising on the sentiments being expressed by some of the fans. John Cena went over clean, as a face, making Triple H tap-out in the main event of Wrestlemania.

Reaction to Cena was never worse than when he took on Rob Van Dam at ECW: One Night Stand. And yes, Cena lost the title, but again the circumstances built him up more than tore him down. Edge Speared Cena through a table and ECW Representative Paul Heyman made the biased three-count, not an official referee. Cena then regained the championship by beating Edge in his hometown and in his own match (Tables, Ladders & Chairs). WWE knew full well what kind of reaction John Cena would receive just for showing up that night in Toronto, let alone what would happen when he beat the hometown hero and took away the title.

This year's feud with Shawn Michaels became almost a mirror of Wrestlemania 22, only now the WWE had put Cena against a complete fan-favourite. If the crowds were split for Cena/HHH, they were going to be torn apart for Cena/HBK. Both WWE commentators and John Cena himself had been acknowledging the negative reactions for over a year now. Surely Wrestlemania 23 against Mr. Wrestlemania himself was the time to do a clean job? Or a complete heel turn? Once more the WWE resisted this obvious direction, had Shawn Michaels tap-out in a clean match and kept the belt on their golden boy.

Why is this genius? It's not hyperbole when the WWE say John Cena is the most controversial champion in recent memory. It's straight-up fact. Love him or hate him, everyone is talking about him. He is the focus of the WWE and he is without a doubt the Franchise of the wrestling world. It's impossible to argue with that fact.

Cena does everything right. He's not the world's greatest wrestler, but he is extremely charismatic both in the ring and on the microphone. He plays his role incredibly well and the see-saw of fan reaction has given him a great ability to read and react to a crowd. Cena has had numerous brilliant matches, and yes, a lot of credit does have to go to his extremely talented opponents. But guess what? That's how you make a wrestler better, and that's how you put on a great match. The best match at New Year's Revolution ‘07? Royal Rumble '07? Cena Vs Umaga. Those are matches people were willing to pay to see due to the incredible way that both face and heel had been portrayed and built up beforehand. No one is going to accuse either of those men of being able to put on a ROH 5 Star Mat Classic. But wrestling isn't always about that. Hogan, Austin and The Rock never had the wrestling talent of a Chris Benoit or a Kurt Angle. But Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle never had the star power of a Hogan, Austin or The Rock.

The "Hogan Push" that John Cena is receiving is desperately needed, because the wrestling world needs another Hogan. We're quickly running out of legitimate stars and this is a sure-fire way of making them. It's already spilled over and helped elevate Edge into the position of #1 heel. If it wasn't for John Cena, Edge wouldn't be the darling of the IWC that he currently is. Y'see, Cena is the reverse of the classic heel. He is exactly what's needed for today's world of smart fans. All those fans who love the heels, who cheer for the bad guy, they don't pay their money to see the heel get beat down. No heel can incite those smart fans to care whether or not he loses the belt, their passion runs in a completely different 21st Century way. But those same smart fans are now paying their money and praying to the Wrestling Gods that they get to see John Cena get his ass kicked. Why? Because he's the good guy, and they're just too cool for him. John Cena's role is integral to the current operation, he's part of a redefinition of the wrestling business.

I know I said there weren't any idiots this week, but maybe I'm gonna make some. Maybe the idiots this week are the anti-Cena fans. These fans grew up with Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior and Bret Hart. They had their heroes with their incredible pushes and good deeds. They went crazy when Hogan came back in the modern day, still getting pushed, still doing good. And now those same fans are so selfish and hypocritical they can't stand to see a new generation of wrestling fans get their own hero. If you want there to be a wrestling scene for you to enjoy when you're 40, then today's little wrestling fans need to still be with wrestling until they're 30. Who's gonna get them there? Who are they gonna mark out for over the next ten, fifteen years? John Cena. Let them have their hero, the world's full of enough villains.

Feedback

Whilst it may appear people read last week's column, they didn't. They skimmed it and then got all pissy and excited because I totally hate Mick Foley and Terry Funk.

I don't. I like both Mr. Foley and Mr. Funk. I enjoy their ring work and their many confrontations. I would happily pay money to see them wrestle each other. But I'm a die-hard ‘Internet' wrestling fan and the WWE doesn't make programming for me. They make programming for the millions of other viewers who contribute the majority of their audience and money.

My only problem with Foley is that for a guy with such a great mind for wrestling, he seemed completely shocked that it was a business. That the businessmen around him didn't have faith in a guy like Funk or a guy like Dreamer. Do I have faith in those guys? Yeah, but, I'm a wrestling geek, and it's not my millions being spent.

Let's take a look at who's been PMS'ing this week, shall we?

Dylan Brennan
Hey buddy,
Sure...Terry Funk's old. But did you even see the One Night Stand match? Foley was pretty much right all along. The Foley/Edge/Lita vs. Funk/Dreamer/Beulah match ended up being one of the best matches of 2006. Terry Funk proved everyone wrong at the Hammerstein Ballroom and no one really gave him a chance except Foley. Also, one match doesn't sell a show. The market that WWE was aiming to sell this show to absolutely despises John Cena so it was good to throw that on for the younger audience to buy but long time fans wouldn't really give a shit about that, except to maybe see how Cena's treated in an ECW ring. But to see Mick Foley and Terry Funk go at it one last time is huge. Hardcore fans would eat that up. All Foley needed to was execute it right, which I think he did. I applaud Mick for being "an idiot" and also Vinny Mac for taking a risk because it led to one of the most brutal and heartfelt matches I have seen in a very long time.
-DB

I like Dylan, cuz his name sounds Irish and he was the first guy to give me feedback. He makes a fair point about who the target audience was. See, if you're the first guy to send me feedback, I won't give you shit.

JoeWCO
Foley an idiot? Hmm. Your the one who's an idiot. Who the hell do you think you are? I can't believe I got denied by 411wrestling, but your posting this garbage. Edge wasn't carrying anybody. Foley has been cranking out great matches, and Tommy Dreamer is in no way in need of being carried. Your supporting DX? That's foolish. DX didn't crank out one good match since their return. Hell, Triple H hasn't had a good match since he fought Taker at Mania' in 2001. Foley and Edge have been creating gold in-ring performances, despite the physical condition of Foley, Funk, or Tommy Dreamer. If you remember, the Foley/Edge match was the best one at Wrestlemania 22, and the Foley and Edge vs Dreamer and Funk match, was the only good one at ECW 1 Night Stand. You see, Foley's no idiot. He's been in the business for twenty years and he realizes that Cena is no good in the ring, and neither is DX. The WWE is being too obvious about the only intention of DX is to sell T-shirts and DVDs. Example: "We've got two words for ya...But It" Foley was going out there to do exactly what the book was about. Achieving Wrestling Immortality. He was going out there and getting people to cheer for him for his matches, not for his "Suck It" catchphrases. Through match quality, going out their and doing what Edge claims to attempt to do every time he steps in the ring and that's, "Steal the show." If DX, and Cena focused on doing that instead of selling T-Shirts, DVDs, and CDs maybe wrestling would be as good as it was in 1998, but its not because of idiots like them and idiots like you who go to WWE events and hold up giant Styrofoam chains that say, "Chain-gang", and big green signs that say "Vince Loves C*cks"
The point is Foley and Funk are not useless. They produced the best match of the night, with the best wrestler in the business, Edge. Can you blame Foley for feeling abandoned when his great matches were living in the shadows of John Cena and DX's mediocre ones? I for one cannot.

I tell you what, you can barely see the TV in my house for all the giant green "Vince Loves Cock" signs I have. Sometimes I wonder if it's a waste of money to buy so many. But then I look at them and just laaaaugh.

I agree completley. I'm a big fan of Foleys in ring work, but somtimes he comes across as either an idiot or very annoying. Close your eyes, flip to any page in the book, and point at any sentence. I can guarentee it's either going to say something about money, or the divas. He is a great writer, but he comes off as an asshole sometimes. You agree?
Mike from NJ

Not really. The Divas thing gets a bit much, but to be honest the detailed accounts of Mick's great work with charities and helping out some less than fortunate WWE fans makes me think he's a complete class act, and a far better human being than I'll ever be.

It sounds like you just don't like Mick Foley and wanted to criticize him but didn't want to have to look for any real reason. And with the release of many ECW related dvds and books along with WWE 24/7, I'm sure a good chunk of the audience did know who Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer were. That match was still a heavily promoted match and the show did really well and the match was very good and I don't think it's 100% because of Edge.
Thanks for trying (a little)
Bob Toskey

Okay. People seem to think they have read the column, but then it turns out they didn't. Like, maybe they fell asleep half way through and came up with their own "anti-Foley" sentiments, which they then attributed to me.

Hey Rob,
Love the article, I personally hate Mick Foley. It is about time someone came out and stop pretending he is so great. In the words of the great Ric Flair "Foley is just a glorified stuntman." Keep up the amazing work.
Brendan

I very rarely disagree with the Nature Boy. Or people named ‘Brendan' for that matter. But this time I do.

Thank God someone else sees it the way I see it too. I have been trying to get through Hardcore Diaries for about 3 weeks now and I struggle to read much of it out of disgust and lack of enthusiasm. And this is from a guy who read Foley's other (autobiography) books in about 2 days each. I think the reason I find the book a snoozer is becaue of Foley's blind fascination with Terry Funk. Funk never was and sure as hell now will never be a main eventer in WWE. The other thing that disgusts me about Foley is his obvious crush on Melina. How a man can have such admiration for an overrated diva is beyond me. Platonic? Oh please. Foley's horniness practically makes me feel like I need a shower when I read just a few pages of his "diary".
Sadly, I used to really like Foley but now that part of me as a fan is gone. Foley is a pathetic, whoring, schill. And an idiot.
Great column, keep em coming!
Chris

Yeah, see this is like the guy who says he thinks the Mexican government needs to work on their foreign policy for the good of all Mexico, and then gets a hundred racists yelling "Yeah! Godamn Mekicans! Put ‘em in they place!" Wasn't really my point.