Column Posted by Luscious Jonny F on 1:19:45 PM Jul 12, 2008
Are you a card carrying member of the "Chain Gang"? Do you like slightly offensive (but still radio friendly) hip-hop? Chances are, you are under the age of 14 and still watch Nickelodeon. But that’s ok, I planned on being a Toys R Us kid for a long time too, but things didn’t work out that way. What feels like many moons ago, there was a young kid with a bad haircut taking wrestlers like Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho to the limit. I thought this kid was being billed as an upset wonder who would get a few wins before being banished to the lower midcard-jobber status (think Maven or Orlando Jordan). His name is John Cena. My prediction seemed as though it was coming to pass, until one fateful Halloween edition of Smackdown where John dressed up in Vanilla Ice like garb and freestyled…and it was pretty funny. The man behind the sports entertainer is actually a big hip-hop fan, so this came a little more natural to him (unlike Brad Armstrong and the No Limit Posse in WCW). Eventually, Cena really ran with this and a white guy from West Newbury, MA dressed in Mitchell and Ness throwback jerseys, matching fitted cap worn crooked, and with a chain and lock around his neck became something the fans loved to hate…then love. Verbally, Cena’s initial hip-hop gimmick entailed that he freestyle acapella and personalize it towards his given opponent, allowing him to tear into people that couldn’t verbally defend themselves. Even Tazz, on Cena’s My Life DVD says he misses the freestyles today (and Tazz got some too). Eventually Cena became a face, then THE face of Smackdown. Out with the fitted jerseys, in with WWE gear from the Shopzone (or whatever they call it now). Out with padlock chains, in with WWE “Chain Gang” medallion. Eventually, Cena’s popularity reached new heights, which lead him to the big show, Raw. Then, it was bubbling. The wrestler fans loved to hate was now the wrestler fans loved, soon becoming the wrestler fans hated to love. Why? Cena seems like a good guy. He even trained extra hard to come back from a serious injury and has an impeccable work ethic. I’m going to unbiasedly examine the current state of John Cena (and no I am not a fan of the character he plays on TV).
“If Cena is so disliked, just turn him heel” A point that’s been made for years. Fact stated, there is too much money at stake. When that unmistakable theme hits (I personally like the Word Life theme better), you often hear the pop of women and children. Men ages 16+ usually jeer. Kids buy toys. Few superstars in the WWE have the same marketability as John Cena (outside of maybe the superhero look of Rey Mysterio). Hulkamania ran strong for 12 years before the NWO. Even before that, in his heyday, Hogan stood the chance of being booed. During Jake Roberts first heel run in the WWE, he was slated to face Hogan. Unfortunately, for Jake he couldn’t start a run Hogan. The crowd chanted, “DDT, DDT!!!” in some of their house show matches. Jake’s fate was sealed facing the main eventer. Way too much money was invested in Hogan to make him look bad. Even though the landscape is much different today, some things don’t change. Cena will draw more money as a face, with half of the crowd booing him. If Cena turns heel, starts freestyling, and acting like he used to, will him cheer him? Probably. Will I go out and by his toys and t-shirts? I am 25, no; just keep me entertained on the television, thank you.
“You can’t see me” He’s right, I can’t. I can’t see his legacy. He’s always placed in montages with some of the greats. Does he at times carry the weight of the company on his shoulders? When they need a good image, yes (think Benoit & steroid scandals from last year). Does he belong to be mentioned with the all time greats? Not at this time. We remember great wrestlers because they entertained us. They gave us what we wanted. They were renownly loved or hated. They figured out creative ways to make us feel these emotions. Young fans love John Cena because he is accessible to those fans with toys, a CD, hats, wristbands, chains, belts and t-shirts. Merchandise doesn’t make you a superstar; the fans’ reactions drive it. Look at all of the past stars of the NWA and WCW. Ric Flair, The Four Horsemen, Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat and even Sting certainly weren’t stars based on how much merchandise they sold (I mention NWA/WCW because they couldn’t market worth a damn). It’s because YOU are the reason they come to the shows. Sure they say Cena is a controversial champion because he gets both booed and cheered, so you could say he was a tweener. That’s not the case; he doesn’t walk that fine line between face and heel. He is a face that gets booed, by a large segment of the fans at that. Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock tried to be heels in the late 90s, they couldn’t go against the grain and they turned face. Hulk Hogan had to ditch the NWO back in 2002, based solely on positive fan reaction. Bret Hart got booed at the genesis of the attitude era, so they turned him heel. Fan reaction drove were the business went, but John Cena continues to be the exception to the rule. I want to boo John Cena because he said something I find offensive, not because I am sick of his same song and dance. I like the John Cena the person, he seems like a cool guy; I’d split a 12 pack with him any day. In fact, the My Life documentary was on WWE 24/7 and I found it engaging on how passionate he is about the business. He even mentioned how he wished Saturday Night’s Main Event would get back the old Animotion – Obsession theme on his old 5 Questions segment online, so he is a true fan at heart (if you get that reference so are you). Deep down I know Cena wants to tell the Chain Gang to f*ck off, but he is silenced because he is an investment on the part of Vince McMahon. We are to believe wrestling has completely evolved from the good guy/bad guys, but it still exists in a way. Why? Well if you’ve watched Raw in the past month, then you surely know “it’s all about the monnaay!”
I am really trying to figure this out, if you are over the age of 18 and are a heterosexual male (if you aren’t there’s nothing wrong with that), why are you a John Cena fan? Is it the work ethic? Do you still think he is original? Does telling Foot Locker employees that you are a proud member of the Chain Gang get you free tennis shoes? Am I missing something? I by no means am a Cena hater, but I am not a fan of his gimmick. To the hardcore fan, I challenge you – where is the appeal?
Luscious (I'm really sick of that word) Sidenotes:
I won’t go into that great of detail, but I purchased and viewed the Ric Flair DVD. I own the original collection released in early 2003, the Superstars of the 1980s DVD, and the more recent Four Horseman DVD. With the exception of this past year’s happenings, the Hall of Fame, and Wrestlemania’s retirement match, this DVD brought nothing all that new to the table for me… but I still loved it. Unlike the first Flair collection, this DVD was a biography, which went into further detail of his legendary career. The only gripes I have are that some of his newer matches/feuds were not included. I would have loved to see the promo he cut backstage on Carlito early last year (sadly YouTube took it down) and his TLC match with Edge that proved that at near 60, he can still change and innovate with the times. Triple H somewhat belittled Sting for having Flair to put him over (Sting never worked for Vince no surprise there I guess) and Vince never appeared in an interview the entire time (but I guess Vince didn’t invent Ric, so there you go). Those are really minor gripes (which I am obligated to do as a member of the IWC). Listen, no matter what I say, if you are a Flair fan, you will buy this, so just get it. Wooooo!!!!!
Has anyone else noticed that Tommy Dreamer always looks like a guy who’s wife just left him and he is trying really hard to convince others that it’s going to be alright while fighting back tears of anger and sadness. No, that wife’s not Beulah, it’s the original ECW. Sorry, Tommy.
By the way, I have always been a big fan of Hulk Hogan and I really feel for his family recent issues. I hope they can persevere and work through this. If Hogan's Family is anything like a typical 1980’s family, they should end up gleefully interacting like this:
Alright, I'm an ass (although Jason Bateman is awesome), but I digress, I hope things get better for the "Immortal One" and we can see him get his proper send off some day. Anyway, I tend to post more frequently when I get some more feedback (hence the quick post this week), so if you like my stuff or hate it (responding to hate mail is fun) let me know. Here's to John Cena doing something interesting, Tommy Dreamer cracking a smile, Hogan staying out of TMZ, and me trying to be like the Nature Boy at the bars (with only moderate success and a empty wallet to show for it ).
