Cageside Quote: Batista says John Cena 'killed hardcore, edgy wrestling'
by Sergio Hernandez on Dec 8, 2011 2:00 PM EST
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Former WWE Superstar Dave "Batista" Bautista was a guest on The Chad Dukes Wrestling Show this week and let out a zinger of a quote in regards to Mr. John Cena.
"... the hardcore fans can't stand him. He is Mr. Hokey, Mr. PG ... to me, he killed hardcore, edgy wrestling."
Wow. That's quite a burden to bear for the "Doctor of Thuganomics." John Cena is solely responsible for the death of hardcore and edgy wrestling?
What a crock.
You can accuse Cena of a lot of things -- being stale, phoning in promos, inconsistency in the ring -- but the former Evolution member is way off base with this one. Batista is obviously a fan of the WWE's Attitude Era where bosses got flipped off, T&A was flaunted, and wrestlers were having sex with dead women. He fancies himself an extension of that sort product but the fact of the matter is, he was never that far from tame.
I'm not exactly sure what "The Demon" even means by "hardcore, edgy wrestling" but anything resembling that hasn't been a huge staple in the WWE since before Cena was a main event star. Fans didn't start to gravitate towards Cena which forced the WWE to completely reevaluate their product, it was the other way around. The WWE's output changed and Cena was pushed as a result.
I guess Batista considers his run in the company as edgy since he has tattoos and would lay people out like a billy bad ass while having a smile on his face? I just don't get it. That's not edgy, there have always been guys like that. The Four Horsemen built their entire legacy on doing that exact same thing.
Batista's biggest and best storyline -- his star-making series of matches with Triple H -- was about as conservative as you can get with wrestling booking. Young up and comer in the shadow of his elder finally breaks free and becomes his own man, usurping the throne. It's tried and true. It was extremely well done but edgy it is not.
Writing about professional wrestling can be difficult sometimes. When someone like Batista says this, you absolutely always have to take it with a grain of salt. For all I know, he's a catering demand away from inking a new contract with Vince McMahon and this will be used to rev up another feud with Cena.
But in a business where wrestlers make money off people who buy into the entire spectacle -- marks they're called -- sometimes the biggest marks are the wrestlers themselves.
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Deacon Batista
Soooo edgy, lol his comments amusing if he truly feels that way.
"Oldest ride, longest line!" - Ric Flair
by Doors Hate MMA Fighters on Dec 8, 2011 2:25 PM EST reply actions
Normally, I also consider the possibility of a work when someone makes comments like this. But unless Dave is going to jump start the cruiserweight division, I think a comeback is doubtful…
Or maybe he’s hanging out with true Amazonian women.
There's a more...
Recent pic of him and he’s once again bulked up.
by Sergio Hernandez on Dec 8, 2011 2:47 PM EST up reply actions
I see… Did not know that. I wasn’t trying to be smart. I just can never get over how much mass he carried to be “The Animal” after seeing him at a more natural size.
by King Oskar on Dec 8, 2011 6:46 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
What's he done since he left the E?
Nothing of importance, you say? He’s just crying for attention, you say?
Gillberg...Gillberg...Gillberg...
Batista's not entirely wrong and we don't have the full story either.
Cena acknowledges that he fought for the change in programming content.
-[Cena] Says he he was outspoken to Vince McMahon and others about moving WWE programming toward the PG rating. He said he feels very strongly about the product being consistently family friendly.
http://www.f4wonline.com/component/content/article/10363/
I’m not exactly sure what “The Demon” even means by “hardcore, edgy wrestling” but anything resembling that hasn’t been a huge staple in the WWE since before Cena was a main event star. Fans didn’t start to gravitate towards Cena which forced the WWE to completely reevaluate their product, it was the other way around. The WWE’s output changed and Cena was pushed as a result.
It is not the other way around.
Cena first attained success by being an “egdy” rapper in an era that still had storylines that pushed the envelope. I’m thinking Brock Lesnar introducing Zach Gowen to a flight of stairs or Heidenreich having some sweet time with Michael Cole or Snitsky convincing Lita that he was pro-choice.
Cena became world Champion in ‘05 and the PG era started in ’08. It’s not unreasonable for Batista to suggest that Cena had a large influence in changing the style of the shows. As the leader of this era he would have some influence over it’s direction. And we know Cena wanted that change. How profound was/is Cena’s influence on the product is what we don’t know but it’s something Batista would probably know.
From the linked article:
I think, you know, they did the whole PG direction thing, I think that works for Cena; the little kids love him, cause he’s a great character, he’s someone they can look up to. The girls love him, good looking guy, says all the right things, does all the right things, but the hardcore fans can’t stand him. He is Mr. Hokey, Mr. PG… to me; he killed hardcore, edgy wrestling.
The PG era certainly advantages Cena whereas it hinders others. That’s probably where Batista’s statement is coming from. Randy Orton is another example of a wrestler who’s potential was curtailed by onset of the PG era.
Mr. Sunny Day's actually has a better article here - hire him
Batista is a complete mark for himself but he is not incorrect in identifying Cena as being a wrestler symbloic with what the hardcore fan base despises, myself included.
He banged Melina
That makes him hardcore
by TheMysticalNinja on Dec 8, 2011 7:01 PM EST reply actions
Calling bull
I think people whining about the PG change and how much they hate Cena ignores why the product sucks. Bad storyteling. When the WWE decides to do something good, Nexxus angle or Punk angle, it is all good and everyone likes it. Those were two storylines that people dug and had the potential to be huge. The reason they died had nothing to do with PG it had to do with ego and short sightedness.
Yup, just looking from Raw to a non-holiday special SD! makes it clear
PG isn’t the problem
LeBron James - 0 Charles Barkley - 0 Karl Malone/John Stockton - 0 Sun Yue -1
But Cena's awful and boring as fuck.
Sure, he could be good if he wasn’t so pandering, or tried selling every now and then, or treated anything like it mattered, but he doesn’t, and as long as he doesn’t, I and many others won’t bother watching his matches, or giving WWE money.
Batista was always a flawed wrestler, but Big Dave has a point with Cena being the main guy responsible for WWE going from a middle finger in the face of society to the pandering minstrel show it is today. At least Batista actually sold the feuds he was in when he was motivated.
I enjoyed the article, Sergio, but this made me laugh.
Former WWE Superstar Dave “Batista” Bautista
So … you’re tellin’ me Bautista was Batista?
Just making sure...
You could keep up. ;)
by Sergio Hernandez on Dec 8, 2011 8:54 PM EST up reply actions
After Cena retires:
BREAKING: John “John Cena” Cena retires.
by Kyle Rancourt on Dec 9, 2011 4:03 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Chris Benoit killed hardcore edgy wrestling, not John Cena.
by Keith Harris on Dec 9, 2011 7:59 AM EST reply actions 2 recs
NO individual killed it
It’s easy to point your fingers at a single invididual…
That’s what hypocrites do
The over political correctness of the world today is what killed it
Somebody wants to make sure he stays on Vince's good side.
Writer (and a handsome one at that),
And the Valley Shook
Cena might be "paritally" to blame but come on
WWE isn’t PG because of Cena, it’s PG because that’s what THE SPONSERS WANT. This world today is way too politically correct for it’s own good, and it’s gotten even worse since Obama took office (not that I’m blaming Obama). But the mainstream media today would even call someone a racist if they criticized Obama’s policies (which has nothing to do with his skin color) When people criticized Bush, the media didn’t call anyone who did “PREJUDICE AGAINST TEXANS” It’s just how this world is now. It has nothing to do with ONE SINGLE INDIVIDUAL.
I mean just look at TV shows today. 99 percent of the programming (except for maybe The Office and a couple other shows) have no to very little originality.
Stupid shallow reality shows like Jersey Crap have taken over the airways
and stupid untalented hacks who abuse Autotune like Lady Gag (I spelt it that way because she makes me Gag every time I hear her autotuned bullshyt), and Justin Bieber is what they pass off as “music” these days. Even hiphop has been watered down to the point that you can hardly even listen to it, unless you are listening to old school rap and underground rap.
It’s easy to point the finger at individuals and blame them for something and use them as a scapegoat.
That would be like blaming McDonald’s if your child gets fat, when you should take more responsibility for what their children eat.
I swear to GOD wrestling fans are the most hypocritical and fickle fans of anything in the world.
I agree that the product has been watered down but blaming a single individual for everything is just plain hypocritical, even if he did push for it.
That’s pretty much the same as pointing the finger at Vince Russo and saying he “single-handedly” killed WCW, when WCW was already dying a slow and agonizing death before he even got there.
It’s the main reason why I gravitate more toward Japanese wrestling, Lucha, and Indies like Ring of Honor and DGUSA than I do to mainstream wrestling these days. Why can’t WWE fanboys/fangirls realize that there are alternatives and GOOD alternatives out there to the WWE (and no I don’t consider TNA one of them, despite haveing an awesome roster)
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