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Post by 1 Free Moon-Down with Burger on Mar 15, 2019 19:31:51 GMT -5
I don't think Cena trickled down on anything, considering he never put anyone over. It's actually worth asking. Who came out of a feud with Cena unquestionably the better man? Bryan beat him at Summerslam but they made a huge deal out of Cenas elbow. No they didn't. It didn't even play into the finish of the match at all. Cena cut a promo saying Bryan beat him decisively and it had nothing to do with his elbow. He was talking about the elbow because he was literally leaving for surgery and it was an explanation on why he wouldn't be around. When Bryan and Cena faced off later on at the Elimination Chamber, Bryan got the best of him in their exchanges. |
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JCBaggee
Hank Scorpio
Writer, streamer. I used to write for CBR but then they fired everyone who cared about their writers
Posts: 6,791
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Post by JCBaggee on Mar 15, 2019 19:32:07 GMT -5
I'd say Cena did a lot for Nikki Bella.
That's not even a nepotism or sexism remark, Nikki and Brie were escorting guest hosts to the ring before it was revealed they were dating. It put more eyes on her and say what you will, she did step up in the spotlight.
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Post by King Devitt and the Woke Mob on Mar 15, 2019 19:39:36 GMT -5
AJ is the closest, but Styles losing the title in yet another filler reign for Cena at the Rumble really took some shine off. Cena's said before that he hasn't had his greatest rivalry yet, but that's because they don't let anyone rival him. He ALWAYS has to get the last win or winS in the case of people like Owens and Wyatt. AJ should have been the guy that Cena couldn't crack, the dude that always had his number, and could have easily been Cena's greatest foe if they were smarter. Honestly, Cena's done way more harm than good. For people's pushes, for fans who got sick of it and stopped watching. One of the MANY reasons I can't stand him, and will never see him as a top tier elite talent. That and his actual wrestling style, like Magic would say, is buns.  |
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Post by Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) on Mar 15, 2019 19:42:51 GMT -5
AJ has Their feud is looked at as an even split, even if Cena did end his first title reign it was only a transition reign. When AJ beat Cena clean he was still one of the only few to do so and it gave AJ that edge on his heel turn and cemented as a big time player
Had AJ not lost at the Rumble or lost the belt to someone else I would have agreed. But he dropped down the card to opening with Shane and then hanging in the US title picture until they gave up on Jinder. Again, Cena didn't ruin him but he did not definitively put him over. Not in the way that for example HHH put Batista over or Andre put Hogan over. I disagree on the Shane match
That wasn't a drop down the card at all imo, it was a featured one on one program
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Post by A Platypus Rave is Correct on Mar 15, 2019 19:45:37 GMT -5
It's actually worth asking. Who came out of a feud with Cena unquestionably the better man? Bryan beat him at Summerslam but they made a huge deal out of Cenas elbow. No they didn't. It didn't even play into the finish of the match at all. Cena cut a promo saying Bryan beat him decisively and it had nothing to do with his elbow. He was talking about the elbow because he was literally leaving for surgery and it was an explanation on why he wouldn't be around. When Bryan and Cena faced off later on at the Elimination Chamber, Bryan got the best of him in their exchanges. Yeah, the only reason the elbow was brought up was because... it was f***ing obvious there was something wrong with it because "it looked like a nerf football" But they never tried to say that the only reason Bryan won was because Cena's elbow was messed up... they went well out of their way to point out no the elbow looks funky but Cena is absolutely 100%. |
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Venti
Unicron
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Post by Venti on Mar 15, 2019 19:50:35 GMT -5
I think he helped take off some of the stigma of WWE being trashy and smutty, which might have brought some fans back who were turned off by Attitude and/or the RA era.
When Cena became top guy you actually saw more families in the crowd again.
That's really all I got.
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Post by Brian Suntan on Mar 15, 2019 19:57:48 GMT -5
His entire being as the embodiment of 'who they want you to cheer', helped RVD, Punk and then Bryan get over massively. And provided three great moments, two of which are genuinely iconic.
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Post by Rudy Gobert Fingers on Mar 15, 2019 19:59:55 GMT -5
I need Kane to explain this to me
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Post by HMARK Center on Mar 15, 2019 20:07:28 GMT -5
I say this as someone who's seen a share of Cena matches, but not consistent, weekly viewing: I always felt that Cena, once he was on top, had the same problem as a babyface that Reign of Terror Triple H had as a heel: he could have dramatic matches (even a couple 5-star affairs, at least in Meltzer's opinion), but the problem, to me at least, was that far, far too much of the drama stemmed less from any compelling narrative or strong in-ring storytelling and action, and much more from a meta, non-kayfabe feeling in the audience of "Oh my God, are they finally going to book this guy to lose now?"
In my book, that was always a strike against each guy during their runs on top. It's fine for crowds to want to see top guys taken down after a time, that's kind fo what they're there for, but in the case of both Trips and Cena it wasn't really fun to watch, it was more genuine frustration because the people who lost to them rarely came out looking better for it and didn't go on to do a lot of interesting stuff, and neither guy was that compelling as a champion where you could at least say "Well, they won, but I can't wait to see what they'll do next in the ring/in the storylines."
Plus in Cena's case, it did seem after awhile that his in-ring work was becoming almost a parody of "WWE main event style" wrestling, with its emphasis on endless finishers/kickouts to generate drama. Not to say Cena was incapable of good work, mind you, the guy got a lot better over time at working a crowd and knowing how to take the room's temperature, but I just remember things like his Rumble match with Styles suffering (in my opinion, at least) due to that.
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BorneAgain
Fry's dog Seymour
Posts: 20,459
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Post by BorneAgain on Mar 15, 2019 20:43:58 GMT -5
The odd contradiction was that Cena's handling was a net benefit and PR godsend in everything but the booking of talent. He was a fantastic ambassador who helped WWE recover immensely in the public eye after the Benoit tragedy, did an exhausting amount of promotion for them, never had a scandal attached to his name, and sold more shirts to kids and families than we'll ever know.
In terms of being utilized to put people over? It was never done as effectively as it really could have been. Because he was on television full time in full matches and working basically every PPV, the superman comebacks and endless victories burned out the audience far quicker than previous top guys did. The character became stale and even with how good his ringwork was couldn't wholly overcome the repetitive nature of his booking or the fact that even when not as champion he was still highlighted as the top guy. Just as an example, the significance of Brock's squashing of him at Summerslam 14 itself got a bit tarnished by the lackluster follow-up at Night of Champions with Brock seemingly saved via Seth Rollins interference a month later.
By the time Cena did start becoming a bit more vulnerable and used in a non-main event roles ostensibly to help get some talent over, even if it had gotten executed well (which is up for debate), the audience buzz for it wasn't there anymore. Even the booing towards him these last few years feeels like something done out of habit than actual antipathy. The AJ feud helped Styles more than it hurt him, yet even that couldn't finish without a rather unnecessary Cena title victory and meaningless praise from the latter afterward when he spent the buildup burying him. Since then, he just doesn't feel as if he matters anymore. Yeah, they do the pinfall victories by Nakamura and Reigns over him, and on paper its significant but with Cena being part time and clearly not the focus of the show, it feels less like a victory over 1986 Ric Flair and more like one over a 2006 Ric Flair.
Its novel that they aren't as protective over his booking, but the whole endeavor of someone beating Cena now seems too little, too late.
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Post by ChitownKnight on Mar 15, 2019 20:56:17 GMT -5
AJ has Their feud is looked at as an even split, even if Cena did end his first title reign it was only a transition reign. When AJ beat Cena clean he was still one of the only few to do so and it gave AJ that edge on his heel turn and cemented as a big time player
Had AJ not lost at the Rumble or lost the belt to someone else I would have agreed. But he dropped down the card to opening with Shane and then hanging in the US title picture until they gave up on Jinder. Again, Cena didn't ruin him but he did not definitively put him over. Not in the way that for example HHH put Batista over or Andre put Hogan over. AJ literally won the wwe title in the next ppv, which obviously made him a major enough player to win the wwe title for a YEAR. Yeah Cena got his win back but he’s 2-1 against him on ppv |
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mrbananagrabber
King Koopa
Paul Heyman's unofficial joke writer
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Post by mrbananagrabber on Mar 15, 2019 20:58:45 GMT -5
An enormous bunch of sick Make a Wish kids had their days made.
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Post by BoomPeriod on Mar 15, 2019 21:25:58 GMT -5
Applejuice. He put over applejuice.
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Post by The Heartbreak TWERK on Mar 15, 2019 21:28:45 GMT -5
Austin really trickled down on Arn Anderson. Homicide almost trickled down on CM Punk. I GOTTA TRICKLE YO! |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2019 21:30:14 GMT -5
No they didn't. It didn't even play into the finish of the match at all. Cena cut a promo saying Bryan beat him decisively and it had nothing to do with his elbow. He was talking about the elbow because he was literally leaving for surgery and it was an explanation on why he wouldn't be around. When Bryan and Cena faced off later on at the Elimination Chamber, Bryan got the best of him in their exchanges. Yeah, the only reason the elbow was brought up was because... it was f***ing obvious there was something wrong with it because "it looked like a nerf football" But they never tried to say that the only reason Bryan won was because Cena's elbow was messed up... they went well out of their way to point out no the elbow looks funky but Cena is absolutely 100%. Seriously I could maybe see this if Cena got his win back or if Bryan has beaten him due to his arm but they literally gave Bryan a brand new finisher to debut in that match for a reason. Either Cena wouldn't tap or so that they wouldn't have Cena's arm be part of the finish. Believe what you want depending on your point of view I guess. |
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Post by 1 Free Moon-Down with Burger on Mar 15, 2019 21:30:47 GMT -5
I don't know how people can say that Cena didn't help CM Punk.
Would that match and program at MiTB be half of what it was if he was going against R-Truth or even Rey Mysterio? Backstage reports at the time even say that Cena requested to work with Punk as his last feud. What happens if they don't give Cena what he wants at that moment? Ashton Kutcher butterfly effect shit.
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Mar 15, 2019 23:02:42 GMT -5
Word Life, this is basic Reaganomics?
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Post by The Thread Barbi on Mar 16, 2019 0:10:40 GMT -5
I'd say Cena did a lot for Nikki Bella. That's not even a nepotism or sexism remark, Nikki and Brie were escorting guest hosts to the ring before it was revealed they were dating. It put more eyes on her and say what you will, she did step up in the spotlight. Well I'm sure he trickled down on Nicole many times! |
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chazraps
Wade Wilson
Better have my money when I come-a collect!
Posts: 28,249 
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Post by chazraps on Mar 16, 2019 0:11:33 GMT -5
Amazing f***ing post. Hall of fame post right here. Wow. |
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Post by A Platypus Rave is Correct on Mar 16, 2019 0:18:29 GMT -5
I'd say Cena did a lot for Nikki Bella. That's not even a nepotism or sexism remark, Nikki and Brie were escorting guest hosts to the ring before it was revealed they were dating. It put more eyes on her and say what you will, she did step up in the spotlight. the Bellas have ALWAYS been loved by management well before they started dating Cena and Bryan. Hell they demanded to be moved to the main roster or they were quitting and instead of just letting them go on Smackdown Brie debuted. Nikki only started dating Cena at some point in 2012 and by that point Brie and Nikki were already with the company for five years, Brie had held the divas title... Nikki held it briefly in 2012 (like a week)... and then they left the company for like a year before the company hired them back. The WWE brass have ALWAYS been high on the Bella Twins. |
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