WWE vs. TNA 5.06.07: John Cena vs. Colt Cabana
Posted by Jordan Linkous on 05.06.2007
The IWC’s favorite WWE homeboy pitted against the funniest man to grace ROH!
Did you miss me? I have returned after missing a week. I hope you all enjoyed reading my Top Ten Things I Love About Wrestling as I did writing it. Thanks to all the wonderful people who said that my column was fun to read as well. This week I return again to my regular formula for John Cena vs. Colt Cabana! Lord, please help me on this one.
John Cena vs. Colt Cabana
Category 1: Strengths
John Cena: While many people like to focus on the negative aspects of John Cena, I would like to look at some of the things that make him so great. He can actually put on a great match, has tons of charisma, has great work rate, and really lives for the business. What that means is that he puts countless hours into the wrestling business. He travels all over the place, promotes nonstop, and is pretty much married to his career. His love for the business shows when he is in the ring as well. And one thing I can't stand is when people say that he needs someone to carry him in a match. While he has had great matches against the likes of Kurt Angle, Triple H, and HBK, John has done more than his fair share of the work. He can play the power game, as seen when he would wrestle bigger guys. Several bigger men like Big Show and the Undertaker have been toppled by John Cena. He can powerbomb opponents, powerslam then, and hit a not-that-shabby looking Suplex. When he wrestles, he can also utilize a slower, sometimes mat-based, match up. As seen by his epics with Shawn Michaels lately, Cena has been able to put on some great slow paced technical matches. He could pick a body part, such as the arm, and work it over. He would do armbars, armbreakers, and also utilize the ring and his surroundings to further harm the body part. And while he may not be the best at selling an injury, Cena can keep a match exciting and keep people watching. I cant remember the last time I sat so contently and so into a fifty minute match. (well, I lied. I remember sitting and watching one of my favorite ROH matches, which was Roderick Strong vs. Bryan Danielson from Vendetta.) They managed to go that long and still keep the match exciting the whole way through, which is another great thing about Cena. This match, and some others, shows he had endurance and determination. It proves that he can be in there with the big boys, and that he shouldn't be taken as just a pretty, fancy, goofy, non wrestler that is only over with girls and kids. Anyway, they were able to put on some awe-inspiring spots, such as Shawn leaping over the rope and Cena catching him, only to be pushed into the steps. I think it was also better than the WM match because there was not to much slow time. It was full action and that is one thing that Cena can do: deliver. Aside from a meticulous fight or a power fight, Cena can also take a brawler approach. He has had numerous cage or street fight or hardcore matches where he has proved that he can adapt to that style. He can brawl and be vicious and brutal when the time comes. He also gets fired up in his matches and starts to kick some but, his flying shoulderblock is a fun one to see, and several times he has resorted to top rope moves. Cena is also a very charismatic wrestler, in the ring or on the mic. He cuts funny or serious promos, and his charisma is reflected in his matches. If he were to fight another charismatic superstar like Cabana, he should just stick to what he knows.
Colt Cabana: Speaking of CHARISMATIC wrestlers, we come to Colt Cabana. Perhaps one of the funniest wrestlers EVER, Colt Cabana can also wrestle. He has a great technical aspect to his wrestling, and can sometimes wrestle a power game and ever aerial as well. Colt Cabana is funny in his promos, and he can add comedy to his wrestling (See: Flying Asshole). But aside from the hilarity that is Colt Cabana, there is a much more different side. When he gets into a serious fight, a more focused colt Cabana comes out. He, like Cena, can adapt to different styles. That is one of his key strengths. One of his most notable adaptations was when he had a rivalry with Nigel McGuiness. He started out fine, but decided to try and wrestle a different approach. He took up the British mat based wrestling. He trained in that style, and began to be good at it, and he actually still uses it today. He has great chain wrestling skills. He can go hold after hold with someone, and have many counters and ways to link moves together. He is also an expert at submission holds, using such holds as the Inverted Boston Crab and Texas Clover Leaf. He also had quite a vicious feud with Homicide in which he had to be violent and vicious. He had street fights and brawls with him and they proved that Cabana could be wicked as well as well-learned on the mat. He belted out brutal chair shots, and also brawled among the crowd. Not only did he deal a lot of damage, he took a lot. This also shows that he is resilient and also has endurance. When wrestling, he also takes advantage of his size on occasions. Since he did sometimes wrestle smaller guys, he was able to push them around and utilize high impact moves like slams, suplexes, and powerbombs. This all revolves around the key strength that he can adapt. Now while Cabana seems like a bigger guy, he is still able to pull off some high risk maneuvers. He has been known to take down foes with the Missile Dropkick, and one of my favorite moves, the Lionsault. All in all, Colt is a great all-around wrestler, and his main strength is the fact that he can adapt to several different styles. If he were to face Cena, I think his best be would be to take the British chain wrestling to a new level and confuse Cena.
Category 2: Fighting Styles
Colt Cabana: As I previously mentioned, Colt doesn't really have a definite fighting style, per say. He is more a wrestling chameleon. Man, tons of ROH guys can wrestle tons of different styles (like everyone didn't already know that.) But yeah, he really doesn't have a distinct style. If I had to pick a main one I would say technical. I mean, he can chain wrestle really well. He counters perfectly, and has many different pins that he utilizes. He can use backslides, school boys, small packages, and others. He can even take submission moves and turn them into pins. Aside from that, he also has a vast knowledge of submission holds. Sometimes he uses the abdominal stretch, while other times he may use the Texas Clover Leaf. He has also finished off opponents using one of his signature holds, the Inverted Boston Crab. Also, as many Cabana fans know, he is a master of chain wrestling. it is hard too explain how easy Cabana makes it look. Okay, I'll put it simple: Colt Cabana is as good at chain wrestling as Hulk Hogan is at being a jerk backstage and having the world's largest ego. Well, so much for positivity. But seriously, he almost rivals Chris Benoit. Ohhh, that would be a match for the ages. Just imagine those to trading submission moves and chain wrestling. That would be cool, and it actually is a possibility since Cabana is heading for WWE land. We can only pray. Anyway, he had some great rallies with Nigel which really proved how good he is at that. Colt can also wrestle the hardcore style, along with a power game and quickness game. Like I previously said, Colt should stick to his technical/ chain wrestling style to try and knock Cena off his feet.
John Cena: Well, Cena sure is hard to classify as well. He really really doesn't have a distinct style. I will just say his style is adaptation. He, like Cabana, can shift his fighting ways to emulate and match his opponents'. If you take a look at some of his opponents, you can see how he has had to adapt. For example, take Umaga. I, for one, really like Umaga. He is a great monster character and isn't all that bad at wrestling. Anyway, back to my point. Umaga wrestles simply based on power. All of his moves are power. So how does one beat someone with lots of power (Besides using weapons from the Last Man Standing match)? John Cena worked on breaking Umaga down. He utilized surroundings, and weakened the legs of Umaga. He focused on bringing the big man down, and worked around the fact that he couldn't lift him for the FU. He was able to capitalize on the fact that he wasn't too fast and wound up winning by a school boy roll-up. In the Last Man Standing match, he was able to take down Umaga in a different way. He used the weapons he was given, but still focused on breaking Umaga down. He eventually really used his surroundings as he used the disconnected ropes to apply a vicious STFU on Umaga. As I said before, he was also able to adapt more to HBK's style as well. He fought him hold for hold, and demonstrated the technique known as psychology. He first started out with rest moves, like the sleeper hold and headlocks. He then moved to a more fast paced style, and used some of his signature moves. He also countered several signature moves of HBK, such as the Sweet Chin Music. He finally got HBK right where he wanted him in the middle of the ring and beat him with the STFU. This proves that Cena is a highly capable superstar that is able to take on many different styles. He should just do his thing if he fought Cabana.
Category 3: Finishers
John Cena: John Cena's finisher is the FU. It is a simple, yet efficient move. He first props opponents on his shoulders in a fireman's carry. He then flips his opponents off and slams them to the mat. Many superstars have fallen to this move, although it is cooler when he does it to bigger guys like Umaga and others. He also is able to do it through tables, onto trashcans, and off ladders. At about Wrestlemania 22 time, he debuted the STFU. It is simple an STF. Wait, I take that back. It isn't "simply" an STF. It has been used to take out opponents like Umaga, HBK, and HHH. Who really thought Cena would make HHH tap cleanly? And people say HHH is only caring about himself. He hasn't won at Wrestlemania since WM 19. Pff. Anyway, Cena makes opponents tap.
Colt Cabana: Colt Cabana's finisher is the Colt .45. First he grabs his opponents in a double Underhook. He then lifts them onto his back, then leaps and drops to his knees, weakening the back. Think Shock Treatment, only inverted a little. This move is deadly. He uses his power to lift his opponents, but can hit it quickly. When an opponent gets caught with that, they had better watch out.
The Final Result:
Well, I don't quite know what to say. They are both similar, but at the same time different. Let's wait and see what the polls have to say.
That is all from this neck of the woods. Be sure to send feedback to me! Peace out.
