While I may not be the biggest John Cena fan going, I have to admit its been one hell of a journey for him over the last 10 years since his debut in WWE. I still remember his first match against Kurt Angle on SmackDown, where he impressed everyone by hanging with the Olympic Gold Medalist. And then beating Chris Jericho in his first Pay Per View match. All within one month of debuting!
He then fell into obscurity for a while, where he developed his rapper gimmick after turning heel, before reemerging as the No 1 contender to Brock Lesnar’s WWE Championship in 2003. Seems surreal they fought 9 years ago before they became household names but there you go. Anything can happen in wrestling!
From there, he became popular with the fans, culminating in his first WWE Championship victory at WrestleMania 21. Despite this success, many fans began turning on the Chain Gang leader over the rest of 2005 into 2006. Gone was the rapper gimmick and hello to the “Hustle, Loyalty and Respect” side of Cena. The fans hated this gimmick more, especially after Cena dominated with a year long WWE title reign on RAW from 2006-2007.
Despite this, Cena remains popular with the kids and parents, whilst the hardcore fans mostly despise him and all that he stands for. As much as I can’t stand Cena at times, he is the face of the WWE. He is their moneymaking machine and the man has mainstream success in films and charities. If anything, that is what characterises Cena more than anything.
Its been one hell of a 10 year journey for Cena so far. I say congratulations on his journey so far.
The Wrestling Ministry (TWM) 