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WNS Column: The Champ is Forever

Posted By: Richard Hughes on Jul 22, 2014

WNS Column: The Champ is Forever

On June 29th, 2014, the incomparable John Cena regained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the 15th time in his illustrious career. After the former champion Daniel Bryan had to go out with neck surgery and a rather unlucky string of events after his win at WrestleMania 30, a ladder match was set to name a new champion at the Money in the Bank special event. Eight superstars competed in the match and many thought that John Cena would walk out of the TD Garden though some had Roman Reigns pegged as the winner. Cesaro was another favorite among fans, as was Bray Wyatt, but was never considered to win in the first place. Sure, the WWE could’ve had Randy Orton walk away with the strap but that never happened. What happened at Money in the Bank was the right decision being made and thus World Wrestling Entertainment doing surely what was best for business.

 

The wrestling fan in me despised John Cena along with the legion of the IWC. For many years the community called for his head, jeered him, mocked him, and ridiculed him for his righteous character and yearned to see more than 5 moves while rolling our eyes that this is the guy who main events EVERYTHING. The John Cena everyone could’ve lived with was the basketball jersey wearing, chain swinging, white boy rapping persona that got him to where he is today. Unfortunately, what some fail to understand is that he has moved on from that a long time ago and only does the Doctor of Thuganomics make throwback appearances when deemed necessary.

 

 

After winning his first WWE Championship from JBL at WrestleMania 21, there was a moment in time when everyone embraced John Cena. He was fresh, new, and had the ability to keep things entertaining on the stick. I personally think he was out of favor with us, the IWC, when the infamous WWE spinner belt replaced the Undisputed title as the “new look” for the prestigious championship belt. It blew my mind that happened and this would be the championship with this guy as champion. Soon enough, his shtick became tiresome and the true wrestling fans started to turn on him because of the demographic that the Cena character started to aim at. The children.

 

Gone were the jerseys, lude rhymes, and the attitude that John carried with him into his phase as WWE Champion. This John Cena would soon start becoming the Captain America of the WWE, a stand-up, take no bull, kind of guy who declared to Never Give Up, Never Surrender. From a company perspective, John Cena was becoming a role model to the kids watching and someone they could look up too. He fought for what was right, fought hard, and always gave 110%. He didn’t say his prayers or eat his vitamins but he sure knew how to hustle, stay loyal, and stay respectful. John Cena would become the guy everyone loved to hate and boo him out of a building the second “My Time Is Now” blared through the PA system. I’m happy I can say I’ve been apart of a building that rained down it’s hate on him. Get John Cena out of there, he’s worthless.

 

Only…

 

… I’ve learned to rise above the hate. When John Cena won the title for the 15th time, I literally threw my hands in the air and said, “Ok. You’ve got my approval, John.”

Why does John Cena get my approval? I’ve been a die-hard wrestling fan all my life. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’ve watched some great programs/matches from a plethora of talent, seen some WrestleCrap, and defended my fandom before the Attitude Era was ever born and well after it died. There was a period where I stopped watching due to lack of interest but it was the year in which Cena and Edge pretty much carried the entire company on their back. What this showed, so early then, is that John Cena has become Mr. Reliable. Even if the guy is hurt, he’ll still go out there and perform by possibly risking further injury. When he has been hurt the handful of times, they were rather quick recoveries and he was back out there soaking in the cheers and smiling at the jeers of the WWE Universe. More importantly, he really does love what he does and you can knock him as an ass-kisser or whatever insult comes to mind but he goes well beyond of what is expected of him. Outside of the ring, he is a really good guy for the milestone he has made with Make-A-Wish and the many charities he works with. He is a good PR guy, yes the poster boy for World Wrestling Entertainment and why wouldn’t he be?

 

Yeah, when John Cena tries to be funny he can sometimes come across a bit cheesy and worthy of eye rolling. Same can be said when he tries to be serious but I’ve seen in recent discussions that serious John is better then comic John. His matches aren’t always the best but c’mon, the guy is a Power based wrestler and not the technical Daniel Bryan variety. John Cena knows he is compared as a modern day Hulk Hogan but is that really a bad thing? I don’t think we’ll ever see a complete heel turn from him because John Cena doesn’t need to. The more people boo him, the more reason you give for the machine to keep him face. John Cena will most certainly go down as the best of this era and I’m not complaining. I’m not even going to hate on the guy. The 15th title reign has given me a new look at John Cena not as only a person, but for what he does to keep the WWE machine rolling. When the chips are down, he is the one guy who truly never gives up. His place in wrestling lore is well deserved and if you’ve been a wrestling fan for a long time, with these new faces coming in and looking at what the future may hold, maybe… just maybe… it’s time to appreciate the champ.

 

Word life.

 

- Vinny Fucci.


Tags: #column #columns #vinnyfucci

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