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An argument for those that bash Cena for pandering to kids

4K views 48 replies 31 participants last post by  ThirtyYearFan 
#1 ·
As most of know on this forum, John Cena is an character that panders to little children and to women the world over. A lot of the posters on the this site can't stand him for that fact every night he comes out and he say he never gives up, does a goofy promo, and wins most of his matches. I mean it does get tiresome of seeing the same old shit for a while but let me ask you a question. Was it any different for you when you were a kid?

For those of use who grew up watching wrestling during the 80's and 90's as a kid you know your heroes were Hogan, Warrior, Bret, HBK. Those guys at one point or another were the kiss ass faces that did everything to please the crowd and us as kids ate it all up. I know the dynamic changed as the attitude era went on as how a top face was portrayed but Austin isn't any different either seeing as he too was the "good guy".

But I guess this really goes out to those who got into wrestling in their teens and was enamored by the attitude era and all those who were bad ass and over the top angles and hate what the current product represents to day with it's "PG" environment. The only thing I can say to you guys is that the top guy will always for the most part will be a pandering, baby kissing, do gooder because they have to have good morals for the kids to look up to. And what's wrong with that? ;)
 
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#3 ·
my girlfriend has 3 kids and they all like cena, it just shows that his marketing is working, i actually use to not like cena but i dont mind the guy right now, i dont ever see him turning heel as a good idea. It'd be a major surprise and shocking, but marketing wise and such, it isnt a great idea
 
#4 ·
I don't have to like him or his character to understand what an important part of the show he is. Similarly with the wrestlers of the past listed in the OP.

I've never understood why so many fans feel that the show should cater to their specific wants when there are millions of viewers with similar/different tastes.
 
#11 ·
What makes Cena better than Punk and vice-versa? I don't like Cena since the rapper gimmick. The problem with his character is that he comes as forced instead of natural like Punk is. He is a marketing product, first the rapper thing, then the marine stuff to promote the movie, then the rise above hate thing... He is always the same thing with different things to sell. That's my only problem with him.

I don't think it's even fair to compare him to Bret, Hogan, Steve Austin. Cena is generic.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I never saw Hogan when watching actively. However the big difference for me between now and AE babyfaces, Cena has remained the same for 7 years. 7 full years as a top babyface who has never changed. I know the high win ratio and superman booking is part of being a babyface, CM Punk experienced it aswell. However the fact that Cena is so phony/double-standard and has remained so for 7 years just wears on me. I don't consistently bash Cena for it though. He has great talent. But he really should have had some sort of character change in the past 7 years, and really needs one now.
 
#12 ·
For those of use who grew up watching wrestling during the 80's and 90's as a kid you know your heroes were Hogan, Warrior, Bret, HBK. Those guys at one point or another were the kiss ass faces that did everything to please the crowd and us as kids ate it all up.
They all were very cool characters that appealed to all ages. With Cena, I honestly don't get how he appeals to anyone over the age of 8. He looks like he came off of a Nick Jr. show. I could see him doing kids' Bday parties.
 
#18 ·
Hogan, Warrior, Macho, Bret, HBK, etc either had cool characters which didn't appeal just for little kids(teens and adults liked them as well), evolved their characters when they've gotten stale, or both. With the Cena it's the opposite.
 
#19 ·
But you're looking at their evolution retrospectively, Hogan didn't change his babyface ways at least a full decade into his top face career and he, too, was getting stale late into his run before turning heel. Their heel turn took years to manifest before the trigger was even pulled because they were the "top guy".
 
#21 ·
If Cena turns heel, then who's merchandise are all the little kids going to buy? Unless another baby face comes along with the marketing power (or potential atleast) of Cena, I can never see him "betraying" the little kids who idolize him. That's Cena's problem, he is stuck where he is. He is criticised for not changing, but the truth is that he can't until another John Cena appears. And those type of baby faces don't come around too often.
 
#31 · (Edited)
I admit, I skimmed your post, but I think I got the gist of it.

Cena does boring cringe-worthy promos with some of the worst humor ever and is portrayed as a superhero. Austin drank beer and gave people the finger. Kind of different no?

Edit: I only skimmed and posted because it was a commercial break for the game I was watching and I was killing time. Same reason I posted this edit. Some asshole called me a fool for this post and I don't understand what his problem is, but I digress.
 
#34 ·
I admit, I skimmed your post, but I think I got the gist of it.

Cena does boring cringe-worthy promos with some of the worst humor ever and is portrayed as a superhero. Austin drank beer and gave people the finger. Kind of different no?
Only in that they were equally tedious after years and years of the same thing.

All this "We hate Cena!" hate is slightly misplaced. A better question might be, "How do we mix it up with John Cena, without heel-turning him?" It's totally possible, but he's going to have to do some serious character work.
 
#33 ·
As most of know on this forum, John Cena is an character that panders to little children and to women the world over. A lot of the posters on the this site can't stand him for that fact every night he comes out and he say he never gives up, does a goofy promo, and wins most of his matches. I mean it does get tiresome of seeing the same old shit for a while but let me ask you a question. Was it any different for you when you were a kid?
Here is the answer: Yes it was different. I first started watching in the early 90's, WCW mostly. And heels went over faces. Vader was a monster, Flair put over Sting.

When Cena is on, there are no monster heels. Nobody goes over. Its just a roided gorilla in bright candy-colored t-shirts winking at mothers trying to keep their 6 year olds awake in the front row. When I was growing up, the likes of Vader just flat out scared people like that away from the arena, let alone the front row.
 
#38 ·
Heel turns aren't the cure-all to whatever ails your character. He wouldn't even have to shift alignment - there are lots of interesting options that still lay within the heroic sphere. Making someone a 'bad guy' doesn't make them more entertaining. It just puts them on the wrong side of the plot.
 
#40 ·
I dont think I'll ever like or enjoy his work even if he changes... i really am that sick of him.
 
#42 · (Edited)
I agree fully with what someone said about the top face appealling to all fans. This is the way it should be.. though I don't think it's entirely Cena's fault (the way his character is booked) that he doesn't. WWE are focusing too much on appealling to the kids for merch sales. Nobody can fault them for making sure their sales stay strong... but they've proven before that you don't need a suck up like Cena to achieve that.

I started watching wrestling in the mid-late 90s... at that time and for a good few years after, the main face was Austin. He didn't pander to the kids or women, he didn't come out with anything corny or play superman. He rarely ever sucked up to the crowd, yet EVERYBODY loved him.

Why? He was the good guy, and the heels at the time were doing such a good job of pissing everybody off that everybody would cheer for the good guy. The kids loved him because they hated the heels and the older viewers loved his rebllious attitude. Don't get me wrong, Austin was great and deserves everything he's achieved... but imagine him doing his thing every week with the current roster. I think the best heels at the moment are Punk, Heyman and probably Sandow. Would it be awesome if Austin came out and stunned them? Maybe the first time. But week after week... probably not, nor with any other of the heels that will come along as it's inevitable these days that the face will end on top... The heels just aren't booked strongly enough.

Back when you had the likes of HHH as a STRONG heel character who seemed unbeatable at times (whether it was his own doing or cheating), ANY face would have had a strong positive reaction against him. HHH did a good job of pissing everyone off. McMahon did a good job of it. Even the mid-card had strong heel characters. WWE did a great job of building appealling faces by making the heels so good themselves.

It's something that is completely missing these days and if the roster, and booking was stronger, WWE wouldn't have to cater mainly for the kids in order to get great sales. The kids would still love Cena if he was more edgy, provided he was still the good guy and still won matches against bad guys that they didn't like.

Cena's character is just the result of a poor ethos towards the roster in general and inadequate booking across the board... rather than a specific issue with him.
 
#45 ·
That's what he's there for and he does his job well. Punk was supposed to be the guy the older demographic could cheer for, until they turned him into soft baby face and now a whinging pussy heel. I still like the guy only because of the person he has been and has the potential to be again.

I like Cena's character at time's as well but not as you mention, when he's pandering to the kids.
 
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