Where do you rank John Cena historically?

[SAJ!!]

Top 10

 

[dh86]

Wherever HHH is, above that.

 

[Wiles]

hogan of this era without the

wigga hogan

 

[Rarely-Wrong Liggins]

Not turning heel is not Cena's fault. Dude supposedly had a turn planned, even had new tights made and was coming up with a new theme but Vince nixed it.

 

[WMG the 2nd]

Goat

 

[3Rivers]

The fact he snowed no growth character wise since 05 hurts him a lot. Even Hogan eventually turned. I've been watching wrestling 26 years and all of the biggest stars have had characters that have grown, cena hasn't

Only thing he's changed is t-shirt colors and the way he speaks depending on the promo. We got Preacher John, Bawston John, Urban Cena, Marine Cena, Troll Cena, etc. He's the Man-E-Faces of dialect

 

[R=G]

Not turning heel is not Cena's fault. Dude supposedly had a turn planned, even had new tights made and was coming up with a new theme but Vince nixed it.

Cool. Means he has no range.

 

[Black Panther]

He's no Hogan, but he's the Hogan of the 2000's.

Most people won't admit it but he's top 10 easy (and not #10, either).

 

[Slic Ric]

Top 5

 

[raw613]

This is also the thing I have a hard time with in ranking Cena.

You can tell dude had an all time great heel run in him by the angst and bite he has in his promos when he's invested in the angle or opponent.

He was a damn good heel while still finding his voice as the rapper.

What happens if seasoned Cena had the opportunity to show that versatility

I get why they didn't turn him since that little kid money is hard to turn down in an era where he was one of the last of the "bigger than the company" type of character


It muddies his historical standing a bit since other than maybe Bruno who else went as long as a top guy like Cena has with little to no variation to their character

Longevity has to take into account the ability to reinvent or adjust to era changes and they just always tried to stays so neat and safe with the guy.

That's kinda what keeps him out of my top 10, he's worked opponents of every style and definitely has longevity, but his character didn't evolve much in the last decade, probably still cracks the top 20 all things considered

 

[R=G]

That's kinda what keeps him out of my top 10, he's worked opponents of every style and definitely has longevity, but his character didn't evolve much in the last decade, probably still cracks the top 20 all things considered

What also keeps him out is non selling, horrible strikes, circular promos, and a lazy passion to never get better.

 

[Reggie]

Top 30

 

[Here Comes the Pain]

Kurt angle
Sting
Taker
The rock
Austin
Booker t
Chris Jericho
Bret hart
Macho man
Flair

That's not my top 10, but that's to give you an idea of where he lands.

Between skillset, drawing power,longevity, era, etc

 

[TNC]

Top 25

Honestly does he have the body of work to justify the top ten, because I don’t think so. He was never the best or did anything the best. He had a great career but so Elgin Baylor. Cena was the guy who carried the torch but was appointed to, any time someone else rose that could carry that torch the fans and the audience jumped to whoever the new guy was as quick as they could because Cena never truly won over the core audience.

 

[TNC]

When it comes to overall impact he's definitely top 5 of all time and there's absolutely no debating that at all.

How? What was his impact?

Nobody wants to wrestle like Cena, no one wants to talk like Cena, nobody wants to be Cena. He’s a utility player that worked harder than his peers, but he wasn’t a game changer like a Flair, Macho, Hogan, Rock, Austin, HBK, Bret, Taker, etc