If you ask my opinion about the greatest professional wrestler of all time, I will not hesitate and say that Ric Flair is the greatest to ever wear a world title.
[adinserter block=”1″]While there are many reasons for my decision, one of which is wearing a world title in either the WWE/WWF, NWA or WCW, is that Flair won the title by doing, as he said, what the name on the marquee said – he wrestled for it. He also was the best showman in a time where professional wrestling needed a true leader.
In my opinion, Hulk Hogan was a great entertainer, but he could not carry a jockstrap to Flair and his ability to wrestle, work off the crowd, make mid card performers look like a million bucks and most of all, sell for his opponents and rake in money at the turnstile.
It can be argued, as it was in the Encyclopedia of Professional Wrestling that the two greatest wrestlers of all time are Flair and Lou Thesz. Some would argue Hogan, some might say Harley Race and some might argue Triple H or a Randy Orton.
But how about John Cena? Where does the 14-time world champion rank with all of the greats of all time?
According to 24wrestling.com, “WWE’s World Heavyweight champion John Cena was interviewed by Neil Cavuto on FOX Business on Tuesday morning to promote his new line of children’s clothing, available exclusively at Kmart. Cena made a number of newsworthy comments during the segment, talking about how long he plans to continue wrestling and revealing that his character generates $100 million a year for WWE.”
While the brand brings in that much money for the WWE, is he the type of champion, who has had long title reigns and has worked with the likes of Orton, Edge, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan in what could be argued as the four toughest opponents of all time, does Cena belong in the same class as a Flair or Thesz as the greatest of all time? He is considered the Hogan of this generation and a wrestler who can move merchandise and is the WWE’s cash cow, much like Hogan and The Rock before him.
I am still on the fence about this one.
Hulk Hogan was more style over substance and always have been. He could wrestle, but his matches were short and telegraphed. He “Hulked up” and won. And while he beat the best of his time (Paul Orndorff, King Kong Bundy, Undertaker, and Andre the Giant) he was more entertainment than anything.
Cena is a marketing machine, an entertainer and a wrestler (in that order). He is a better interview than Hogan, as charismatic as a Randy Savage and as resilient as Arn Anderson.
But his love and hate (Tebow-like) relationship with the WWE Universe makes him the wild card in this kind of discussion, and it provides great fodder for us pundits.
Take away part of the vanilla image and the promotional gimmick, would we see a more competent wrestler, a performer who sometimes goes through the motions and hates to sell for his opponents and looks half despondent in the ring with the likes of Alberto Del Rio and R-Truth.
But Cena, true to form continues to stand by the fact he loves what he does.
“I truly am obsessed with my action in the ring, but I am also truly obsessed with the business of WWE,” he said. “I enjoy the workings of the company and how we create success in WWE, both in a brand perspective and an individual perspective. So, I take the model that my boss Vince McMahon has stretched out throughout the globe and try to copy it at an individual level.”
[adinserter block=”2″]Right now, Cena is not a total package. Until he can wrestle every opponent with the same vigor, only then can I say he is one of the best. Right now for me, he is still just a gimmick that makes this bosses a lot of money.
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Sting is the best ! Hands down, he put his heart and soul into wrestling and earned his place. He had a man like Flair pass the torch to him. He had a man like Hogan go toe to toe with him and sell out Starcade. And he went to TNA and helped build them into the number 2 company not because he needed to, but because he loved the business and wanted to give back. He has tried passing the torch to AJ Styles at Bound For Glory and now has even tried to make Magnus a main eventer. That is what a true champion does. Cena should not have as many championships wins as Sting or Flair and honestly it shows how stale WWE is that every time the ratings drop, give it back to Cena.
John Cena: one of the best of all Time? I don't think so. even the men, you mentioned that he wrestled, are way superior than Cena. Your final sentence or so, summed up what I feel about Cena, pretty much. "A gimmick that has made WWE a lot of money."
If you want my opinion on who is the the "Greatest of all Time": He is , "The Man," "The Showstopper," "The Main Event," "The Headliner," "Mr. Wrestlemania," The Heartbreak Kid," Shawn Michaels. I have him over Flair just a little bit. I think he is/was everything Flair was, but I think Shawn is/was a bit more athletic. That is just my personal opinion. Triple H would be my #3.