A WWE Without Cena Will Be Just Fine
When John Cena suffered a torn pectoral last fall that threatened to keep him on the sidelines for up to a year, the news hit WWE like a ton of bricks. WWE had been reeling from a plague of injuries that had affected many of its top stars for much of the year, and losing Cena - the company's top act and Raw's world champion at the time - seemed like a near-crippling blow.
Fast forward less than a year, and again WWE is facing the prospect of losing Cena indefinitely with a serious neck injury. Yet, this time I'm guessing WWE is not fretting nearly as much as they last fall. And that's a good thing.
For a combination of reasons, WWE is in good shape to weather Cena taking several months - or even a year - away from the ring. Although they may have to have been dragged kicking and screaming to do so, WWE has made strides this year in building new stars, and more importantly, the WWE roster is relatively healthy. Although Umaga, Randy Orton and Mr. Kennedy are on the DL, the company just got back Rey Mysterio and the Undertaker, which should make up for their losses.
As, I've mentioned before, the relative health of the WWE locker room - combined with the noticeable shrinking of many stars' physiques - may be evidence that WWE's wellness policy is finally taking hold.
But regardless of the fact that WWE has a strong bench ready to fill in for Cena, the fact is that the time may be right for Cena to take a break. In recent months, Cena's character has been as stale as ever. And while he was still getting gigantic pops from his fanbase, and I'm sure selling merchandise by the truck-full, he was walking in circles creatively. Some of that was inevitable. As WWE rightfully went another direction in the Raw world title program, Cena was forced into a mid-card role. What's more, without a title on the line, Cena was also in a position to regularly put opponents over - something he wasn't able to do for the more than two years that he dominated the world title picture.
But, for sure, WWE's creative team deserves a lot of blame for Cena's staleness. Besides just making him too vulnerable lately, they have done untold damage to Cena's hip factor with some of his awfully-scripted promos that have referenced Sally Jesse Raphael, chili cook-offs, and poopy.
It may only be eight months since Cena returned to WWE from his last injury hiatus, but he may have already overstayed his welcome. In fact, Cena's quick return from his last injury may have also contributed to his burn out. After two-plus years of Cena overload, fans were just getting used to him being gone when, just four months after his injury, there he was winning the Royal Rumble.
As the old adage goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Just look at Randy Orton. Fans are now clamoring for the Legend Killer to return to Raw and wreak havoc on the babyfaces. But when he left just a few months ago, Orton, too, was on the verge of staleness.
With Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio, Shawn Michaels, C.M. Punk, JBL, Batista, Kofi Kingston and others all ready to pick up the slack, Raw should not miss a beat without Cena.
The fact that Cena's departure likely won't be a major setback for WWE also, once again, illustrates a point that we heard a lot about in the wake of the Chris Benoit tragedy. WWE should - and can afford to - give wrestlers regular time off each year. Doing so would give wrestlers the opportunity to heal their injuries, rest their bodies, connect with their families and other interests, and perhaps most importantly, keep their heads on straight.
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Comments (29)
If Cena chooses fusion surgery on his neck, he might be out for more than a year. Ugh, if that's the case, that might hurt a lot more than what you say.
I just hope (in vain, I'm sure) that Thugonomics makes a comeback. I am one of the few "over 13 year & male" fans of Cena. After his last speech on Raw...bleeech! I had enough of him the way he is. I think he's a great worker & all that jazz, but the character is staler than than a month old pack of hot dog buns left in the garage. I can only hope that WWE sees this & somehow turns him around & brings back that white-boy who's ass I wanna kick hard, wearing Red Sox or Patriots Jersey in NY, with the master lock hanging around his neck...where is WORD LIFE??? The Chain Gang needs to be put away. Please bring out the lock & chain!
I doubt it'll happen. WWE will keep him away & expect him to get a huge pop upon his return, similiar to his appearance at the 2008 Royal Rumble.
Yo-yo-yo...check it!
Even if it was a year, it'll be fine. That's not to say that fans won't miss him, but it won't be crippling. It won't be the first time that a stop star - including Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock - took a long hiatus, and WWE survived. But I'm sure WWE will take a hit, especially with merchandise sales and their viewership among females and children. The key is to get behind acts that attract a similar fan base. Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio come to mind.
As for the return of Thugonomics, I'd be against it, as I am against the rehashing of most any old character. WWE should be moving forward, not backward. The fact is, onlya fraction of WWE fans - and less of Cena's - would even remember that character. That said, I wouldn't necessarily be averse to turning him heel. But even that may be a bad idea. If Cena is still making money as a babyface, and getting tremendous pops as he did at MSG Saturday night, then there's no need to change directions. It probably won't take such a radical move to freshen up Cena's act.
I say its time to get Jeff Hardy back on his monster push and put him in a match for the title. Let HHH be a heel again so we all have a reason to be sick of him as champ. I think a year without Cena will be great!
I didn't see Raw last night, but did read th results and saw the news about Cena. So it's definitely real? Not that I don't believe it could happen...just that you never know what's real and what's set up for storyline.
I'm also one of the "over 13" fans of Cena. When he cuts some of his serious promos, I think he's spot on. He works his ass off, talks well, and is pretty "media friendly." In my mind, he's still the best all-around guy the WWE has. (Edge is really good too, but I think he gets too over-the-top with some of his facial expressions and promos).
But I do agree about Cena getting stale. The corny jokes and cheesy personality stuff they've had him do at times is horrible. The character lost its edge and needs to gain it back.
I've read a lot of opinions that say Cena should turn heel with Cryme Time and form a "faction." I don't necessarily have a problem with that, as long as Cryme Time gets an "edge" too. They'd have to stop some of the hokey stuff for it to work, but I think the three of them could be effective playing off a gang dynamic.
Just my 2 cents.
The problem with Cena is the horribly scripted "NEVER SAY DIE POOPY HEAD" style promos he gives. If they let him ad-lib, he'd be much better off.
PWInsider.com is reporting that it look smore & more like Cena will be undergoing neck fusion surgery, which will keep him out until after Summerslam 2009.
PWInsider.com is reporting that it looks more & more like Cena will be undergoing neck fusion surgery, which will keep him out until after Summerslam 2009.
WWE.COM UPDATE, 5PM EST:
Dr. Maroon told WWE.com shortly after the operation:
"I think John’s prognosis is excellent," he added. "He should be able to return to wrestling in two to four months. John will be working out next week. We performed this same procedure on three all pro NFL players; and all three resumed their football careers.”
I'm in the middle in terms of Cena support. I think he's one of the better workers in the ring though he could use some new moves in his repertoire. And sometimes he can deliver a damned fine promo but other times there's things like "JBL IS POOPY".
He should take as much time as necessary. If he's gone for a year or more, that means that when he comes back there's gonna be a whole host of fresh faces in the main event scene and he'll have a new set of opponents to have matches with.
...and WWE expects Cena to return at the Survivor Series in his hometown of Boston.
m in the middle in terms of Cena support. I think he's one of the better workers in the ring though he could use some new moves in his repertoire. And sometimes he can deliver a damned fine promo but other times there's things like "JBL IS POOPY".>>>
I agree. I respect Cena's efforts and love of the business, but rolled my eyes when he did something like this or gives the third-grade level promos. And while he had been on a losing role lately, he did have enough Superman to go over the tag-team champs last week, which is always frustrating. I think Rhodes and DiBiase have enough potential to be big-time players, but they now have to overcome getting buried in that match.
First of all, Rhodes & DiBiase were far from buried. They lost a handicap match. Happens on the time so it doesn't make them unique. The bigger star won, and while it may offend the sensibilities of some, that's just the way it is. Rhodes & DiBiase are no worse off this week than they were a week ago.
As for Cena, WWE has done a tremendous job of ruining Cena during his non-title run this year. Before his injury Cena was THE guy not just in WWE, but in all of wrestling. He stepped his game up in the ring, he was a great ambassador for the company, he was a merchandise machine, he seemed to be totally committed to the company, and no matter where he was he illicited some sort of reaction. You don't get guys like that every day. His return at the Royal Rumble was such a huge moment (go back and watch that reaction if you don't believe me) and months of jobbing and feuding with JBL later and WWE has seemingly done something that TNA is notorious for: making their top star "just another guy."
There were instances in the build to the Triple H and Batista matches where they treated Cena like the star he should have been, but for the most part he faded into the scenery. I'm not saying he needed to be given the Superman push of his championship days (although in my opinion I think he performs best in that role, but I admit I am biased), nor does he have to be in the title hunt at all times, but WWE needed to do a better job of keeping him the special attraction that he was established as before his injury. Having him write "poopy" and feuding him with JBL is not the way to do that.
With luck WWE will handle his next injury return with more care than this one. They won't be able to luck into as perfect of an actual return moment, but hopefully they will be able to recapture the same Cena magic that they had in 2007.
I miss the days when a wrestler would be injured, then they would do a angle to explain the injury and have a ready-made storyline for when he returns. Granted, WWE usually botches the angle(Austin getting run down, Holly getting revenge against Angle), but it is at least effort. Although when it works(like LOD breaking one of the Godwins necks, HBK kicked Marty through the Barber Shop window, Jake getting blinded by Rick Martel, HBK and Jericho) it makes a rivalry red hot. But i guess they don't want to "unsult our intelligence" so they just come out and say "so and so is injured, he's out for X months, deal with it!"
From pwinsider.com, Mr. Kennedy is undergoing shoulder surgery & will be out 4-6 months. Oh boy...
Why are you posting news from pwinsider.com cisco II? Thats all you do on this site. I think most people that read this site know a wrestling news site too. lol
This is just such an event that gives a reason to push guys like Punk, and Hardy and others, so that when a top draw (in this case THE top draw) goes down, the ship doesn't go down with him. I've had some issue with the way they've booked some of Punk's title run, and I think the Scramble is a terrible idea, but on the whole they've had some guys step up and give a glimpse into what the future could hold. Kofi Kingston is amazing to watch and I hope they don't push him back down. Punk is a refreshing type of wrestler, like a greener RVD but one not likely to get busted for pot in the middle of the a title run. Mark Henry's been doing a solid job and that can only get better working with Matt Hardy. Rhodes & DiBiase could be an interesting run and Brian Kendrick has been fun to watch of late. There's good stuff there. Let them run and see what happens.
hey: Chill out. CiscoII is just trying to contribute to the conversation.
Upon further review, it appears as if Cena will be back sooner than previously thought according to "my sources". I don't want to upset "hey".
Nevertheless, I don't know if a Cena-free WWE for only 4 months is enough time to remove the staleness off the character. I was actually looking forward to his absence just to see if there would be any changes with him upon his return, but he will be back in time for the 2009 Royal Rumble for sure.
Ummm Long Island's own Mick Foley signed with TNA. That doesn't warrant a blog post in the past couple days?
Last year I auditioned to work for the creative team. I wrote a script and went to Stamford for an interview. In my script I was dumb. I tried to do something that they hadn't done before.
I should have just said, Cena is beating Edge, Edge distracts the referee, three of Edges minions comes and attacks Cena. They leave the ring. Edge spears Cena. Cena kicks out. Cena FU's Edge and pins Edge.
They would have said, "THAT'S BRILLIANT!!" WWE creative is an oxymoron. Or you can take out the oxy.
Cena's still the man regardless of sum of his crappy promos...he was the first to beat Umaga, Great Khali,and Bobby Lashley..His strength alone make him stand out...he is much stronger than HHH or any other wrestler today...He can and has FU'd any big man including Big Show, Khali? Mark Henry, Umaga etc...wwe has put him on a little losing streak as of late, but then again, this is wrestling where anything can and usually does happen
Cena's still the man regardless of sum of his crappy promos...he was the first to beat Umaga, Great Khali,and Bobby Lashley..His strength alone make him stand out...he is much stronger than HHH or any other wrestler today...He can and has FU'd any big man including Big Show, Khali, Mark Henry, Umaga etc...wwe has put him on a little losing streak as of late, but then again, this is wrestling where anything can and usually does happen
Cenas still the man...he's the first guy to ever beat Umaga,Khali& Bobby Lashley..his strength alone is far superior to any superstar. He has fu'd Big Show,Khali,Umaga& Mark Henry.HHH can barely pedigree any of them
Cenas still the man...he's the first guy to ever beat Umaga,Khali& Bobby Lashley..his strength alone is far superior to any superstar. He has fu'd Big Show,Khali,Umaga& Mark Henry.HHH can barely pedigree any of them
HHH cant even pedigree anybody bigger then himself.lol
HHH cant even pedigree anybody bigger then himself.lol
HHH cant even pedigree anybody bigger then himself.lol
interesting post, thanks for sharing