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Looking back at WWE’s “Super Cena” era

out_of_touch

out_of_touch

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,684
Since "Super Cena" is long gone, was it really that bad? If so, who is responsible: fans, creative or Cena himself?

Argument for each:

Fans didn't know what they wanted, so Vince gave it to them.

Creative booked Cena too strongly leading to fans resenting him undeservedly.

John Cena wasn't good enough as a wrestler to live up to his strong booking.

IMO this kind of 80's super hero shit wasn't ever going to fly after Austin and Rock. Cena did the best he could and definitely was a great wrestler but the fans simply wanted something else. It wasn't all bad as he left us with some classics facing rivals like Punk and Edge.
 
HououinKyouma

HououinKyouma

The Wise Ones
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,366
It just sucked seeing Orton job to him for all of 2007. At least there was a little bit of redemption a few years later, where there was some more back and forth.
 

Deleted member 14377

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
13,520
It was fucking awful. Don't let any fondness for him as a person now fool you. The product was abysmal.

I'd say the last 3 years of Cena being an active performer were some of his best matches and his booking wasn't nearly as bad as it was, even though it was still terrible. He's genuinely had some match of the year candidates.

For what it's worth, compared to the ratings and how the product is tanking now, the Super Cena years were stronger in terms of viewership and merch sales. And now the fans that grew up with Cena have grown out of wrestling, but all the old marks are still around.
 
RedMercury

RedMercury

Blue Venus
Member
Dec 24, 2017
17,646
He overcame the odds too much is what it comes down to for me. I didn't believe in his character because he never showed vulnerability, and if he did you knew he was going to overcome it. Like, remember the week he had to join the Nexus? And then they turned it around so quick and he beat them. He came back from being DDT'd on concrete to win a match, it insults the intelligence. It's not the 80's anymore, that type of character is boring.
 
Tagyhag

Tagyhag

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,472
Didn't Orton and Cena beat up the entire roster in one match? Yeah it was pretty fucked.

I can't blame Cena for not going against Vince, especially cause I'm sure he would have a been a jobber if he did. It would have been spitting on the brass ring.
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

Woke up, got a money tag, swears a lot
Member
Oct 25, 2017
92,557
here
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Striker

Striker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,369
He got booed heavy early in his mega-push because his character got changed and he became a walking cliché. His best feud was with Edge, as he got booed even more because he was so good at his job.
 
Doran

Doran

Member
Jun 9, 2018
1,847
It's like one of those if everything is special nothing is special type things.

Is it really a huge underdog story, overcoming the odds, superman spectacular if it happens all the time? He would put on that Shawn Michaels v Undertaker (Shawn just won't give up, he keeps kicking out!) thing ALL THE TIME and he won when Shawn didn't.
 
Kirblar

Kirblar

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
30,744
"Cena allowed WWE to avoid confronting gigantic systemic problems with the product while he was there fulltime that are now biting them in the ass hard" is a completely accurate take on the situation.
 
The Struggler

The Struggler

Alt Account
Banned
Jul 3, 2019
739
The Cena affect hurt the business model so much people are still rebelling for what they did to Roman as well. People dont want another Cena situation
 
The Struggler

The Struggler

Alt Account
Banned
Jul 3, 2019
739
RedMercury said:
He overcame the odds too much is what it comes down to for me. I didn't believe in his character because he never showed vulnerability, and if he did you knew he was going to overcome it. Like, remember the week he had to join the Nexus? And then they turned it around so quick and he beat them. He came back from being DDT'd on concrete to win a match, it insults the intelligence. It's not the 80's anymore, that type of character is boring.
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The Nexus were supposed to win that match. A week before Barret said they were penciled in to win and then when they got to the show a week later Hayes then pulled them aside and said they were putting Cena over.
 
Tagyhag

Tagyhag

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,472
RedMercury said:
He overcame the odds too much is what it comes down to for me. I didn't believe in his character because he never showed vulnerability, and if he did you knew he was going to overcome it. Like, remember the week he had to join the Nexus? And then they turned it around so quick and he beat them. He came back from being DDT'd on concrete to win a match, it insults the intelligence. It's not the 80's anymore, that type of character is boring.
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Yeah that's probably the worst part about it.

Not that he just won, but he would win after getting beaten up for 30 minutes and then win after 1 AA and do a promo like nothing happened.

Happened against Lesnar and the Miz + His minion.
 
sibarraz

sibarraz

Prophet of Regret - One Winged Slayer
Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
18,094
Cena should have been a bigger star than what we got, charismatic as fuck and overall a good wrestler.
 
Powdered Egg

Powdered Egg

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
17,070
Wasn't a fan tbh.

His song Time's Up is better than it needs to be. His cousin Trademarc wan't bad neither.
 
The Silver

The Silver

Member
Oct 28, 2017
10,708
Cena in his most recent runs has been great but yeah I stopped watching during peak Super Cena era, missed all that Nexus stuff for instance. Didn't come back until the CM Punk pipebomb.
 

Bundy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
20,931
Last good thing WWE produced was when CM Punk owned him at Money in the Bank in Chicago.
 
Duncan

Duncan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,940
It was a creative black hole with a decade worth of terrible decisions that had the company built this irrational resentment to the still watching audience.

History has since been very kind to Cena himself mostly because he himself is a legit national treasure through no control Vince or the company itself.

But the Justin Bieber jokes and the borderline homophobia in his earlier days to the fat-shaming of Vickie Guererro; I think boiled down to its worthless creative staff at the time.
 
Sibersk Esto

Sibersk Esto

Changed the hierarchy of thread titles
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Oct 25, 2017
16,479
Looking at w/L percentages (Hogan, Bret, Austin) Cena is pretty close to them during their top runs

https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=504&page=22&type=byYear&eventType=TV-Show|Pay+Per+View
https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=565&page=22&type=byYear&eventType=TV-Show|Pay+Per+View
https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=635&page=22&type=byYear&eventType=TV-Show|Pay+Per+View
https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=691&page=22&type=byYear&eventType=TV-Show|Pay+Per+View

It was the storylines that really let him down. Everything against him just lost momentum forever ala Hogan, and fans had gotten used to the Attitude Era having a stable of top guys that stayed over and on top after losses
 
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LiQuid!

LiQuid!

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,986
I didn't watch any wrestling during the Super Cena era, so I don't have a strong opinion on it, but I have watched thru almost all of the Make Roman Look Strong era, and it seems like the same shit with a different guy.

The problem is, Roman, like Cena is probably the most charismatic, larger than life character they have on the roster... Vince is not wrong in crowning either of them as His Guy, but in trying to book them to be the next Hogan/Austin figurehead of the company, it makes for completely stale, repetitive, and abysmal viewing. I have a ton of respect for both Cena and Roman as workers, talkers and all around good dudes, but I still find it hard to accept Vince's Guy they way I loved Hulk as a kid. Cena and Roman are clearly a hit with today's kids (and probably ladies), which also lends support to Vince being right to push them as top guys. Yet, here we are, all us 18+ male smarks hate these guys and their runs and the ratings tanking proves it. I dunno what the solution is
 
Man God

Man God

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,300
Sibersk Esto said:
Looking at w/L percentages (Hogan, Bret, Austin) Cena is pretty close to them during their top runs

https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=504&page=22&type=byYear&eventType=TV-Show|Pay+Per+View
https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=565&page=22&type=byYear&eventType=TV-Show|Pay+Per+View
https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=635&page=22&type=byYear&eventType=TV-Show|Pay+Per+View
https://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=691&page=22&type=byYear&eventType=TV-Show|Pay+Per+View

It was the storylines that really let him down. Everything against him just lost momentum forever ala Hogan, and fans had gotten used to the Attitude Era having a stable of top guys that stayed over and on top after losses
Click to expand...
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Cena's run was also...fives times longer than Austin's and double that of Hogan's.
 
krae_man

krae_man

Master of Balan Wonderworld
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,594
The worst part was the never tapping out. After tapping out to Angle in the number one contenders match at No Way out prior to Wrestlemania XX, he never tapped out again. We are talking 15 years of no tapping.

Every single match he had with someone that had a submission move as a finisher ended up being garbage because you couldn't suspend disbelief and think it's possible he taps any time the submission hold was applied and if Cena was losing the match, it had to end with terrible nonsense to work around the whole no tapping thing.

Look at this crap:



Del Rio pins Cena on a PPV with a random thrust kick to win a title like they are a couple of garbage indie wrestlers who don't know what the hell they are doing.

And once the insane no tapping streak got started, did they give somebody a rub by being the first person in 10+ years to make him tap like Daniel Bryan? Russev? etc? Of course not.

All those I Quit matches were so terrible. Nobody believed Cena might actually tap. Imagine in one of those I Quit Matches with Orton. Cena is handcuffed to the ropes/ringpost and after taking a bunch of kendo stick hits or something and not quitting, Randy gets frustrated and turns Cena Sr sitting ringside. Grabs him by the head and sets up his delayed DDT with Cena SR's legs on the barricade. Orton Looks at Cena and says "Either you quit, or I'm dropping your dad on his head". Cena Quits and Orton murders daddy anyway(Which Cena would deserve mind you since he's continued to attack after his opponent quit in I Quit matches multiple times but I digress).

The amount of heat Orton would have got from that would have been insane and the Cena revenge tour after that would have been insane and fans would have ate that up. But nope, cancer kids or something.

The other thing that was annoying was that even if Cena was in a blood feud with his mortal enemy who murdered his puppy. He still came out all smiles and happy, made his 4th wall breaking quip to the camera and did his 658 "buy my crap" poses before the start of every match.
 
Sibersk Esto

Sibersk Esto

Changed the hierarchy of thread titles
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Oct 25, 2017
16,479
CrocoDuck

CrocoDuck

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,287
It was bad, and pretty much killed the product and probably the entire company for worse.

Cena as a person seems like a really cool guy and despite being vehemently hated by hardcore fans, he will have his due respect when he retires and enters their hall of fame.
 
Man God

Man God

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,300
Cena needed two things in the past decade that never happened.

1. A run as Juan Cena after Nexus got him fired from the company.

2. A bunch of vignettes of him training a new finisher after realizing that everyone kicks out of the FU.
 
SonicXtreme

SonicXtreme

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,713
he was a character for kids, no one cares that the smarks aren't fans when kids are the ones asking for all the cena gear and he outsells everyone else tenfold

that said i'd love an NWO turn someday, too bad it can't happen bc chain gang cena was so hatable when it first happened but....nowadays it just gives me nostalgia bubbles of awesomeness
 
deimosmasque

deimosmasque

Ugly, Queer, Gender-Fluid, Drive-In Mutant, yes?
Moderator
Apr 22, 2018
14,164
Tampa, Fl
I am Era of monthly pay-per-views the unstoppable face doesn't really work the same way it did in the 80s.

The reason someone like Hogan worked then was because they would take months of build up to get to that single match and (usually) make the person Hogan was going to face look like he could actually win.

And it worked because it was built and built and you got hyped.

It helped that for all his faults in the ring when Hogan sells, he fucking sells. (also the reason Hollywood Hogan worked. He could let the baby face kick his ass and you could believe thye had a chance)

Cena has always been a good worker, but his selling was shit so when the heels got the upper hand you didn't really belive it. So the formula was fucked up on top of there being no hype.
 
Net_Wrecker

Net_Wrecker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,734
The Cena run is one of the direct causes of where they are now, and i think will be looked back on with even heavier criticism than it received as it happened. It was a dismal creative period leading to what's turned into their biggest creative slump since the early-mid 90s, and completely crippled Roman Reigns before he had a chance to get off the ground, among many others.

Cena is a very charismatic guy, and under the right creative direction could've been salvaged for the whole audience instead of just children, but they refused to let him evolve and he'll be unfairly tainted forever.
 
Brinbe

Brinbe

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
58,034
Terana
Yes, they never passed the torch and properly created new stars. Rememeber when he buried the entire nexus with that ddt on concrete???

It was roman booking before roman. It worked with Cena (and Hogan) because John's legit talented, already won everyone over with his great midcard heel run but he didn't do enough to spread the love until the end when he was the clear ace. He was just fed and fed.
 
LiQuid!

LiQuid!

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,986
Sibersk Esto said:
Well we liked Austin. Everyone did, the entire time. There has to be something there.
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We were teens and liked edgy bullshit?

Not to presume the age of anybody participating in this thread, but anybody in their 30s now grew up seeing Hulkamania as a child, and Austin 3:16 as a teen, and both of those acts were kind of catered to our tastes. The Cena years was basically Vince resetting and trying to appeal to a younger crowd again and us old fucks aged out of it. Ditto for Roman. These characters are really hot with kids, but booked in a way that doesn't appeal to adults dads.
 
PROh1bited

PROh1bited

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,699
I remember one time Cena took a DDT to the concrete under the padding around the ring, and he still won the match.
 
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