Hulk Hogan Predicts John Cena's Future

Last week in this space we had a lot of fun with a chart showing the relative age of John Cena's opponents compared to his own age. Here it is:

Keep in mind that this data set includes only singles matches that received a star rating from Dave Meltzer, or in other words, matches of considerable significance. As you can see, we've reached a point where John Cena has begun to contend with opponents that are significantly than he is. Will this trend continue? Will it reverse? There's no way of knowing for sure. Or is there?

John Cena is this generation's major star and is often compared to the primary stars of prior eras... namely, Hulk Hogan. Since the comparison arises so often, let's indulge the urge to look at Hulk's chart:

As you can see, the latter years of Hulk's career consisted of large gaps between matches against significantly younger superstars, and of course, Hulk's complete career is far longer that Cena's. What you might not know is that Hulk didn't really hit the big time until his early 30's while Cena was a worldwide star by his mid 20's. That makes it tough to compare these two graphs as presently constructed. While not quite apples and oranges, it's at least Honeycrisps to Granny Smiths.

Though I wonder... what if I adjusted the ranges so that Cena and Hogan's age were lined up and overlaid on the same graph? Let's take a look:

Oh my word. Look at that! For the years when both were active, the two lines are absolutely uncanny in their similarity. Cena's blue line is practically a tracing of Hogan's red one. To be clear, I began this endeavor with a clear mind and no agenda and never expected to arrive at a finding like this.

Could this mean that Cena and Hogan are as similar as everyone like to point out? Or Is this some kind of epic coincidence? We'll have to see, but don't be surprised to see Cena plot a similar course in the coming years. And for God's sake, be sure to enjoy Cena while he's still performing regularly and at a historically high level. For if there's one thing this graph definitely confirms, it's that no professional wrestler, regardless of skill, can keep of that kind of longevity forever.

(All data courtesy of our friends at profightdb.com.)

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OFFICIAL WRESTLER WRANKINGS FORMULA

ANY WIN = 2 POINTS

US OR INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE BOUT = 1 POINT

WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE BOUT = 3 POINTS

NON "BIG 4" PPV BONUS = 1.5X

SUMMERSLAM, SURVIVOR SERIES, ROYAL RUMBLE = 2X BONUS

WRESTLEMANIA = 3X BONUS

The WWE season begins on the day after WrestleMania 31 and culminates with WrestleMania 32. The wrestler who accumulates the most points over the course of the season, wins the coveted Wrankings Championship!

Monday Night Raw-- 6/8/15

Roman Reigns - 2 points (win)

Kevin Owens - 2 points (win)

Big E - 2 points (win)

Kane - 2 points (win)

Main Event-- 6/9/15

Stardust - 2 points (win)

Kevin Owens - 2 points (win)

Adam Rose - 2 points (win)

Smackdown-- 6/11/15

Seth Rollins - 2 points (win)

Ryback - 2 points (win)

Bad News Barrett - 2 points (win)

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WRESTLER WRANKINGS, WEEK 11 *TOP TEN*

1. Neville -- 32 points

2. Seth Rollins -- 31.5

3. John Cena -- 28

4. Dean Ambrose -- 26

5. Ryback -- 25.5

6. Roman Reigns -- 23.5

7. Randy Orton -- 23

8. Dolph Zigger -- 19.5

9. Bad News Barrett -- 18.5

10. Stardust -- 18

Thanks for reading, Cagesiders. We'll see you back here next week!