I’ve tackled the subject of Cena previously (http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2008/02/03/73382/) and came to the conclusion that he’s a very good worker for the style he wrestles. What I failed to address is the reason people dislike him so much. This logic causing the hatred is exactly what the naysayers claim, but without fully understanding the reasoning behind their venom: John Cena is for kids.
With the passing of the Attitude era, WWE’s fans have mostly grown up and gone on to other pastimes. With the loss of these fans, the WWE’s demographic has changed from teens to children. Children love John Cena. The reason for this is that he’s like a starter pack for wrestling.
Personality wise he mixes elements of Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart and Steve Austin. He has Hogan’s superhero persona down pat, but he also adds elements of Bret’s underdog, fighting champion, and Austin’s “don’t take anything from anyone” attitude. All of these traits make him a cipher to more sophisticated, older audiences and take away from his being strong in any one area. This lack of standing for anything, however, means that he’s an all-purpose hero to the kids in the audience. That’s the cause of his popularity. While that’s reasonably obvious, here’s what’s been missed.
The WWE has recognized that Cena is popular mostly with children, whether they know the cause or not (I tend to think they do, but it’s irrelevant). John Cena’s matches are kept ridiculously simple so that children can be trained about what to look for in a wrestling match. We know Cena can do longer and more complex matches, but most of his in-match storytelling efforts are the simple bases upon which all matches are built. Cena will tell a very simple underdog storyline, or use quick leg psychology in his matches and instead of building from there, that will usually be the entirety of the storyline. For a long time fan, this can be unsatisfying and make it seem like Cena doesn’t get the nuances of being a great wrestler. His occasional glimpses of more complex work then become frustration for the portion of the fanbase that already understands the simple wrestling through years of conditioning. In the end, however, conditioning the next generation of fans with a wrestler they can get behind is a necessary step in the continued survival of WWE.
Cena is for children. His popularity with them is derived from his everyman status, as he takes traits from many of wrestling history’s biggest names. This credibility to children allows the WWE to use Cena as a training mechanism in young wrestling fans, allowing them to learn what to expect from wrestling, how to recognize storytelling, and react appropriately to the action in the ring. Cena occasionally shows glimpses of more, which allows younger fans to build upon what they have already seen, while giving the older fans tantalizing glimpses of what’s to come when the next generation of fan matures.
And now, something totally different: an examination of Undertaker vs. Edge, Hell in a Cell. This match quite simply warrants a full breakdown.
Upon Further Review:
Summerslam on August 17, 2008
Hell in a Cell: The Undertaker vs. Edge
Edge, a cowardly heel, has been wrestling and tormenting the Undertaker for ages now, costing the Deadman the title and even forcing him into a temporary retirement. The feud began with Edge costing Taker the title in his Hell in a Cell with Batista, by blasting Taker with a video camera. Since, they faced off in numerous gimmick matches, most notably the Tables, Ladders and Chairs match that Edge won to retire the Undertaker, featuring a ton of interference.
Edge is now on his own and thanks to Mick Foley, who Undertaker nearly killed in a Hell in a Cell 10 years ago, has gone from a cowardly opportunist to a wild brawler. This transformation was handled perfectly as Edge destroyed his former allies and took a new attitude into his match with the Undertaker. Background settled, let’s get to the match.
The Undertaker immediately showed his usual level of brutality, but the surprise is Edge. He’s still using opportunism to gain offense, but instead of his usual immediate attempts to win, while using cheap tricks, he’s using clever brawling to set up sequences of weapons attacks. This worked out brilliantly, leading to several great spots, notably an attack from a ladder, with a chair, through a table. In beautiful continuity, Edge even says “I Understand” as he did before putting Foley through a table in the exact same manner. Taker’s back was beat to hell, but naturally, as years of conditioning have taught us, never count out the Deadman.
Undertaker does the situp into a comeback and beats Edge about, but intelligently, Edge is even ready for this and manages to spear Undertaker through the cage. This is followed by a monitor shot and another spear on top of the announce tables. We’ve been conditioned that it’s really next to impossible to beat the Undertaker, but Edge is laying in the type of beating it would take.
Back in the ring, Edge, like the strike that started the feud, hits The Undertaker with a video camera. That gets two, but is a bad decision as it causes Taker to focus and clear out the cobwebs. Edge goes for a spear and Taker catches him with a chokeslam. Edge, desperate, suddenly reverts to his opportunistic heel persona. He abandons his plan of wearing down the Undertaker with a series of big moves and looks for the knockout blow, cheaply and quickly. A low blow, leads to the impaler for a near fall.
Taker keeps coming and attempting big moves, while Edge stays the opportunist and is a step ahead. Taker tries killing blows, but Edge even kicks out of the Last Ride, before avoiding a Tombstone off the steps onto a chair. Edge gets away and gains control, but his old arrogance is back and he tries for the Old School. Taker will have none of that and chokeslams Edge from the top through two tables. He puts Edge in and claims brutal, sweet revenge. The Undertaker hits Edge with a video camera, gives him a conchairto, and finally a Tombstone for the pin.
The Undertaker defeats Edge (Pin, Tombstone, **** ¾)
Upon rewatch I’ll decide if this is ***** or not. It’s certainly damn close and the best Hell in the Cell since Michaels vs. Undertaker. Edge had an evil plan to take apart the Undertaker’s back and win, using combinations of attacks that were previously successful in his wars against Undertaker. When that assault didn’t work in the fashion Edge wished, as quickly as he wished, Edge reverted to his opportunism to try and grab the victory and get out of the match. Without the constant interference, that didn’t get the victory, but it did lend to Edge some of his old cockiness. That was finally what came back to bite him as the Undertaker took revenge for all the assaults before finally pinning and laying end to this feud in perfect fashion.
Unless something astounding occurs, this is the Match of the Year.
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Well done as usual, Ace (where’s Steve Murray?).
You’ve made this non-fan of WWE take interest in a match. I believe I’ll take a look at this Hell In A Cell contest.
Great argument for Cena. I was thinking that “extreme” years of WWE would come in waves as they seem to have gone back to the simpler days of mid-90s Raw for the most part.
The future could be quite bright if that’s their plan all along.
Nicely written Aaron, i’ll need to see that match for sure. I had my reservations as from the initial reports I read it sounded just like another HIAC packed with big spots but nice to hear there was a story behind it.
Great Stuff
Nice one, Aaron. Just to be pedantic, however, the Taker/Edge feud really began last May with the Money in the Bank cash-n-grab.
I haven’t been overly eager to see Undertaker in the ring in the last couple of years but this feud with Edge might make me sit up and take notice. Undertaker seems to be at his best in an all out war.
I liked Punk Vs. Layfield. Hell In A Cell was alright, but could have used some Disco Inferno.
The more intriguing highlight of Summerslam for me was Shawn Michaels’ actions leading to his wife getting popped in the mouth. Sadly, fans will boo the wrong person (Jericho).
Good article. I can see your points on Cena… but to me I still don’t see why the IWC turned on him the way it did.
Yes… his matches are kept simple. Yes… we don’t get to see what the guy can actually do.
But what you said instantly reminded me of another man. A man that in many peoples’ eyes could do no wrong. He was a god among the folks here in the interwebs.
His name was Chris Benoit.
Tell me that 95% of his matches within the E weren’t toned down from the Benoit of old.
Right here I’ll go over the steps of those matches.
Chop. Chop. Chop. Crossface attempt. Chop. Chop. Chop. Sharpshooter attempt. Chop. Chop. Heel takes over. Benoit rallies. Triple Germans. Diving headbutt. Crossface or Sharpshooter. Ring the f’n bell.
That pretty much sums up a Chris Benoit match in the WWE. Were all his matches like this? Nope. But the majority of them were. Yet for some reason… he was still considered the best on the planet. Was he? Probably.
But did he wretle like it? Lords no.
Yet he got all the love (until that whole killing my wife and son thing).
So Cena gets booed by the smarks because he has had to tone down his style… but other guys…. like Benoit above… who short of murder can not get the ire of the IWC… get the pass and the blame is passed to Vince for making them dumb it down.
Why not blame Vince, or the agents, and still cheer for Cena… like most of you did?
What it comes down to is something like this.
It’s like when an underground band… a band that you loved sooooo much when no one else cared about them… suddenly gets popular. Suddenly… everywhere you see their shirts. You here them on popular radio.
Suddenly… people that hated them when you’d play them that underground demo or laughed at you for wearing their shirt are now buying all their albums and shirt and declaring them the greatest band of all time.
And then… that band you loved so much… now they pander to that audience. You’re no longer that special minority. You almost feel slighted on a personal level… because we as humans put this kind of attatchment on things. Your undying love turns to dislike turns into hate.
THAT, my friends…. is the truth behind the Cena boos. You’ll never ever admit it… because you’ve all got too much pride… but deep down inside of you… you know I’m right.
Awesome review of Taker/Edge. I’m in the same boat as you, right now I have it at ****3/4 but I need to watch it again to see if it warrants the full 5.
I have yet to see the Taker/Edge match Aaron, but your review really wants to make me watch it.
Chris: Despite popular opinion, moveset has little to do with quality in ring.
Benoit’s brilliance was usually not recognized by fans until they got to see him a bit. If only watched one or two Benoit matches, the lack of flashy moves makes it hard to see the big deal. Once one watches more, fans inevitably fell for his in ring style. Why?
The answer is in the little things. Benoit was a master at timing every hope spot and transition, from either a face or a heel role in order to both keep the pacing feeling fresh and maximize the crowd’s reaction. This was accomplished with a crispness and lack of wasted movement that’s unmatched in wrestling, perhaps ever. Add in that he was excellent at, with the same moves, using body language and timing to set them (and his selling) up differently to take on different meanings depending on the context of the match, such as whether he was meant to be the underdog, the technical master, far smaller, the dick heel, etc. In short, Benoit was able to work a ton of different structures and stories into a match while using a basic moveset.
Cena uses a basic moveset around one or two basic structures, never adding the depth to his role and having nowhere near Benoit’s timing or crispness.
You really summed up Benoit right there perfectly. Beautifuly in fact. No arguement from me on that point.
But Cena is quite good at those instances as well. Just look at his match last night. He sold that knee like it was about to crumble. Even after his comeback spots… like the running shoulder blocks. Right after Dave went down Cena went to his knee as if to say “Damn! Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.”
The only thing I see lacking in Cena is that he doesn’t play to the boos enough. Maybe if he did it might turn popular opinion around on him?
And while we spend the vast majorityh of this last comment section going back and forth in arguements and disagreements… I gotta agree with you again on the UT/Edge match. The thing was amazing. The one thing that did irk me was the crowd actually booing when Edge and Taker made their way back inside the cell. It’s like they were hoping for some insane spot off the top of the cage or something.
Maybe we have become too bloodthirty? I know this argument has been brought up time and again… but when two guys have a brutal match that tells a brilliant story and the crowd still boos because it looks like there won’t be some twenty foot fall… I dunno. Just bothers me a bit.
Cena started losing his appeal when he went from being the guy who could make a funny rhyme at the drop of a hat while wearing throwback jerseys to being a shameless self promotional hack who stopped with the battle raps.
I think we can agree to disagree on Cena (and, again, I do like the guy a lot). I thought the whole story was the legwork and it didn’t really pay off in the end. Cena sold it well, but didn’t really let it actively hamper his speed or power moves the way one might hope. They also went into a finishing sequence right after the feeling out period and left the match disjointed to me.
And though the crowd booed no roof spot, they immediately afterwards got right back into it, so I have no real problem there with fans wanting to see something “special” since it didn’t detract after.
Aaron: I agree wholeheartedly about both Cena and Hell In A Cell. I have been a fan of Cena’s for a long time, and I will even venture to say that he is one of the few to actually put forth serviceable matches against Umaga and Khali, something that obviously HHH has NOT been able to do (just see last night as a simple reference point, vs. the match with Khali that Cena had that actually wasn’t negative ten stars.
As far as Hell In A Cell, that was by far the best installment since the original. Not only that, it capped the end of one of the best feuds this year (would have been the best if not for HBK-Jericho), and also let Edge do something he hasn’t done in a long long time — elevate his status IN A LOSS.
Great stuff!
LOL… it seems that we’ve had to agree to disagree in the short time we’ve been sorta talking on this thing.
However… there is one thing we can agree on.
TNA. What the hell?
I dunno, maybe it’s because I’ve only seen bits and pieces of the feud (probably is), but that definitely wasn’t match of the year for me. Really liked it, but I’m not as crazy about it as some.
On Cena: the boos annoy me. I think it’s a bunch of bandwagon jumpers who are following what the smarks in the crowd are doing. If you like Batista or Triple H, then I really don’t see how you can hate Cena. I like Cena. He’s not my favorite, but I really don’t see where are the hate comes from.
And to Aaron: I absolutely agree with you on the disjointed feel during Cena/Batista. I watched Summerslam with my little brother, and after the match we were talking about whether we liked it or not. But I pointed out that it was odd of them to go straight from feeling each other out to big moves.
Good stuff here as usual, Aaron. The “Cena for kids” talk is definitely true, the WWE has even proclaimed so on TV. Just recently in the feud with DAVE, the “I know a lot of people over the age of 15 would love to see me beat your ass” comment, as well as the feud with HHH when he said at a certain point of RAW that it was past Cena’s fans’ bed times.
Thanks for the kind words all and TNA, what the hell, indeed.
Very Good stuff, but as a debator i have to pick apart arguments ( for practice). U said “With the loss of these fans, the WWE’s demographic has changed from teens to children”………ok u also stated that WWE is grooming these children, to become mature wrestling fans. Where does this stop, because, these kids will become teenagers, so are u saying people like Cena will never “grow up” with his audience, or are u impliing that WWE will attempt to do the immposible, by getting teengers to watch wresting again?……… please do explain.
Are you a master debator? Sorry, couldn’t help it… ;)
The kids will grow into teens, then college students. Cena may grow with them or put over the guys who are on top when the next generation is ready. Basically WWE is hooking fans now and prepping themselves to be the cool thing again as these new “lifelong fans” hit the proper age. Then those fans outgrow wrestling for the most part, besides those that become the hardcore audience, anyway, and WWE can start again.
ok well, if “Then those fans outgrow wrestling for the most part, besides those that become the hardcore audience”…….. wats the point of grooming these kids, since there is always gonna be “hardcore” fans that r young…. since u stated the E wants wrestling to be the “cool” thing again, wats the point of having us wacth dumbed down matches from cena, if WWE essentally restarts, every decade…… so ru saying when these kids grow up, WWE will be in line for another “additude” era? and leave this PG thing? idk
p.s. i was gonna put master debator on my shirt, but highschool is a bitch and i cant wear it to school. also jus like hip hop sites……. i jus wanted to have wresling dialoge (spelling ?) cuz i like to discuss the ” realness of the fakeness of pro wrestling”
I have not watched the Cena/Batista match but I did watch Hell in a Cell. Edge made up for anything dull and boring he has done in his latest storyline in that one match. Edge is back and I do hope he stays that way.
Basically, yes, WWE is groming for another more “adult oriented” (which really means teen oriented) era. That’s when they make most money. Then those teens move on and WWE gets to go back to more PG stuff, focussing on the young ones and making money in the meantime.
And hoping the competition can give them good ideas to take. Unfortunetly for WWE, they only have TNA, the “Raping America,” promotion.
lol……….. so WWE the “national promotion” much like MTV or ne other national promotion, or company, will never be dedicatied to actual wrestling, rather “rasslin”, because young kids only like the super popular guys like cena ( who cant, or rather is stopped from wrestling well)is on top. Well this is a problem in the fact that guys who are really good (SHELTON i’m lookin at u) will never get over beacuse bad wrestlers are put over …………… life is unfaiR!
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