WWE bound and determined for John Cena to get cheers at WrestleMania 28
by Keith Harris on Feb 22, 2012 9:00 AM EST
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Dave Meltzer has had some great insight in his last couple of subscriber only radio updates on his website f4wonline.com about the likely direction the John Cena vs. The Rock feud will take in the run up to WrestleMania 28.
WWE are bound and determined for that match to get a split reaction with Cena eliciting at least 50% cheers. They've been concerned for many months that their franchise babyface will be booed out of the building by the predominantly male 18-34 audience come April 1st in Miami and have become increasingly desperate to turn the tide. So desperate that despite Linda McMahon running for Senate again later this year, WWE's creative team decided to appeal to the most base misogynistic instincts in that demographic to make Cena cool once again:
Dave Meltzer: "They're doing everything they can to get people to cheer John Cena and nothing has really worked, so what you do is like what do guys in their twenties hate the most? It's like a manipulative woman, two-faced, you know, who ruins friendships and everything like that, and John Cena called [Eve Torres] on it, and she tried to kiss up to him and he blew it her off. There's nothing cooler than blowing off a really pretty girl.
It worked for this week, but that was when the more charismatic Dwayne Johnson wasn't around. If last year is anything to go by though, then it won't have any legs and these cheers will be fleeting. As you may recall, Cena upped the attitude last March to combat The Rock on the mic by littering his promos with homophobic jokes, which ironically is what led to their hypocritical anti-bullying Be A Star campaign when GLAAD started complaining.
After Cena's brief female distraction was well and truly buried in a tasteless manner, he bounced back with a passionate diatribe about The Rock walked out on WWE for seven years and then rarely being around once he did return. If it sounded like a shoot, maybe because it sort of was, for the benefit of the many boys in the back who resent Rock for sauntering back into the company and stealing another WrestleMania main event spot without putting in the full time and effort to deserve the position. CM Punk is far from the only performer who is upset at Rock's aloof demeanour when he drops by for a cup of coffee, but he's the only one that is a big enough star that he can get away with saying so in public.
Expect the feud to continue to be done in a worked shoot fashion, as apparently Rock wants the WrestleMania build for his match with Cena to mimic the style of a UFC Countdown special with a grudge match between major stars. It's not like people haven't been saying for years that the WWE creative team could learn something from how UFC promotes their pay-per-views.
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I hope to god
that creative listens to Da crock
his build sounds like $$$$$
gust saying
He knows the guy with the bandage on his ass is going no were. Were you going fucking no were
by Elstriko on Feb 22, 2012 9:12 AM EST via Android app reply actions
just not gust
fail
He knows the guy with the bandage on his ass is going no were. Were you going fucking no were
by Elstriko on Feb 22, 2012 10:09 AM EST via Android app up reply actions
Rock could go full heel before wrestlemania and cena still may get boo’d out of the building. Not sure how cena calling eve a skankopotamas is going to change the standard reaction cena gets (and they did book this in rock’s hometown).
by who me on Feb 22, 2012 10:12 AM EST via mobile reply actions
There's no way he won't be booed at WrestleMania
I mean, he always is. Because the ticket is so high, much of Cena’s fan base- kids- is shut out. Combine the fact that the Rock will return as the conquering hero, and the match is in Rock’s home town, there’s no way the crowd’s even split. It’s gonna be pro-Rock. The WWE has to expect this to be like the Rock-Hogan matchup (where the crowd was clearly behind the legend), and hope the Rock does for Cena what Hogan did for Rock: put him over, both during and after the match.
Yep, this makes sense
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!" Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
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by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Feb 22, 2012 1:24 PM EST up reply actions
The Rock should put Cena over, but he won't.
The best Cena can hope for is a long, hard-fought match, and after he loses (because Rock wouldn’t go through with all of this just to lose), The Rock shakes his hand afterward and they both celebrate. Which is fine, I guess; I’d like this rivalry with The Rock to change Cena in some way, considering how stale he’s gotten over the years, but creative seems allergic to that idea.
No matter what, Cena will go back to Hustle/Loyalty/Repect-ing his way to an 11th WWE Title by June or so.
Just imagine how great it would be if they would just steal the finish from Y2J-HBK
Rock wins, goes to shake Cena’s hand, and then Cena hit him in the family jewels starting an epic heel turn.
If the WWE hasn't turned Cena heel by now, they (probably) never will.
That’d be the way to do it, though….I was just thinking this over, that one of the biggest reasons people boo Cena is because of how inauthentic he comes across in his promos. He’s a naturally funny and charismatic guy — I used to watch those Top Five videos he did on wwe.com a few years ago, and a silly and off-the-cuff Cena is fun to watch — but he is so determined to sell whatever WWE Creative has wrote for him that, usually, nothing he says sounds “real.”
At this point, we all know what John Cena is about and what he stands for; if the WWE refuses to turn him heel, then the next best thing is a “less is more” approach to his character, which means a more serious and focused Cena with short, to-the-point promos. He really doesn’t have a personality of his own, so the WWE should stop trying to create one.
John Cena is a wrestler, so he should just wrestle.
You nailed it. This is exactly why Cena in his current form is so un-likable.
by DustinH(oo) on Feb 22, 2012 8:55 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Why should Rock put Cena over?
If it was a situation like “young up-and-comer challenges legend”, I would agree. There would be a payoff there, establishing that guy as a legit star. With Cena, he’s about as far as a “young up-and-comer” as there is. He’s already established as a legit star, the face of the WWE in the 2000s, a legit WWE Hall of Famer.
Ultimatley, Rock gains the free advertizing and stuff like that that he is likely ultimately looking for, win or lose, so that much doesn’t matter, but I would think it would be considerably less attractive to come back for a “one night only” kind of thing, only to lose in the end.
"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!" Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.
Ryder or Riot #WWWYKI
AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 458 posts (08/24/11)
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by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Feb 22, 2012 8:51 PM EST up reply actions
When I say "put over" I don't mean win the match at Wrestlemania; I mean to help improve the John Cena character.
If we get another round of “fruity pebbles” and #bootstoasses and fairly obvious gay jokes hurled around by The Rock as head towards Wrestlamania, the Cena is going to remain stale and foolish in the eyes of most wrestling fans AFTER Wrestlemania, no matter how the match goes. Treating Cena like a childish afterthought is not a good way to promote this match; The Rock has already won over the audience, so the least he can do is rub off a little shine onto Cena, so their match is one of equals.
Of course that requires the WWE to have the vision to see past Wrestlemania, which I doubt they have.
There's something after WrestleMania?
I thought that the world would just end or something
I'm big, I'm white, I'm Irish, and G*d damnit people like me!
by C. J. Bradford on Feb 22, 2012 11:02 PM EST up reply actions
Okay so lets get this straight….
Cena has been consistently boo’d by approx 50% of the fanbase since around 2006…
So let’s book him a year in advance against one of the top babyface nostalgia acts ever, oh, and let’s do it in his home town.
But wait, we don’t want fans to boo Cena!!! So, lets wait until a month before the event to try and make him seem more edgy, also let’s do it in the lamest, most immature way possible! That won’t further alienate the mature fanbase that already hates him! wtf.
It. Makes. No. Sense.
This can’t be life.
Mark.
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Cena's promo Monday
Made me change who I want to win. Go Cena.
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It was a good promo
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by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Feb 22, 2012 1:32 PM EST up reply actions
Good but not THAT good...
To make me forget about his last half decade of lazy, mediocre work.
It’s not just that his character is incredibly lame it’s that he has gotten lazy in his promos and his ring. He barely sells anything and completely neglects to incorporate any sort of psychology in his matches. He has cut two decent full blown promos in the past year. Both shoot-ish promos (one with Punk and this one).
I’m convinced he could be entertaining if he really wanted to be but nope..just doing enough to keep the women and kids happy. I can never root for that.
by DustinH(oo) on Feb 22, 2012 2:01 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Pretty much exactly how I feel
I don’t begrudge Cena his spot, because he earned it: he got himself over on Smackdown, and deserved to get to the top. But since then, his work has been mediocre all around.
I just don’t see how they can get the cheers to even up, no matter what they do it will be Pro-Rock. One of the writers at WrestleZone was saying that Rock is going to be heel in this match & he made some sense but everyone will be cheering for the heel in this match
The Legend
What Ken said above is true
And ironically enough, the theme here is quite similar to the Rock/Hogan match. Rock said some of the same things to Hogan. “The Rock believed in you, the people believe in you.” There are many of the same things going on here.
The Rock could very well be used as an instrument to help get Cena over, but how? Personally, I think the feud is becoming more personal as we move forward. How does this change the perception of Cena from the last five years to now? How does he get over?
"80 percent of this thread is rangerjae's sig". -Jim Margulus 6/16/11
Dear WWE: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Why people in WWE are scratching their heads trying to dig themselves out of a hole they can’t get out of is being ignorant. Doesn’t anyone understand and realize that even when Hogan was in his prime and was the face for the years he has been, he got booed out of lots of buildings and even Sting mentioned this in an interview some time back but of course because WWE or mainly VKM is stubborn and full of greed, he’ll keep pushing his cash cow beyond the levels of rationalization. I mean what’s it going to take for him to realize that his antics are only going to get more and more fans to get sick of seeing Cena “overcome the odds”.
At first, it started out hot like most reality based angles are if done right but now it’s more like two kids arguing over what they stand for and who helped the WWE more and who’s going do what and Rocky pointing out stuff like he doesn’t like the clothes or the target audience Cena entertains or Cena’s homophobic jokes on the movies you’ve made. But isn’t WWE partnered with GLAAD? Here’s a quick FYI, the movies that made Rock the most money wasn’t what you’d call action movies but were mostly kid or family related. Irony anybody? But wait the final outcome is the two challenging each other like any kid who doesn’t like another one at recess but instead it’s call WM. Meet me outside Rock, no I’ll meet you outside Cena. Give me a fucking break. It’s getting annoying.
The only time these two did anything relevant that was entertaining was close over 10 years ago. When Rock was actually The Rock and WWF was still competing but basically winning the MNW which was coming to an end. Right around 2000 and 2001 Cena was just getting into the business when he was signed with OVW. Meanwhile Rock in the one of the all time greatest feuds with Stone Cold. Even though Cena had a gimmick that was different and interesting and fun to watch. In 2002 in one of the most famous and memorable debuts against Angle, Rock was already in the process of transitioning to movies. Of course HHH still stroking his power around was also in the midst of forming Evolution who he personally chose Orton and Batista as the next ones in line to be a world champion of some sort.
Even though Lesnar was kicking ass, he still did what he always does and push the people he only wants to see with big accomplishments. It was Vince not HHH that started to push Cena into becoming the big star he is now. I’d also like to point out that it was JR that had Cena signed and even told Vinny that he just signed a his future WM main eventer, in not those exact words. In the in end though I enjoyed Cena in OVW then anything he’s done in WWE aside from his “rapper” gimmick which as I said was alot more entertaining than anything he’s done since winning the belt at WM 21. Atleast IMO.
The Rock lost alot of momentum when he left to become a movie star but one of his last actual if not his last slight run when was a heel in 03 was fun to watch. This maybe one the biggest matches in wrestling history but overall it’s just two little kids bickering over how they don’t like certain things about one another. WM is about having a good time and the way these two are acting is just giving off a negative feeling altogether.
you're own stupidity will lead you to your own downfall
by congestedthoughts on Feb 22, 2012 12:06 PM EST reply actions
If mostly your audience
doesn’t want to cheer someone, you really aren’t going to change their minds. This isn’t so mid-carder who can easily bounce back and forth — it’s the cash cow, the face of your “sport”.
People have made up their minds on Cena and his cheers/boos have nothing to do with character or storylines anymore.
Has there ever been a heel that kids loved? I know that’s sort of an oxymoron but oh well.
by TMadeBurner on Feb 22, 2012 12:29 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Greg is that u
He knows the guy with the bandage on his ass is going no were. Were you going fucking no were
by Elstriko on Feb 22, 2012 1:16 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
John Cena wouldn't get 50% cheers going up against Prince Joffrey in a decapitation match.
The fact that WWE is actively working to get this for his match with the motherfucking Rock in Miami is the equivalent of a legless man pushing a boulder up Mount Everest.
Maybe he just needs to publicly humiliate more divas (cena not prince Joffrey).
by who me on Feb 22, 2012 1:25 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
If this is their plan
It’s not working. As much as you either loved or hated that segment with Eve, it was really awkward and probably didn’t win him any new fans. The last segment when he called out the Rock is most likely the way to go, but I still need something other than the Rock became very successful in Hollywood as a reason to not like him or care about this match.
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IMAGINE HOW RIDICULOUS THE BACKSTAGE CRITICISM OF THE ROCK IS....
…if they were complaining about The Undertaker.
If it sounded like a shoot, maybe because it sort of was, for the benefit of the many boys in the back who resent THE UNDERTAKER for sauntering back into the company and stealing another WrestleMania main event spot without putting in the full time and effort to deserve the position.
Bottom line to the boys in the back, maybe if you could draw $ the WWE wouldn’t need to upset the comfortable staus quo in the locker room for an opportunity to fatten everybody’s pay day.
The Undertaker is nearing the end of his career
And has pretty much been the main locker room leader for the past decade. I’m pretty sure no one will say anything to him coming back for the Streak at WM. I’m pretty sure that the wrestlers’ problem with the Rock has to due with him coming by for a WM main event spot when he hasn’t been a semi-active wrestler since 2004 and really stopped being completely committed to wrestling for at least a year or so at that point.
Also, Undertaker has respect from managing to do amazing things with a body held together by duct tape.
by ThisOneGoesToEleven on Feb 23, 2012 7:06 PM EST up reply actions
Following the 80/20 principle...
The 20 being the tax paying folks who are 21+ years old, Cena should attempt to be appealing to them, which if I’m correct, the ball’s started rolling on last Monday’s Raw. And fast. When you grab their attention and cater to the older folks, everyone else – the 80 – will follow. Unless if WWE has any other plans.
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