[scrilla]

It's a pretty simple question. I know there are plenty of people that feel that Cena is just the beneficiary of Brock leaving the business. But I don't know how much I really buy into that myself. Sure Brock was a huge deal, but I still feel WWE is out for the money, and there is more merchandise to be sold on Cena's back. Not to mention Cena is a much better talker than Brock ever was which also has more influence on your spot than actual wrestling. Basically I think Cena would have eclipsed Brock at some point and Brock would be more like Cena's main equal and rival rather than Randy Orton.

So in your opinion would Cena be the top dog right now if Brock Lesnar was still with the WWE?

 

[Until May]

yes.


cena is part of the PG era the kids love him, and he is just the right type of guy to be the face of the company. gah its hard to provide a good explination.

 

[Stekeo1990]

^This ends all

 

[scrilla]

Yeah, but Brock Lesnar could be just as PG friendly. It's not like his gimmick was running around calling people candy asses, flipping off the crowd and drinking beer. In fact Lesnar's gimmick was probably more PG friendly than Cena's was 3-4 years before the PG era started.

I'm just saying the WWE had all their eggs in the Brock Lesnar basket. He was the next big thing quite literally. He squashed Hogan and The Rock within months of being witht he company. And picked up a victory over Taker in less than a year. Cena has still never beat the Undertaker. He was obviously the next face of the company. I don't know how well he would have worked as a babyface in the PG era though. I guess he could have just been a strong silent freak of nature. Speaking of him being a freak of nature I wonder how much the entire wellness policy would have effected his look and his position on the card. He was clearly juicing back in those days.

Again I feel Cena would have eclipsed Lesnar from his skill on the microphone and the fact that he's a merchandise mover not because of the PG era.

 

[DesolationRow]

Cena would absolutely be the top guy. People constantly overrate Brock Lesnar's impact on the business--mainly because of the huge affect he had had in UFC. But in WWE, he honestly didn't really move business terribly much. And let's not forget that his one babyface run flopped because he was so boringly one-dimensional in that role.

Cena as an upper midcarder in 2004, at the time pushed at a fraction of the ferocity Vince pushed Lesnar, was responsible for more than 1/5th of WWE's merchandise sales if I have my numbers right.

I see no reason at all why Cena would not have jumped over Lesnar pretty easily if Lesnar had stayed around. And here's the funny part: while Batista may not have received the kind of push he did if Lesnar had stuck around (whose absence impacted the pushes for JBL and Orton before Batista), if they had pushed Batista just like they did in his defiant face turn against Triple H in very early 2005, it's pretty clear that Batista would have surpassed Lesnar, too, if all things remained equal. Batista and Cena were responsible for creating something of a "mini-boom," so to speak. Merchandise sales, ratings, gates all went up as they were pushed to the top and anointed. Batista was Raw's powerhouse draw for the first half of the year and when he migrated to Smackdown, their business went up, too.

By comparison, Lesnar's impact on business throughout his two-year run was very marginal. He was a very good foil for certain guys, he shook up the main event scene when they desperately needed something new in 2002, and it's very possible that he could have become a truly big draw on his own terms if he had stuck around, but despite WWE overpushing him so hard in those two years, and literally called The Next Big Thing, he really didn't leave that much of an indentation on WWE's business.

 

[Stekeo1990]

i never really liked him though i always felt he was shoved in your face and with how big of a beast he was it was just too much for me if they tried making him top Face then id be sick plus he couldnt be really he dosnt have the face to be the face of the company while Cena has that Baby young face Lesnars got that hard arse face if you know what i mean

 

[Hiplop]

Cena would have still been bigger thanks to his amazing mic skills, which Brock majorly lacked. Lesnar would be where Batista was more than likely

 

[li/<o]

It is obvious within time Cena was going to be the top guy. They probably would of builded up the hype in the future for wrestlemania and have Brock be the big dominant heel being beaten against Cena (mr. superman) . I mean it is truth thats when the PG era was hitting so Brock really wasn't going to do much for the WWE since he is meant for the more attitude era. I would assume Cena would of looked even better having beaten Brock since Brock was one of the most dominant wrestlers having Cena be as big as he is or even bigger.

I mean at that time there was really no big stars Brock was main eventing almost for 2 years in a row. I enjoyed every moment of Brock he was interesting and one of the best athletics to hit the industry. When Brock left there was big spot left to have some room for main eventers so thats when Cena (as well as Batista) really pulled it up.

 

[dave 1981]

I have always believed that much like with Hulk Hogan in 1984, Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1996 and The Rock in 1999 nothing would have stopped John Cena becoming as big as he is because eventually his all round talent would have shone through. When you look back towards the latter parts of 2003 you can see just how popular John Cena was becoming and this was at a time when he was a heel, this is why he was turned face.

It is arguable that in 2004 we saw John Cena as the most popular face on the roster and that is one thing that Vince McMahon always looks at before pushing people to the main event scene and WWE/World title. In 2004 WWE had Goldberg, Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit at his peak, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero all around and in my opinion the only person who could have a claim to being more popular than John Cena would be Eddie Guerrero.

What i could have seen happening is that John Cena and Brock Lesnar would most likely have been an era defining feud and they would have been pushed as the two top stars, i think had SmackDown had more than Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle and John Cena and done better in the ratings then Randy Orton would have had his push early to boost Raw's ratings and he would have had the slow face turn storyline that he was meant to have originally instead of Batista. Had Batista not had that push going into WrestleMania 21 then it may have been John Cena, Brock Lesnar and to a lesser extent Randy Orton as the big three for the present and future and Batista eventually after that.

All in all though everything probably worked out for the better with Brock Lesnar leaving at WrestleMania 20 as it meant John Cena and Batista pushed a year later as the two top guys for the era which saw ratings and buyrates boosted and business do the best it had done for a little while. It meant that Randy Orton was pushed early and we didn't have to see a long term legend killer face character and in the long term John Cena has continued to do all he can for WWE and remain as the face of the company.

 

[Gingermadman]

As much as I love Brock, he just didn't have the character to last long.

Lesnar was a Goldberg, not an Austin. Although I just compared Cena to Austin, so I'm going to be sick a little. I hope you understand my comparisons.

 

[dangreenday]

obviously we cant say for sure, but im pretty certain that he would be, in the pg era he is the perfect charactor to have, and he brings all the cash in from the merch and he is one of the hardest working guys in the WWE so im pretty sure he would be

 

[Gunner14]

Exactly the same he is now. Lesner was good but he sucked on the mic so would never get over the way Cena has.

 

[reDREDD]

Yes. From day one you could see Cena was gonna main event. He couldve been dropped into any era and gotten it done.

Orton too was pushed to greatness,

The question is, what about Batista'?

 

[nukeinyourhair]

Cena still would be the top guy because Lesnar would have worked primarily as a heel, while Cena would still be the superface he is today.

 

[Retribution]

Cena would have still been bigger thanks to his amazing mic skills, which Brock majorly lacked. Lesnar would be where Batista was more than likely

Exactly, Cena is an overall better entertainer. People loved Lesnar because of his wrestling ability, not because we can cut a promo (which he was pretty average at).

 

[tony_soprano_89]

for me brock would be the top dog most definitely. he was electric.

 

[Dyl]

man, Brock was awesome, what a beast.


Cena would be top face of the company, no doubt, Vince loves him and he opitomizes the PG era perfectly.

Brock would still be a massive star though, and he would be far more popular amoung those of us who dislike Cena's image, that is to say, anyone with taste.

 

[Shrimp2012]

they are both rubbish dont even compare to stone cold & the Rock/

 

[Shrimp2012]

316

 

[Shrimp2012]

brauma bull