Recent Posts

Yes, there's another thread about this. But I need to rant. It's important for me to rant about this, actually to more or less save face. The reason being, if I don't, I'll feel like a hypocrite.

I bash the X-Division (specifically the Motor City Machine Guns) for their bad selling. I've bashed indy wrestlers for bad selling. Selling is a huge pet peeve of mine, because it's hard to stay in a match where guys aren't selling. Back in the day, you didn't have that as much.

Now, with guys on the indies for example, one excuse could be poor training. Frightmare for example in Chikara is the worst seller I've seen in wrestling, but I can give him the benefit of the doubt that he's green. But, this has to be brought up, and there is another thread about it, but this is important.

John Cena's selling is horrendous.

Now, when thinking about what to discuss in this rant, a few things need to be brought up. The Superman comeback is not new in pro wrestling. From listening to shoot interviews (*gasp* yes, I know, I'm using information from people who know better to base my points, I know some people aren't into that), examples like Wahoo McDaniels wardance (later taken up by Tatanka, or was it Jay Strongbow, maybe I should research this more). Jerry Lawler did it with pulling the strap down, where he was beaten to the point where he just couldn't take it anymore and fired back. And of course, Hulk Hogan's infamous "Hulking up" lead to many dramatic moments in WWE.

Now, these were done by very experienced wrestlers and great workers. Not all the most athletic, but when it came to drawing money, they knew how to do it. Some guys today can't really pull it out as well, but are pretty good with their comebacks as well, and their selling. Jeff Hardy is a good example of someone who sold really well, and that helped make him a great babyface. So, while it can't be done by everyone, if done correctly, it can be very dramatic.

Sympathy is another topic when it comes to babyfaces and selling. And this is one problem with Cena. Cena doesn't look like a bad ass in the same vein as, the Road Warriors. So, being a kick ass babyface who sells poorly is tough for him, because while he's certainly a big dude, he's not the biggest of the big. And guys who aren't can get a lot of mileage out of sympathy. This past Raw, Shawn Michaels proved that. What a dramatic and epic match he was in, and the crowd was going nuts, they were just begging for that hot tag. And when he finally got it, the crowd went wild. That's sympathy. Guys like him, Steamboat, Ricky Morton, they made a killing off of sympathy. And with Ricky Morton, he would sell so well, and had so much sympathy, that there would be girls in the crowd crying. And when it came too him getting lucky with the chicks, Honky Tonk Man said you had to beat the broads off of him.

And with Cena, when he's getting beat up, he sells really well. Hell, that's a lot more then I can say for a lot of wrestlers. It at least builds up a drama, instead of giving out none. But, if the guy is punted in the head, and he's up a few minutes later and is out the next night, something's wrong. Or when he's getting all excited the next night, running around like an idiot. I mean, at least with Orton, he does a slow walk to the ring as if he was hurt the night before. And, it's crapping on the fans. Because, supposedly, he is getting his strength and determination from them. They are helping add to the drama, they are getting behind him, they are giving him confidence and motivation. But, hell, in the end, oh wait, he wasn't really hurt after all, so he didn't need your support. So f*** you fans! And not only is it a f*** you to the fans, it's a f*** you to everyone who's taken the punt. Batista, Triple H, CM Punk, Ric Flair, I'm probably forgetting a few. But what, is Cena somehow so much more powerful then all those guys. I mean, getting kicked in the temple has the potential to do some major brain damage, and Cena is up a few minutes later (now, usually there are two sides to reporting what happens on the pay per view, the person's perspective, and what actually happens, and sometimes it's a bit different, so someone correct me on that if I'm wrong).

And like, Raven said it best. People who can take a beating and it doesn't hurt, they're not tough. The guy who gets the crap kicked out of him, and comes back for more is the real tough guy. I'll give an example from MMA. I was watching the pay per view after the last one, it was Randy Couture against some guy. And Randy is about 46, so he goes in with a disadvantage because of his age. And Randy was getting the fudge beat out of him, but he would always manage to escape and fight back. And the crowd ate it up. They loved every second of it. When Randy started making his comeback, the crowd would cheer more. He lost in the end though, but at the end of the fight, the crowd still loved him, because he tried hard, and he fought hard, and at the end, he was selling and everything, and the crowd loved him more for trying. Now I'm not saying it was fixed, but that shows a real life example of sympathy, and that these are concepts that should be focused on in wrestling.

Now Batista, he gets a lot of flack, and I think Cena is much better in the ring then him, but Batista sells a lot better then Cena, which is odd, because Batista looks more bad ass looking then Cena. He's like a Hulk Hogan in the selling department, in that he may not be the most athletic, but he knows how to sell better then Cena and get the crowd into the match.

And, these concepts can help build the ratings. Because pro wrestling is a drama, and selling is the most important part of wrestling. If this guy is just invincible, then it's going to be hard to get behind him when he's down, because you don't need to get behind him, he's going to comeback anyway. And, all the top babyfaces in wrestling did that. Rock did it. Austin did it. Hogan did it. Hart did it. Michaels did it. Why can't Cena do it?