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Post by Cyno on Apr 14, 2021 12:40:55 GMT -5
The think people forget is before Cena won the world title he was arguably the most popular act in the company and it wasn't even close. Yeah a portion of the audience turned on Cena after the move to raw and he became Super Cena. And even during his time on top Cena sold a lot of merchandise. Roman was part of a very popular group but before they made him the guy he was neither as over as a singles guy nor did he ever move the merchandise He was arguably the least popular member of the Shield, too. Like, Roman did his role well as the muscle of the group and was liked well enough, but Seth and Dean always felt like either would be the breakout star. Roman's huge push felt forced when the fans were solidly behind Rollins as the sleazebag heel and Dean as underdog face.
And yeah, while everyone remembers Cena's time as SuperCena, he was incredibly over on Smackdown, even after he first won the WWE Championship from JBL. The turn against him didn't really start until he and Batista switched brands.
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Bad Moon
Unicron
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Post by Bad Moon on Apr 14, 2021 12:46:25 GMT -5
Yeah and people wanted Cena to become champion, people were lukewarm on Roman. Take Cena's first seven manias in the top of the card vs. Romans. vs. JBL vs. HHH vs. HBK vs. HHH vs. Orton vs. Big Show vs. Edge vs. Batista vs. Miz vs. Lesnar (vs. Rollings) vs. Triple H vs. Undertaker vs. Lesnar vs. Drew vs. Covid vs. Edge vs. Bryan One of these things is much better than the other. Using only Wrestlemania (and not even all their Mania apperances) to judge someone's run feels like cherry-picking, but the picture certainly isn't pretty. They've either had a lot more confidence in Cena than in Reigns, or they had more confidence in the rest of their roster during Cena's time on top than during Roman's. 6 out of the 7 Cena matches were against contemporary top stars (IIRC HBK was already on his Rumble-til-Summerslam schedule at Mania 23), 5 out of the 6 Reigns matches involved legends on a comeback run.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2021 13:19:45 GMT -5
Roman has finally found his footing recently but it’s still unfair to compare him to Cena. Cena was way more over, had more great matches, more great promos and drew more money. Cena could make the most of bad material in a way that Roman just couldn’t. And if you’re a top guy in WWE the reality is you’re going to have to deal with a lot of bad material. He could take a hostile crowd and whip them into a frenzy with a promo or do something to get them into a match. Roman was like a deer in the headlights most of the time. If things weren’t going well he didn’t know how to improvise and turn the tide. How many times did he have major matches that were hijacked by fans or just ignored? Remember that run in 2018 when he faced Lesnar, Joe and Jinder in consecutive PPVs and fans were literally leaving the arena during his matches? It was brutal. Yeah and people wanted Cena to become champion, people were lukewarm on Roman. Take Cena's first seven manias in the top of the card vs. Romans. vs. JBL vs. HHH vs. HBK vs. HHH vs. Orton vs. Big Show vs. Edge vs. Batista vs. Miz vs. Lesnar (vs. Rollings) vs. Triple H vs. Undertaker vs. Lesnar vs. Drew vs. Covid vs. Edge vs. Bryan One of these things is much better than the other. Roman arguably has 3 of the bottom 5 worst Wrestlemania main events ever. That 2016-18 run was terrible. That's why I think this year was so important because he hadn't had a good Mania match since 2015. Thankfully that triple threat was great. |
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Post by cfbsicko on Apr 14, 2021 13:21:41 GMT -5
Cena and it's not even close. Cena is the last babyface since Daniel Bryan to get organically over. Everything about Roman Reigns is a failed run. This Tribal Chief is good shit, but there's no credible babyface to go against him. A heel can't be "the guy".
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Post by 3cheers4ramirez on Apr 14, 2021 13:33:40 GMT -5
It's hard to judge at this stage, as Cena's now been away long enough that people have forgotten just how much they hated him.
Also, by far the most acclaimed period of Roman's time as the top guy has been in front of LED screens.
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Push R Truth
Patti Mayonnaise
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Post by Push R Truth on Apr 14, 2021 13:51:19 GMT -5
Watching Cena at One Night Stand against RVD is like watching a master at his best. Cena ate that hate up and crapped out gold.
When Roman was getting his SuperFaceRoman push and getting boos it was getting to him and affecting him. He'd get flustered and look like a dofus.
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Post by A Platypus Rave on Apr 16, 2021 19:29:08 GMT -5
The think people forget is before Cena won the world title he was arguably the most popular act in the company and it wasn't even close. Yeah a portion of the audience turned on Cena after the move to raw and he became Super Cena. And even during his time on top Cena sold a lot of merchandise. Roman was part of a very popular group but before they made him the guy he was neither as over as a singles guy nor did he ever move the merchandise Roman wasn't even the most popular guy to spin out of the Group... Dean routinely got the loudest pop of the night, but Vince went into his stubborn no it's the fans who are wrong mode and kept trying to push a square peg into a round hole.... especially since... It's hard to judge because Cena's is over. I guess Cena for having a higher average quality. Roman is honestly a better heel, but I feel like if/when he becomes face again, it's going to be better than his initial top face run because they stopped clowning around with stuff like the Undertaker feud where they refused to go all the way with the turn. They likely also won't try to make Roman everything for everyone... Literally go back to Roman's face run and answer me this question... WHO IS Roman Reigns... If you asked me on the spot to define the other faces of the company... John Cena was the dorky everyman, and hard work ethic can overcome obstacles. The Rock is a charismatic goof that will kick your ass if he needs to. Stone Cold was a Pissed Off Redneck that disrespected authority and did whatever the hell he wanted. Hogan is the 80's action superhero come to life... Roman though? he's the silent badass that makes wacky puns that doesn't need friends except when he does and he totally destroys his enemies but usually by flukey means... etc. etc. There was literally nothing to get behind because he would change his entire personality every time you saw him. Now that they gave him a definitive character with the Tribal Chief schtick. |
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Post by A Platypus Rave on Apr 16, 2021 19:41:15 GMT -5
I was as big a Cena hater as the next guy but he was undeniably the top guy and it felt that way. Roman’s face push always felt like Vince’s pet project that was going to be on top whether we liked it or not. I never bought into it myself, and largely tuned out during much of his run. It kinda felt similar too if they decided to continue trying to Push Orton as a face post Evolution breakup even though it was clearly not working like immediately... |
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nisidhe
Hank Scorpio
O Superman....O judge....O Mom and Dad....
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Post by nisidhe on Apr 16, 2021 20:09:47 GMT -5
There is no comparison. Cena was by far the better Top Guy, such that his shadow still hangs over the company nearly two years after his last appearance for them.
He was the force primarily responsible for the buildup of the company as a corporate entity _and_ as a corporate citizen. Even after Vince rendered those charitable endeavors to near ashes in the last few years, they've benefitted from Cena's personal leadership in those areas.
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Post by The Rick Jericho on Apr 16, 2021 20:24:17 GMT -5
Watching Cena at One Night Stand against RVD is like watching a master at his best. Cena ate that hate up and crapped out gold. When Roman was getting his SuperFaceRoman push and getting boos it was getting to him and affecting him. He'd get flustered and look like a dofus. Perfect example. |
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