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Post by Instant Classic on Jul 1, 2022 23:30:09 GMT -5
Looking back you had to brands and Batista was obviously ready as the seeds have been planted for months. Cena on the other hand was a mid card act at the time who was a hot fresh act. He was only a big deal as a face for a little over a year before he beat JBL. Obviously it was THE choice to have him win, but looking back at the trajectory of his career before the win, did it seem too early? They don’t make stars like they used to but if this happened nowadays it would seem like the star was getting hot shotted to the title.
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Post by saneiac on Jul 1, 2022 23:49:33 GMT -5
No.
By the time he won it, Cena had been a mid-card champion (US) three times, and had tried and failed to become WWE champion against both Brock Lesnar very early on and Kurt Angle a bit later. It was 2.5 years from the time he became heel rapper Cena to his WWE championship, and he was a pretty constant TV presence the entire time because people responded to him. He was one of the favorites to win the Rumble the year that he did because it felt like he was ready to be a main eventer.
If he had beaten Lesnar for the title when he was still rapping, then yeah, way too early (and that match being a great big bore kind of proved it). He beat JBL at the right time.
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chazraps
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Post by chazraps on Jul 2, 2022 0:03:37 GMT -5
Absolutely not. Cena could have won it at Mania XX and it wouldn't have seemed too soon or out of place. When you're that over while being that safe, it's not too soon.
And even if this happened today it still wouldn't be too soon. He debuted that character in December 2002 and won the title in April 2005 after winning his first singles title in March 2004 and, prior to that, had memorable feuds with Eddie Guerrero and The Undertaker. That's a steady ascension.
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Jul 2, 2022 5:05:57 GMT -5
Not at all, they really had built him pretty organically over the course of an entire year where the majority of the crowd wanted to see it From 20 to 21 there was a great run up to the title.
Now afterwards, they made him ironically a little too untouchable.
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Jul 2, 2022 5:59:43 GMT -5
It felt earned, I feel, and JBL made for a good foil for it.
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Post by Mid-Carder on Jul 2, 2022 6:10:29 GMT -5
No. It seemed that way later because of how they ran the character into the ground pretty much right away, but he was one of the most over guys on the roster at the time.
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Post by chronocross on Jul 2, 2022 6:46:17 GMT -5
I think it was at the right time, he spent all of 2004 in the U.S title picture feuding with guys like Big Show, Booker.T and Carlito. He was over like crazy and once 2005 rolled around they had to go with him as the guy to end JBL's reign of terror on Smackdown.
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Bad Moon
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Post by Bad Moon on Jul 2, 2022 6:58:23 GMT -5
Not at all. For one thing it was the Smackdown title at a time when Smackdown was firmly established as the B-show, so it wasn't the top belt (if you even subscribe to the notion that you have to "earn" a fictional wrestling championship which I don't) and for another thing he beat JBL for it who had absolutely no business holding it in the first place and had been champion for a year. If anything it should have happened months earlier than it did.
His first proper run on top on Raw, you could make an argument for, but I don't know if putting it off wouldn't have Roman Reignsed him in the long run.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2022 7:35:26 GMT -5
No, it was the perfect time booking wise. But he definitely struggled that first year. He was overshadowed by Batista whose popularity exploded and wasn't helped by the booking which exposed a still relatively indxperienced Cena. Sanding the edges off his gimmick and him being a pure white bread babyface when the live crowd wasn't responding to it didn't help. But he had some great matches, but the crowd turning on him the way it did wasn't great.
He really rose yo the occasion though around the Umaga feud. Having Edge as a hated villain against his helped massively to but those define his third reign which was arguably his absolute peak and was fantastic from match quality to booking.
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Post by Starshine on Jul 2, 2022 7:52:30 GMT -5
No, cause it's not like they were flush with strong alternatives; remember JBL was champion for that exact reason. He was also inarguably one of the most popular acts on the show with very little competition. Yes, his first reign sucked, but they had the right idea putting the belt on him.
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Post by EvenBaldobombHasAJob on Jul 2, 2022 7:54:43 GMT -5
no, he definitely won it at the right time. it was the follow up that was done poorly. a lot of people forget that Cena was chosen by the fans in the first place before his booking turned them against him.
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Post by Citizen Snips Has Left on Jul 2, 2022 12:21:19 GMT -5
I remember thinking it was Batista that won the belt too early. Yes, it was a great build to him turning on Triple H but prior to that, he was just the heavy for Evolution. If Orton’s face turn hadn’t flopped so miserably, I doubt Batista would’ve been in the main event mix. Cena had a much more defined character and rise to the title than Batista did.
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Post by simplydurhamcalling on Jul 2, 2022 18:30:31 GMT -5
It was perfect timing, you had JBL's run ready to end and a fresh babyface ready for his first run with the title all culminating at Wrestlemania.
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Post by Cranjis McBasketball on Jul 2, 2022 18:37:27 GMT -5
Nope. I hate the character, but it was the perfect time. His rise may have been when I started checking out, but there’s no denying it was his time.
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tirtefaa
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Post by tirtefaa on Jul 2, 2022 19:06:54 GMT -5
Nope.
However, having him go through almost every big name within the first year was a little much.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2022 22:12:25 GMT -5
They struck while the iron was hot. Something they forgot how to do over the last ten or so years.
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repomark
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Post by repomark on Jul 3, 2022 2:46:57 GMT -5
I remember expecting him to win the Royal Rumble in 2005, as he had world champ written all over him for some time. So definitely not too soon. The issue was more with them stripping away much of what got him over in the first place once he became champion.
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Post by Oh Cry Me a Screwball on Jul 3, 2022 4:13:31 GMT -5
No way. The timing was absolutely perfect, and as mentioned plenty of times already, it was the follow-up, particularly everything that happened when he got drafted to Raw, that made him such a polarizing figure.
In fact, they were seemingly treading water for a while in 2003, where he kept having big PPV matches with guys like Undertaker and Kurt Angle before turning face, but seemingly couldn't buy a win against any of these guys if his life depended on it.
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Post by Ozman on Jul 3, 2022 10:43:56 GMT -5
Not at all. In fact, at the time I wanted Cena to win the 2005 Rumble to set up his Mania match with JBL. I felt Batista didn’t need it because the tension between he and HHH was already there, and was a good enough reason for him to challenge for the title. Cena and JBL had no connection at the time, and a Rumble win could have established that. But it all worked out in the end.
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Post by Cyno on Jul 3, 2022 12:46:11 GMT -5
The reign itself was a mixed bag, but the actual win was perfect timing.
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