“All things end. When it’s time to leave, leave them guessing,”
John Cena wrote in a Twitter post just days after his Firefly Funhouse loss to Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania.
Does this mean John Cena is finally done with WWE and wrestling as a whole? Is the pull of Hollywood just too strong for Cena to ignore? Was that disastrous gimmick Funhouse rubbish his last night as a WWE superstar? To quote the legendary Sting, “Nothing is for sure”. But it’s sure fun to ponder.
If this is indeed the end, then there’s no doubt about it that John Cena has had a Hall Of Fame-worthy career. From revolutionizing an entire era (Ruthless Aggression) to becoming WWE’s answer to Vanilla Ice and sixteen World Championship reigns, he has done it all in this business…. Except learn the art of selling, of course.
Not many in the world of wrestling have a bad word to say about Cena. Those who do are usually the talentless one-hit wonders who blamed Cena for burying their push, when in fact they should’ve thanked him for even sharing the ring with guys like Ryback and Alex freaking Riley. I’d have loved to see those fools back in the Attitude Era asking Stone Cold Steve Austin to do a program with them. Ask Jeff Jarrett how that one would’ve turned out.
Believe it or not, Cena has always been a ratings and box office draw for WWE, hence why Vince McMahon kept him on top for the better part of an entire decade. Hulk Hogan 2.0 without all the ego and vitamin supplements. I think I’m right in saying only Brock Lesnar has proven a bigger draw in the modern era, although even his star has dimmed in recent years. Cena still manages to draw a rating pop whenever he decides to leave the bright lights of Hollywood to cut a promo degrading the entire WWE roster.
John Cena, the character, is one of the most obnoxious, disrespectful bullies the business has ever seen. His raps were just an excuse to insult and ridicule his rivals in a very cutting, albeit funny, way. Even his more recent promo battles opposite The Miz, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles and Bray Wyatt only served in him protecting his spot by burying his opponent. Funny, he never did that with Brock Lesnar standing across the ring from him, isn’t it?
In the ring, he got better over time but unless he was in there with a super worker, the matches still weren’t exactly great. He mastered the power moves/kick out formula during his very successful United States Championship run, and stuck to that until he was permitted by Hollywood producers not to bump which is why we got that debacle known as the Firefly Funhouse.
Cena was at his best in 2015 because he was nowhere the main event, he wasn’t cutting scathing promos and he wasn’t wrestling the same match featuring the five moves of doom every week. Instead, he was issuing open challenges to help elevate mid-card talent by delivering stellar contests which were often the highlight of Raw.
By now you’ve probably realised I’m no John Cena fan, but I’m trying to be unbiased. He just doesn’t have that aura of a Rock, a Stone Cold, an Undertaker, or even a Triple H. His character still hasn’t evolved since 2005. He had a bigger grip on the main event picture than The King Of Kings ever did, but people conveniently don’t like to mention that. Cena played the political game better than anyone, and credit to him for making the most of what very little talent he has.
John Cena is still only 42 years old. I genuinely thought he was older. He could easily have another couple of runs left in him if he so wishes to do so. Let’s face it, he’s never going to become the next Robert De Niro. I would like to see a super arrogant version of Cena return, ala Rock circa 2003, where he finally embraces the hate and leans into his Hollywood persona. That won’t happen, but it would be a great possibility should Cena lace them up again.
What we will likely get if Cena ever does return is the same crappy Cena we have witnessed for the last decade and a half. There’s no question Vince McMahon wants to make him a 17 time World Champion and crown him as the greatest of all time. That will be the far more likely scenario to close the door on Cena’s wrestling career for good.
Surely, he can’t go out with that Firefly Funhouse rubbish being his last showing? I don’t care what anyone says, it was literally the worst thing ever produced in wrestling. If it was a throwaway comedy bit on one of WWE’s social media accounts, I’d have bought it. However, this was built as a marquee match on the biggest stage of them all. It was terrible. I guarantee, if they had shown that on the big screen in a packed out stadium, it would’ve been booed out of the building. Not that Cena isn’t used to that, of course.
So, if it is the end, then John Cena said it best when he told us we would be saying goodbye to the most overhyped and overrated WWE superstar of all time. Couldn’t have said it better myself, John. Enjoy riding The Rock’s coattails in Hollywood as you did in WWE.
Let’s wrap up, shall we? All jokes and banter aside, John Cena will legitimately go down as one of the best of all time. He seems a genuinely good, hard-working guy too. He does have my respect for his longevity in the business, and for what he has achieved. I wish him all the best in Hollywood, I really do. He deserves all the success that he gets.
And if it truly is the end, then I think I speak for everyone at TWM when I say thank you, John Cena.
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You can find the author of this article on Twitter @JK_CFC3. Thanks for reading!