Regardless of how you feel about Cena, you have to admit that he’s practically a deity in the eyes of the 8- to 14-year-old crowd. And this being wrestling, you can rest assured that no one is too popular to turn heel unexpectedly. The Rock did it, Stone Cold did it, each member of the McMahon family has done it at least once — I eagerly anticipate Cena’s turn. Not because I want to see the return of Cena’s freestyle rapping character, mind you. I want to see the look of pain and betrayal on the faces of the 10-year-olds in the arena that night. It’s going to be the best heel turn since Cujo.
YOU CAN’T WRESTLE!! YOU CAN’T WRESTLE!! This is where I’ll have to leave the argument as a matter of personal opinion. Cena’s in-ring ability has been the subject of nigh-endless debate on WrestleZone’s forums. If you’re a casual reader of this site, and you’re interested in this subject, you may want to chime in on the post titled "The *Official* John Cena Thread." After reading through a good chunk of the entries and re-watching quite a few of Cena’s vintage (copyright Michael Cole) matches, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve been too harsh in my judgments over the years. Cena was able to draw out a few of the best performances I’ve ever seen from the likes of Umaga, JBL, and the aforementioned Great Khali. Triple H also seemed to really rise to the occasion when fighting Cena. And he’s had exceptional programs with Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, and Edge.
Regardless of how you feel about those individual feuds, you have to admit that Cena produced one of the most memorable WrestleMania moments of all time. Sure, he only had them up for a moment, but you’re lying if you say you didn’t mark out when Cena picked up Big Show and Edge at the same time at WrestleMania XXV.
And maybe, in the end, that’s the criteria I should be judging John Cena by. No, he’ll never be my favorite wrestler. But for those of you who wrote me to keep me honest, I’ll admit that you’re right: he’s anything but an albatross around the neck of the WWE.
Michael Sullivan can be reached at michael.sullivan23@gmail.com.
