I’ve been open before in previous blogs that I’ve quit watching current professional wrestling—ur, sports-entertainment—since May of 2010. Granted that was a year and a half ago, but thinking it over and going through some old WWE Raw’s from 2007, I started to ponder why I decided to quit watching current wrestling. The reason is simple: I quit watching wrestling because of John Cena.
I am the demographic who dislikes John Cena’s character because he’s been shoved down my throat. He has a limited move–set, he doesn’t put people over, and he’s been in the World Championship title picture for what seems like for decades (which has only been several years). So why beat the dead horse and write a piece about that? No, I won’t, but in turn I will explain the process of my professional wrestling fandom and why I decided to keep my loyalty with the program that I grew up on instead of the current programming.
[ad 6]In today’s programming, a lot of people feel (there’s been blogs on this very site) that Vincent Kennedy McMahon has lost his touch on “what’s in and what’s not” in American society. Along with that, the current WWE superstars are cut from that same mold, unlike what I grew up on in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s. Yes, I realize that today’s programming is different from back then, but storylines were logical and made sense (I went to college to get a degree in Philosophy, I pick up on logic more than the average individual).
I put in a WWE RAW from 2007 into my DVD player and the show opened with WWE Champion John Cena coming out to the ring. Mr. McMahon came out and Cena insulted him for losing the ECW Championship the night before at WWE One Night Stand: Extreme Rules. Vince got angry and put Cena in a triple threat WWE title match for the main event that night. Cena went on and defeated Umaga and the Great Khali to retain his WWE title.
Why did this disgust me? Seeing Cena open Raw four years ago! It’s been this way since 2005, which would bring the math up to six years! SIX LONG YEARS! John Cena’s been on top of the WWE as the WWE or World Champion off and on since 2005. The thing that drives me the most nuts is McMahon doesn’t trust anyone other than Randy Orton being on top of his company.
Granted it’s his company and he can choose who he wants as the face of it, but doesn’t he hear the chants and the reaction of his WWE Universe? Doesn’t he have people reading the Internet and to the words of Eric Bischoff, doesn’t he read the response of the “ten-percenters?”
I mentioned a few blogs ago that I haven’t watched a full wrestling program since May of 2010 when Batista “quit” the WWE. I’ve watched the first 20 minutes of a Raw from Miami when the Rock returned to celebrate his birthday. I walked away because I wanted to hang out with my friends and could wait around 12 hours to hear Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer website discuss it on their Monday night podcast.
From around 2006 to 2010, I’ve been losing interest in the WWE storylines. I never been a fan of TNA and never will be because listening to the Wrestling Observer podcast, if I pay someone to review the show and they are frustrated with the lack of logic in TNA’s storylines, why wouldn’t it frustrate me even more?
Like mentioning earlier, I lost interest in the WWE storyline and direction because John Cena and Randy Orton were the only two men Vince McMahon trusted on top of the company. He doesn’t give any other person time to mold into becoming the next face of the company. It doesn’t bother me that Chris Jericho or Shawn Michaels or Triple H or guys who I grew up on aren’t in the main-events anymore. It doesn’t even bother me that Michaels is retired, HHH is on his way out, and Jericho’s working on outside wrestling ventures.
Vince McMahon needs to start listening to his fans and start building new stars. As of me writing this, the current WWE Champion is CM Punk and the current World Heavyweight Champion is Daniel Bryan (or to the internet fans, Bryan Danielson). Do I think Vince McMahon will build these two men up to being seen as legit World Champions in the eyes of the WWE Universe? Heck no! The reasoning behind my response is, neither man is John Cena or Randy Orton. Neither man is his “creation” of a sports-entertainment superstar.
[adinserter block=”1″]To conclude, granted I still listen to podcasts to follow the current programming of professional wrestling (because I love the business and the business is in my blood and has been for two and a half decade), I just do not like where the direction is going. If Vince McMahon allows new superstars to main event his shows, he’ll grow new main eventers to take over his company when Cena and Orton leave. What if both Orton and Cena get injured at the same time, who’ll be the face of the company?
Follow Eric on Twitter @edardar and check out his sites http://www.vintagedarsie.wordpress.com and http://www.writerscafe.org/Darsie/writing/
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Right on.
Cena has been like a slow moving virus, gnawing away at my passion for wrestling over the past few years. Every time there has been something to get excited about, it seems like Cena would swoop in on his chariot and spoil the excitement.
It's not his character that bothers me. The pandering to the children and the military are fine. Morals are good. Bret had them. But Bret also showed emotion when he lost a title. He didn't come out and laugh it off on RAW the next night.
For the past 6 years Cena has not allowed the fans to take a breath. It took an injury courtesy of Dave Bautista to thrust him out of the spotlight for a bit. But even then, on almost a weekly basis we were treated to replays of the injury.
Even when he's not in the title picture, there's still reminders of him. The main one being that gaudy hip-hop inspired trash known as the WWE title. I was fine with it at the time because all iconic champions usually unveil a unique version of the strap. But now, it just makes anyone other than Cena look like a place holder.
It's rough to blame one man for disenchantment with an entire organization. But I think it's time to stop the charade. I'm sick of feeling queasy about all these good things that Cena represents. I like children and I support the military. I try to rise above hate on a daily basis. Especially when in traffic.
But I have a problem with John selling me these things. Selling them to distract from the fact that his stranglehold at the top of the card has caused severe damage to the product he says he lives for.
Heard this rumor:
A WWE Championship title match between John Cena and Kane is being advertised for February 3, 2012 by the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kansas. WWE Monday Night Raw will be in the Kansas Expocentre on that night. There is no word on if this is simply a mistake or if WWE plans to have CM Punk drop the WWE Championship to either John Cena or Kane by then.
If Cena wins the belt again, It looks like I'll be watching this Raw for the audience, seeing as it's the hometown of The Midnight Rose (don't worry, only 12 people will get that reference, but that dozen will thank me for it).
Great job. I am not so sure that Punk or Bryan is going to have a long reign either. I think some how some way either Orton (who is at least putting people over) or Cena or both will wind up with the belts. Look at Edge's (a far superior performer and worker) reigns. Cut short because the belt always had to go back to Cena or whatever.
Thanks edgerules. I hope that Punk and Bryan doesn't get screwed out of their titles. I'm afraid that Vince McMahon will decide that either man is getting over with the crowd and will make them drop the title to someone (either Cena or Orton) and not give them another shot for a long, long time.