John Cena -- The Prototype

There is nothing more American than a genuine hard worker. A guy that shows up early, leaves late and seems to always think about work. Constantly giving tireless effort to his duties and responsibility. That is the quality of America, the quality many people find admirable and companies across the globe search far and wide for. We call these individuals 'prototype' employees. In the world of sports, these types of players become team captains., the face of the franchise and are adored by fans for their passion and hard work.

If you are a wrestler and named John Cena, these seemingly absolutes in America do not apply to you. Your hard work is labeled 'ass kissing.' Your passion is misplaced because you only got the job because of your body, which is probably aided by steroids. If you are John Cena you can't really love wrestling if you only use your '5 moves of doom' and have the selling skill of a full-size smiling-blow-up-punching-bag clown.

Why does Cena get the finger for having the qualities any man could respect? It has been said that Cena is thought to be less than genuine as a superstar babyface. There is a sentiment that Cena bent over for Vince McMahon and that is what keeps him in the win column and other more deserving wrestlers -- like CM Punk -- on the outside of the main events. There is the feeling that guys like Punk and Daniel Bryan have earned more respect because they spent more years on the Independent Circuit honing their craft and that alone gives them the right to have the top spots in wrestling over Cena.

Now let me state exactly where I stand on John Cena. I don't hate that he wins or is the top star in WWE. I hate that WWE is still doing the same crap and he happens to be the one they lean on the most. However, WWE has failed John Cena.

Cena isn't one of these political psycho's like Triple H that buries anyone with talent or anyone that is a threat to his spot. He lost to Rob Van Dam in Hammerstein Ballroom. He put over CM Punk twice in back-to-back main event matches. Whether it is Wade Barrett and Nexus or CM Punk or Randy Orton, the WWE has failed in following up those wins or beat downs on Cena to create true top stars and threats for Cena. Never in the history of wrestling has a wrestling company been so inept at taking advantage of a huge babyface star.

We all know the point of wrestling is to have a character bring people to the arena and then have them get emotionally invested in that character long term. Cena has been most successful doing that. Fans pay to see him. Fans buy his merchandise. All the ingredients for huge money matches with Cena are there, as we saw with the CM Punk breakout feud. WWE's booking has not completely lifted Punk like they should have after beating Cena clean twice. As a result, we head into Wrestlemania season with Cena in dual roles. The top face for half the audience and the top heel for the other half.

Here is where I will lay some blame on Cena. Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Chris Jericho, Ric Flair and many other greats, had a sensitivity about the audience. They knew when something wasn't working anymore and changed or added something to their character to freshen up their crowd reactions. Cena has stubbornly stayed with his outdated and often corny promo style to a fault. He is either somber or preachy and both become overbearing and ineffective when used so often. This is my biggest complaint against him because promos are something he can control. Vince can book him to hell and back but a wrestler of his status has a huge amount of say in regards to the words he speaks in his promos and his promo style.

Cena hasn't changed that style in over 7 years. That is solely on him.

In the art of wrestling, Cena is not the best artist but he creates great moments and has been a part of some amazing matches in his career. Cena has been taken to task for his in ring ability. Let's quit with this idea that he is some kind of horrid worker. He is competent enough in the ring to be the top star in the company and work with the very best in wrestling and has not ever caused, that I can recall, a major injury. Sure his offense looks soft, but it's wrestling, looking soft or looking like an MMA fight means very little when these guys aren't hitting their opponents either way. A good worker is based on the personal tastes of the viewer.

All that said, John Cena is the prototype. He is the lightening rod that can set the wrestling business on fire and create stars. Has he been utilized to his fullest ability? In my opinion, he has not because winning matches and title reigns doesn't mean he is being used correctly. Cena is the most amiable WWE Champion or top star in many years. He will do whatever he is asked to do for the business. The fact that Cena hasn't been used to create tons of new stars is really on WWE and its inept booking. I believe Cena is passionate, motivated and determined to be a wrestler and the best wrestler he can be. He has plenty faults and plenty positives. If I was starting a national wrestling company and could sign anyone in the world I'd sign Cena first then I'd get ten heels to go up against him. He is a star plain and simple. There is nothing that can explain that, he just has the stuff stars are made of.

Cena is vitally important to pro wrestling and I think he gets bashed way too much for things that are not in his control.