Which Is The Best Version Of John Cena?

What's good y'all? It's your boy Ross back at again with another video. So, I'm going to check out 10 versions of John Cena rank from worst to best. Now, we've seen John Cena's character somewhat switch over the years. Um, for a while was pretty much in one kind of area. You know, he was super Cena to the kids. He always, for the most part, overcame the odds and prevailed over the bad guys. But there were certain points where John Cena early in his career, he became a heel and then he became the cool rapping heel that would go to each city and have on, you know, a different baseball jersey or a basketball football jersey and he would rap against people or rap against his opponents and try to embarrass them. Y'all remember the chain game? That that's that version of John Cena. And then he transitioned more into a baby face. And then they had switched into Monday Night Raw. He was still somewhat of the cool, you know, he wouldn't rap all the time, but he still had that persona of of someone that was, you know, would still talk trash to someone. And then obviously when they went PG things change and you end up getting the super scenas and the clean cut scenas and you know he still gave you a great promos. So we're going to check out some of the worst versions of him compared to some of the best versions of him. Appreciate all love support guys shown on the channel. Sit back and relax. It's going to be a pretty lengthy one. Let's get into it. Man, >> a big reason for this success is the fact he's been able to consistently switch up his character in order to stay relevant for over two decades. the you can't wrestle chance because I would do the same five moves every night. But I listened and I went back to wrestling school halfway through my career. >> Within that time, John made an attempt to keep his character interesting, even if it didn't always land the way it was intended. >> And I would spend hours in the bleachers, just writing punchlines and writing punchlines, and I became ostracized and hated by my co-workers because they thought I didn't care about the business because I wasn't around the ring. Not to mention how fans view of him changed as time went on, only for it to all come back around once again. >> Have to formulate the why. Why after 23 years am I doing this? >> For this video, we want to rank each evolution of Cena from the Ruthless Aggression debut. >> Someone had to wrestle Kurt Angle and I had been wrestling on the main roster on some live events and not screwing up and they had nobody else. >> To the last time is now farewell. So, as I essentially take my last breath in that one moment, that was that going peacefully. >> While also featuring out the character interview tidbits from John along the way, >> I often tell people that I'm working with. If they're in the ring and half the fans are cheering me and the other half are booing me, shouldn't you be the one that's mad because they're not noticing you at all? >> Today, we count down the 10 greatest versions of John Cena throughout his career from worst to best. 10. Ruthless Aggression 2002. Cena's first character, if you can even call it that, came off the back of Vince McMahon's promo demanding ruthless aggression from his wrestlers. John had the look, but didn't have the persona to hang his hat on just yet. He'd been a robot wrestler known as the prototype in the developmental league OVW. Now in WWE, he still looked like the prototype, only with a new haircut. That being said, we all recall his iconic debut against Kurt Angle in the June 27th, 2002 Smackdown. Jon was drafted in as a late replacement after an unnamed wrestler couldn't make the show. Someone had to wrestle Kurt Angle and I had been wrestling on the main roster in some >> Think about that. That's kind of a butterfly effect. If the person that was supposed to wrestle Kurt Angle came out there, John Cena may not even been a thing. Granted, this persona of John Cena wasn't working outside of this moment of the ruthless aggression. He slapping the out of Kurt Angle. Outside of that, they didn't really go to go anywhere. And he was almost cut until he started rapping on a bus, freestyling on the bus. Stephanie McMahon was there and as you know, the rest was history. >> And not screwing up and they had nobody else. >> Ruthless. >> Yeah. >> AGGRESSION. >> The fantastic Kurt Angle match was followed up by strong performances against Chris Jericho. Plus, the previous on-screen endorsements from the Undertaker and the chairman Vince had us thinking Cena was going to be something special right out of the gate. But again, Jon couldn't find himself as a character during this time frame. Hence why he considers this period of his career a failure after coming in as someone with ruthless aggression. He soon became that wacky rollup guy who dresses in the colors of the city sports team. >> It's by the John Cena rolling Jericho down. He's got it. He wants to BE WALLS. SEE A COUNTER. SEE A COUNTER. HE DID IT. HE DID IT. COUNTER the walls of Jericho. >> And that was pretty much it character-wise. >> I wasn't stressed to be like got to be perfect. I was more stressed in the fact that I didn't know who I was. >> Cena went from working with mainers straight away to wrestling almost exclusively on the weekend sea show Velocity. The decline meant John's first year on WWE TV was about to end in misery. More on that later. I was supposed to be fired from the WWE. Um, they would do cuts like every Christmas time and every spring and I knew uh the holiday cuts were coming up. They kind of let me know like, "Hey, this isn't working right." Yeah, it's kind of not working. Your name is on the list uh of people we're thinking about putting on the cut list. I just want you to know to that last little dig of like, "Hey man, show me something." >> Number nine, Super Cena, 2008 to 2011. Everyone remembers Cena Cena boy. >> The distinction he also holds when it comes to returns. We're referring to when he came back from a pec injury months ahead of schedule to win the 2008 Royal Rumble match. >> So because I just did a lot 6 days a week, you you heal, you know. I was pretty much put in a heel tag. I was like a physical therapy terminator. >> No one saw it coming as John reignited his path to the WWE Championship. I remember >> this. Everybody remembers that. >> Still crazy moment. Crazy raw rumble moment. >> But after holding the bell for the best part of 2 years, 08 was a detour for Cena in many respects. As a baby face, the thrill is often in the chase. So while Jon still worked on top, he was more adjacent to the world title. Instead, he was on the losing end quite a bit this year. So, the story in fans minds suggested he wasn't quite 100% after returning so quickly from injury, hence the losses. Perhaps it was tragically poetic that Jon's most high-profile defeat in 2008 came during a match when he got injured again, that being his SummerSlam clash versus Batista, where Cena herniated a disc in his neck. Jon's success upon returning from the neck injury is where the Monica Super Cena started to become apparent. Here, he captured the World Heavyweight Championship twice in less than 5 months. This also coincided with the WWE becoming PG, meaning now Jon had fully shared all aspects of his previous thug rapper persona. >> YEAH. >> BOLOGONEY FUDGE MUSTARD. >> OH. >> OH, that just made me cringe. I I I get it. He's the company guy. He's He's not going to betray Vince and go out there and start cursing up a storm. That that that's never been John. But man oh man, this was tough. And this version of Cena was the version of Cena that a lot of guys or the older crowd, they just turned away from. They literally stopped watching the product because it was like, you know what? I'm cool on it. I don't I don't care because we know our favorites are not going to beat this guy. Not really. So, you know what? I'm cool. I'm I'm good. I I don't I don't want to watch this no more. They just got it. It had gotten so watered down with the PG aspect. Yeah, they were making good money, but they were losing that audience that they had built for so many years. And I'm not saying they had to go back to just the craziness that the Attitude era was or anything like that, but they were just losing the edge that professional wrestling should have. anyone cutting a promo like this. I mean, unless you're a kid, that's the only way this comes off entertaining. And that's what this was for, FOR THE KIDS. >> MY LIFE IS BEING RUINED BY THE INTERNET. >> THAT MONEY IN THE BANK, I'm going to win the whole fudging thing. >> Fudgeing. >> It's a PG show. It's the best I could do. >> What are you, nine? >> Most of our viewers are around that age. This soured the hardcore fan sentiment of John more and more. >> The hate was there for John, bro. >> Plus, it didn't help that Cena's 2009 programs against the likes of JBL, Edge, Big Show, and The Miz were lackluster. Cena was also sometimes guilty of brushing off losses in an almost flippant manner. His promos were lacking the edge we knew he had, bar some exceptions. looking to Alex Riley his personal assistant like >> you would make your faces. >> Randy Orton proved to be John's greatest rival of the PG era. However, their personal feud wasn't critically acclaimed since they couldn't have the appropriate blowoff matches given the PG parameters on violence. But seen as promos began to lean more on bad family-friendly comedy. >> I ban my dog from watching Raw. It makes me want to dance. >> That makes me want to puke. >> Are you done? Once again, the kids loved it, bro. The kids loved it, bro. Vince ate this stuff up. Investors love this stuff. the rest of us. All right, let's turn this off, bro. Let's watch something else. >> From mid 2009 through all of 2010, WWE felt like a G-rated product to which Jon was at the forefront of. Raw needed celebrity guests to gain viewership in09, but every year after that, the ratings continued to go down on average. The same goes for pay-per-view buy rates. >> When uh Steve Austin came back around, he walked in in daylight, "Hey kid, how you doing?" And you could see the arena from where we were at. Like, man, I'm doing great. Things are going good. We're doing this. I'm doing this on TV tonight. He goes, that's great. We didn't have this [ __ ] black curtain when I performed. Have a good night. >> Damn. >> I was one of the first people to >> That is Hold on. We got to run that back cuz I do remember this era had the black curtains cuz they weren't selling out. Oh, damn. That's cold, bro. That's cold. >> We were at like, man, I'm doing great. Things are going good. We're doing this. I'm doing this on uh Steve Austin came back around. >> He walked in in daylight. Hey, kid. How you doing? And you could see the arena from where we were at. Like, man, I'm doing great. Things are going good. We're doing this. I'm doing this on TV tonight. He goes, >> that's great. We didn't have any of this [ __ ] Black Curtain when I performed. Have a good night. Out. I was one of the first people to really want to plug in to the data. Uh, you know, guys used to ask what the house was because they'd be able to calculate what they made. I wanted to ask what it was to see our improvement. I wanted to see what the walk up was if I did media. And if we didn't walk up, well, what media outlets can we change next time? How can we work harder? Have we run this town too much? If so, why? There's never an excuse like it shouldn't be this. It should be this. What can I do better to make the event better? you you worked your ass off every night, but yo, you give extra to those lighouses cuz they're going to go tell a friend and the next time you're going to do better and you'll be able to see the improvement that you can't argue with the numbers. If the numbers had shifted and I wasn't selling any t-shirts and ratings were down uh and attendance was down, >> yeah, sure, switch. But the the the numbers didn't never lie. >> John was the sole top guy that the company put everything behind. So, the scener fatigue really took >> Hey, I ain't going to lie to you. That black curtain line from Stone Cold still hurt, bro. That's Oh, that's a Hey, we ain't had this when we was around when I was performing. Damn. But once again, when Stone Cold was performing, it was a different time period. It's a It Do I think wrestling would have ultimately lost fans? Yes. I think Less Wrestling would have ultimately lost fans over time, but I think they would have kept more if they were allowed to still give the product the edge that it needed cuz we've seen a resurgence with WWE and the product once Vince McMahon stepped down and was gone for a little bit. We did see that resurgence and they were selling out like they like it was the attitude error. It was crazy because there were stories that people were invested in and when they needed to get serious and they would go a little bit past that PG line and you have more adult themes in certain aspects, people bought into it. People was uh appreciating, people were showing up and the prices were still relatively good until TKO said, "Fuck all that." >> Throughout these years, cries of Let's Go Cena Cena sucks became the norm during his matches. Yep. >> LET'S GO CENA. CENA SUCKS. >> Has been critical of WWE to create new stars around this time. >> A lot of the reason the reactions are the way they are is for uh quite a few years WWE didn't step up to the plate and correctly provide new main event talent. I often tell people that I'm working with, if they're in the ring and half the fans are cheering me and the other half are booing me, shouldn't you be the one that's mad because they're not noticing you at all? >> Cena's storyline with the Red Hot Nexus faction created some muchneeded intrigue in WWE. The group were initially positioned as strong rookies, performing a hostile takeover. However, they weren't able to make it to the next level after Jon defeated them at the 2010 SummerSlam. This didn't do Cena's reputation with the hardcore fans any favors, as surely this was the perfect time for him to lose. Instead, it's been said that backstage, Jon doubled down on ensuring he won in a finish that saw him overcome a twoon-one disadvantage. The Nexus never recovered, and in hindsight, Cena admits he got it wrong. >> I guessed wrong on the way that the story was told, and I think that's why people are so up in arms about it. >> But we we tell so many stories. I I was wrong once. >> As you guys say, I buried the Nexus. I got to shoulder that cross forever cuz that's me. >> Number eight, heel turn 2025. Cena confirmed that >> Oh, that's so crazy that the heel turn is listed as number eight. I when you really think about it, that hill turn should be way higher. And the initial turn itself, it will go down as one of the craziest heel turns in WWE history. But the problem is with the overtime overtime the execution it didn't land the reasonings you could have possibly bought in a few years ago with him you know turning on the fans because the fans have always turned on him. Yeah. But for the past couple years people wanted to see John Cena and wanted to see him win and John Cena was losing a lot. So, I don't know. It It was like on paper it sounds cool and it was a cool idea, but the execution over time it didn't work. And then it really didn't mean much of anything when right before SummerSlam he faced Cody Rhodess, he turned baby face the night before. I think before SummerSlam, he just turned babyface. So, it was just like, okay, thanks. Thanks for coming, John. >> 25 would be his final year wrestling. The last time is now farewell tour began in a way nobody saw coming at elimination chamber in the famed Toronto skydome. John was a heel for the first time since his rapid days in 03. No one ever thought it would happen again and fans couldn't wait to see the follow-up. >> This was one of the greatest moments in WWE history, Dave. >> However, when it came to the execution, Cena as a heel missed the mark. He opted for the lowhanging fruit because of the fans excuse for turning, which would have worked in 2012 when he was actually getting booed out of every arena. But by this point, that simply hadn't been true for close to 10 years. Plus, Cena's relationship with the audience was more nuanced than that. Something he'd always made clear in his promos. Yet, coming out of the long-awaited turn, they went for a more surface level storytelling approach. >> IT'S BEEN THE SAME DAMN noise for 25 years. I've been the victim of an abusive relationship. But if we look at his work before the turn, John had spoken about not winning a televised singles match since 2018. And in outside interviews, Cena admitted he'd lost a step, which was the reason for calling it quits. On the show, Jon had been defeated rather easily by midcarders such as Austin Theory and Solo Sikoa. Jon even pounced on a cheap victory to win the recent elimination chamber, something the superior of old would never have done. But suddenly following the heel turn, the narrative shifted. >> Have to formulate the why. Why after 23 years am I doing this? >> I mean, they could have even went the route with like he like we just talked about. He hasn't he didn't win a match for like a couple years. This was he knew this was his last opportunity. He said, "Fuck it." Not even just to turn on the fans, just like I have to take every advantage I can get. I want to win number 17. I'm going to do whatever I can to get it. Sorry, Cody. You just have to be on the other side. Now granted, if you don't have The Rock in this, I think this probably would have been a better turn. But because The Rock was in it, we assumed, all right, they they worked out some type of deal. This was the same guy that helped Cody Rhodess defeat the Bloodline and and you know, that whole situation at Wrestlemania 40 only to, you know, align with him. But once again, you know, it was it was all muddied up. So, >> well, it could be I'm the last of the old guard and I don't like the new guard. >> Gone was the talk of Jon not being able to keep up or turning the math around as he put it when it came to finally winning singles matches. Even though Cena was cheating to win every match, the announcers never truly mentioned why. The fact that deep down Jon knew he'd lost the step, so he had to turn and then cheat to still be able to keep or win matches. Instead, it was the same you people mean nothing to me promo every week. >> You don't mean anything to me. John spoke about how he was going to ruin wrestling. As the last real champion, >> I am going TO RUIN WRESTLING. I WILL BE THE LAST REAL CHAMPION IN WWE. >> But the Y just wasn't strong enough. And the story around the Y wasn't told impactfully. A heel who lies is dishonest. A heel who tells the truth is diabolical. And we didn't get enough of that with Cena. He always shot straight with sincerity as a face. So why couldn't he have done that in a vicious way as a bad guy? We kind of have to tell a story that should be 2 years long, 52 weeks a year, plus 14 to 18 ple. We got to do it in like 20 episodes of television. >> Of course, it didn't help that Cena. >> That's the problem, too. You're trying to tell a story like this, a heel turn like this. No, that's why if you were going to do it for the last year, y'all, and this wasn't, you know, this wasn't the plan. That's how you know they just came up with this. If you're gonna have something like this, this should have been in the works for a while. But if you're gonna do this for the last year, he needed to have way more dates to really build that story. We knew he wasn't going to end off as a heel, but you could have built towards that. They had to cram in everything. So, by SummerSlam, he's back to a baby face. We knew, we can see right through it. I hear what you're saying. And John had made some good points about the fans, but guess what? The fans didn't care. and he's facing Cody. They didn't give a [ __ ] No one was really gonna boo [ __ ] John Cena going against Cody Rhodess to win number 17. People wanted to see it. It was a different time. That's why it just wasn't as effective. >> Had initially aligned with his once great rival, The Rock, only for Rock to abandon the story line completely. Aside from that though, Jon and creative figurehead Triple H have admitted they got it wrong in the way they portrayed Cena as a heel. Instead of staying true to himself, but twisting the narrative to become more bloodthirsty and violent again, he'd lost almost every match since 2018. Prior to this, Jon now worked a slow, plotting old school heels style. The idea was that he wanted no redeeming qualities, so did nothing flashy. This in turn meant the matches sucked as Wrestlemania 41 ended on a whimper with a flat main event. And that was despite Cena winning a record-breaking 17th world title. The elimination chamber heel turn had blood, fbombs, and a mega star in the Mania had none of that. Okay, guys. If I'm going to ruin this thing, like, I'm going to I'm going to wrestle methodically. Like, I I have an idea of what ruining wrestling is. I'm going to ruin it. >> Yeah. What What does ruin wrestling mean to you? >> Taking the fun away from the fan. >> Are you saying you were sucking on purpose? >> I'm saying the style was the way it was because of the goal to ruin it, to to take the championship home. Throughout the run, there were some good promo battles with Cody Rose and CM Punk. >> I DON'T BURY TALENT. I bury mediocrity. >> But it just didn't meet fan expectations, especially after the all-time greatness of the initial turn. >> Yeah, >> it speaks to the reason that Jon and Triple H chose to end the heel run early in fears of another main event stinker at SummerSlam 2025. And he was like, "That's it? What a shitty main event." Yep. That's what I was going for. Watch the next one. >> Go to ruin wrestling. >> Yeah. He meant the company. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> That was too boring. That was too bad. I think people are going to stop coming. But there was >> I know some people was going like, "Yeah, he it was it was supposed to be bad on purpose." That's still not good. That's not good storytelling for a professional wrestling main event at Wrestlemania. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. If anything, I still stand by the sentiment. If he would have cheated here, that would have been one of the greatest main Wrestlemania like turns that we've seen. We seen it with Stone Cold at Wrestlemania 17. Crazy turn when he lined himself with Vince. This would have gave off that vibe. I think even in a better sentiment because nobody would have seen it coming. People still would have cheered, but they would have been shocked. And if you it could have worked if you wanted to do it. If you wanted to give off that that mania shock factor, everybody would have been talking John Cena had to cheat to beat Cody Rhodess to win number 17. It would have worked if you would have. And you don't even need the Rock involved. You don't need nobody involved. Just these two guys, Johnson and Cody Rhodess could have built off of that if you wanted to. >> Point time where I was like, "All right, this ain't working. >> You still got to deliver >> to these people. >> Hopefully, you'll do it in a manner in which they don't like them. You got to give them your greatness still." >> Number seven, part-time Cena, 2018 to 2024. In the spring of 2018, Cena's full-time WWE career effectively ended as he made the transition to movies. He'd been back and forth the previous two years with a shoulder injury in between, but now Jon had gone Hollywood. He grew out his hair since his iconic crew cut would have limited his acting roles. Cena dropped into WWE every now and then, working sporadic matches with his main program coming against Roman Reigns. This rivalry coincided with fans returning to arenas following the pandemic. John was given a gigantic hero's welcome when he returned at Money in the Bank 2021. The feud with Roman bettered the work they did together in 2017. Roman Reigns is nothing more than a lazy stoogge named Joe. >> You've been protected by the Shield. Hell, you almost ruined Seth Rollins. You ran Dean Ambrose out of WWE. You had >> promos were on point and their match at SummerSlam was topnotch. Given how limited Cena's appearances were during these years, anytime he came back, it felt like a huge deal. The crowds were absolutely electric and fans wanted him to stay. Sadly though, because of film commitments, Jon had to limit his physicality in fear of injury. This meant his matches with Austin Theory and Solo Sakoa were underwhelming. There's a >> sign out there that says Austin Theory is a John Cena wannabe. Right there. Right there. When you're nothing but a bargain basement Taz Ripple. >> Shout out to John selling the Samoan Spike. He was selling it. He was Shout out to John. Ain't not too many people going to sell a a a throat injury. Like he could barely deliver the promo. Shout out to John for that one. I appreciated this. And Solo should have gotten a really big push from this, but it it went nowhere after he packed up. John, >> despite that, John putting over these young wrestlers showed how much he was willing to give back at this point in his career. Yes, fans would have liked to have seen Cena wrestle more on screen during this period, but we certainly valued each appearance, especially since everyone knew his time in the ring was running out. >> So, for the longest I've been kind of um a part-time piece, sometimes I come back just to deliver the opening monologue. Like, no kidding. And it is that is the toughest spot in what we do to come out and for 15 to 20 minutes tell the audience what they're going to get and then not deliver any anything else else like not have a confrontational war of words, not have any physicality. Just show up with the equity you've built. >> Yeah. hoping they enjoy and have to go through like 16 talking points somehow weaving in the energy of the crowd, not killing the house for the match that's about to follow you. Like it's a very tough spot. >> Number six, The Last Time is Now, 2025. The Last Time is now farewell tour was saved by its final four months. >> And then everybody goes back to their normal lives and the people that were supposed to be on my team, they left >> and they left me alone trying to pretend to be something I'm not. We don't have enough time and it will be far more confusing to the audience if we change everything because then we have to change it back to hear Hogan do the nWo theme song for a decade and then come back to Real American. Okay. Right on. Excellent. >> That's enough time. >> Yeah. >> 20 shows is less than that. No, >> it's tough. The Cena fans had universally loved for the last decade was back. >> I'm sorry. I was having a bad day. Thank you so much for being there for me when I needed you most. I love you too, man. >> At the same time, many fans have loved him all along. But even for those who never liked him, it was a chance for all of us to pay our respects at the conclusion. >> This is ultimately what we wanted. If you don't even do the heel turn, this is what we wanted, bro. Right here. This is what fans wanted. would have loved that he would have been able to come to Houston, bro. [ __ ] We would have figured out something. This is what he wanted. This is what we wanted right here. Simple >> of John's career. >> IF YOU WANT SOME, HURRY UP AND COME GET SOME, cuz the last time is now. >> Outside of a dud with Brock Lesnar, the matches were exceptional, including five-star epics with Cody Rhodess and AJ Styles. The styles bout in particular drew critical acclaim as the two men paid tribute to all their greatest rivals as well as each other. AJ was retiring a mere a month after Jon. So, it was poignantly fitting that these two iconic foes wrestled one more time in front of an iconic Perth Australia crowd, most of which wore Cena's commemorative shirt for the night. Jon's final two matches saw him pay it forward by passing the torch to today's stars with both Dominic Mysterio and GA defeating Cena in two memorable outings. The GA Clash saw Jon tap out for the first time since 2003. The finish got a mixed reaction at the time, including loud booze in the arena. However, we've since learned Cena's rationale for losing and smiling before he submitted. >> I understand his rationale. I get it. But once again, I think I'm okay with Gunther winning him tapping out. I would have just preferred him to pass out, bro. But I get it. He wanted to give him the ultimate rub. He made John Cena tap out. He made him tap out. It's the It's the smile, bro. It's just the It's time to go into that sweet sweet darkness. It It just Once again, and to be honest with you, it hadn't done much. It hadn't. Think about this. When you checked out the video, I think yesterday, the Undertaker, Paul Heyaymon, Brock Lesnar, and Paul always bringing up that the Undertaker defeated the Undertaker streak. I mean, Brock defeating the Undertaker Undertaker streak, even though he didn't need need it, it brings so much emotion when Paul Heymon brings that up. When Gother brings up he tapped out John Cena, yes, it brings emotion, but it doesn't have that weight it should because guess what? They hadn't really done much with Gother prior to that. obviously him retiring AJ Styles and stuff like that and that's cool to build up his career killer gimmick but outside of that they hadn't done much. So even when he brings it up, it's just like it's like, yeah, he did, but it doesn't he didn't really benefit from it like you you would think he would. You know, I'm thinking if you tapping out John Cena in his last match, that should be up there with, you know, Brock Lesnar defeating the Undertaker streak. Maybe if it would have happened at WrestleMania or another bigger show, maybe. I don't know. But I I just I think if John That's just my personal opinion. If he would have passed out, that would have been cool, too. If he just passed out, you know, he couldn't fight no more. I think that would have been cool, too. That's just my personal opinion. >> Just in a sleeper hole. >> Sleeper for sure. >> We're having that conversation with the audience. >> Yeah. >> So, as I essentially take my last breath, the natural cause of scenario or however we picture loss in our life, all of us have been through. >> But I respect them trying to put them over, bro. >> They struggle. They struggle. They struggle. They hang on just long enough to make sure to say goodbye to everybody that's been meaningful in their lives. I think it's time to take that last breath. I I I hate to keep going back morbidly to obituaries, but like this person died peacefully in that one moment. That was that. >> I get what he was trying to do. >> Going peacefully. >> I may not agree with it, but I get what he's trying to do. >> John Cena has tapped out. >> All in all, it was an emotional farewell. as John called it a career. He'd known for years his last time was nearing. As such, Cena pushed back on the idea. He was going out on his terms. His mind was telling him yes, but his body was telling him no. And this ultimately confirmed his decision to retire. >> I made a promise to the WWE that I would not stick around when my skills can't match the product, and they can't. John also reflected on the idea that sport athletes and wrestlers died twice in many ways. John Cena, the movie star and the man was still alive and well, but John Cena the wrestler was dead and gone. >> I heard a quote, "Athletes die twice. >> They die when they stop playing sports and they die when they put you in the ground." >> Mhm. >> That's the inability to face closure. >> I've been thinking about this for like at least 3 years. >> Like I'm I'm just ready to do life. >> Number five, US Open Challenge 2015. Cena was renowned for his polarizing fan reactions which lasted over a decade. But in 2015, coming out of Wrestlemania, crowd reactions to Jon started to change to universal love. The Let's Go Cena Cena sucks remained, but fans actively couldn't wait to see Jon's matches. That's because he started the US Open challenge after winning the United States Championship at Mania 31. The US title helped shape the most exciting portion of Cena's early career before he won his first world championship. Therefore, Jon wanted to give back to many of the upandcomers on the current roster 10 years on from his previous United States title reign. This meant Cena wrestled lengthy matches every week on TV against a variety of interesting opponents. >> Well, it does seem like Richmond's the place to be. You think, and John Cena is still the man to beat. So, the John Cena US Open Challenge STARTS NOW. >> These knockdown dragout barn burners were the highlight of Raw for close to 6 months. John was whipping out crazy moves we rarely saw him do. This high level of ring work was a far cry to the same old five moves of Doom complaints aimed at John. You can't wrestle chance >> because I would do the same five moves every night and win all the time. And what I hear from the audience is I'm seeing other performers do these fantastic things. And then at the end of the night, I see you do five moves and win. In hearing that a lot, I just begin to do more stuff. And it looked janky and unorthodox as we would say. But I listened and I went back to wrestling school halfway through my career, you know, went to newer performers. It was like what what do you think I'll be good at? Can you can you teach me some stuff? So, a vehicle to do that was like the United States Open Challenge. This is the another through line in my career. Nothing is a demotion. It is simply an opportunity. >> Cena's open challenge era ended after half a year due to a shoulder injury. Within that time, John helped elevate Rusev, Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, and the United States title itself. But the two that got the biggest rub from Cena's US Championship run were Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins. It was rare in WWE to see a big star like Jon drop down the card and hold a midcard title. It wasn't seen as a demotion. Rather, it was a top guy leading by example and bringing up everyone he worked with. Number four, face that runs the place 2016 to 2018. Cena's return from injury in 2016 was the perfect continuation to his epic US Open challenge run. Jon kept his working shoes on as he returned to Smackdown for a dream match with AJ Styles. Styles had been rival promotion TNA's most outstanding wrestler during Jon's original run on top in WWE from '05 to 2015. So their matches at Money in the Bank, SummerSlam, and the Royal Rumble were a joy to watch. Cena laid down for AJ twice on pay-per-view before Jon beat him to win his Ric Flair record tying 16th world title. John's promo ability had reached all-time levels by this point. I'm still a bad BAD MAN AND MY TIME IS NOW. NEVER GIVE UP MEANS THAT WHEN YOU GET KNOCKED DOWN LIKE I DID THIS YEAR, YOU DON'T STAY DOWN. YOU GET UP, YOU FIRE UP, AND YOU KICK ASS. >> This return saw him refer to himself as the face that runs the place. His words cut deep as he verbally tore through Styles, Dean Ambrose, The Miz, and Maurice. >> You only go where they tell you to go. I go so HARD THEY TELL ME TO STOP. That's passion. >> Dean Ambrose doesn't like John Cena. John Cena doesn't care about Dean Ambrose. >> If you're good at something, you're going to tell everybody. If you're great at something, they'll tell you you're a dude dressed up as a dude playing another dude. >> Some of the best promos are the ones that roast hot with home truths and legal criticisms turned up for TV. Cena's segments during this era had all that and then some. He was cooking recipes to the 10th degree. >> You're going to try as hard as you can to make it here. And if you ever fail, oh no, it ain't your fault. It's my fault, right? Cuz I buried you. >> You've rested on your laurels. You're a little bit comfortable. And you need to find the edge again. I'm challenge you to push the envelope. >> Well, you know what? Stone Cold was right when he called you out on this podcast. >> This is so good, bro. >> The only movies you're in are crappy bootlegs of movies I ALREADY MADE. YOU'RE NOT the it couple. You're the sh it couple. >> Every week you show up, steal a paycheck, and you are a waste of space. >> Where was this version of John Moas? And when he >> Hey. Hey, bro. John was cooking boys. And here's the thing, he didn't have to curse too much. He was just cooking people with truths, you know, in a sense. And it that [ __ ] was those are fighting words a lot of these promos and hey man you going to run that fade with me John you c talking real disrespectful Roman Reigns a new one during the build to their match at No Mercy 2017. Reigns was the current polarizing golden boy Cena was in the decade previous. The difference being that Jon was better equipped to deal with the backlash. This made him the ghost of Roman's future. Roman eventually put it all together but not before Cena called into question Rain's failure as a top baby face. But John's words were as much a shot at the machine as they were at Roman since WWE were jamming reigns down fans throats. Much like they did with Cena previously. >> I don't know if anyone's ever told you this. They go back and forth with you because when they look at you, they see what I see. A cheap ass corporately created John Cena bootleg. >> Oh, the story we mentioned earlier of John breaking down and losing matches started to take shape at the beginning of 2018. Key defeats at the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, and Fastane meant Cena had no direct path to Wrestlemania 34. As Seri drank beers in the crowd with fans during the first part of the show since he wasn't on the card. However, he resorted to this because weeks of calling out the seemingly retired Undertaker fell on deaf ears. These promo show [ __ ] you Vince. The reason why I'm saying this, for those who don't know, the reason why we didn't really get a match, an actual proper match between John Cena and the Undertaker is because Vince McMahon thought it would be funny to have the Undertaker put in all this work to really get in shape and give the best match possible only for them only for him to give him only five minutes. Vince thought it was funny that the Undertaker did all this for only five minutes. [ __ ] you, Vince. The level of desperation not in keeping with the super cena we all knew Jon was losing a step which explained the losses and the somewhat heal tendencies he adopted in trying to goat Undertaker into a mania match. A bout which ended up happening on the night but was merely a threeminut squash. John Cena getting steamroll like this was unheard of outside of one prior example. Again, the seeds were being planted for a heel turn the company didn't know was coming, but could have easily made sense of when it happened. Number three, Doctor of Thuganolics, 2002 to 2005. Perhaps the most important moment of Cena's career, him away from the cameras. John had already been told he was going to be fired at the end of 2002, but as fate would have it, Cena freestyling on the back of the bus during a European tour in the fall of O2 changed everything. That's because creative figurehead Stephanie McMahon overheard John rapping. Then when he spit a few balls on the spot about her a can of tuna, Steph suggested putting Cena on TV as a rapper. >> Everybody's clapping and ah everybody's popping on every little thing. Well, if he can entertain the group backstage of the most cynical group that you could ever ask for, he can entertain the masses. >> Finally, he had something to latch on to and he was able to do it by combining his real life passion for hip-hop. >> The old man's got a plan and he's chilling in the building. Did I tell you I'm like light beer? Tastes great and I'm less filling. >> So, as much as this had become a gimmick, there was an authenticity to it that wasn't just a wrestler playing a part. >> And I would spend hours in the bleachers just writing punchlines and writing punchlines and I became ostracized and hated by my co-workers because they thought I didn't care about the business because I wasn't around the ring with my shoulders on the canvas going, "Okay, who's in the ring? I'm around the product." Little did they know that I was investing everything I had into trying to develop a connection with the audience, which I believe is the most important thing. >> From there, John slowly transitioned into the doctor of thuggonomics, where he prepared heel wraps, making fun of his opponents and the city he was wrestling in. >> Around all day like there's potatoes in your crack. That's a nice tattoo of your mother on your back. You ate because I'm white. That's first discrimination. I hate you for two words. Illegal immigration. Can't handle the truth. Billy, you'd rather feel up Chuck. You don't want to wrestle with me. All you want is to word life. Rock's just a little hiding behind them tattoos. But wait, I brought him out a bra so he could cover his man boobs. The mask is kind of cute and the entrance is crazy slick, but we don't see eye to eye ray because your head's at my >> Cena had previously invested heavily in his wardrobe as the prototype where he would match his gear with the local sports team colors. But now he'd wear their actual jerseys as well as their rivals. This and the risque raps gave Jon the perfect presentation he needed to find himself as a performer. Yo yo yo yo yo yo >> yo >> word mother freaking life >> freaking life >> greatest characters we have the second they show up you know >> they worked in that time period >> just by dressing a certain way I could come out and someone would be like I get that and I went all in from that one second I went all in >> Cena combined his excellent character work by upping his ability between the ropes he finally shed the velocity stink by becoming one of Smackdown's hot acts. John was always doing something interesting and entertaining on the show. >> She's only with you for the money, homes. When she's done stealing from you, she comes to tickle my funny bones. You and Sable fighting that's good for my health. Just something about you makes me keep in touch with myself. Yo, it's either that or you rocking some phony pits. You're just a fat slob with hairy baloney. >> Fans remember his fine work with Rkkeshi, Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, Kurt Angle, and Big Show. I >> can't tell you how many times guys pulled me the side and said, "Show, you can't let this guy win. He's flashing the pan. Don't do it. It'll hurt your career." >> Everyone was like, "Hey, don't work with John. He has no respect for anybody. He has no respect for this business. I don't think he's going to be anything. He was like, "You're wrong." >> 02 was his ugly duckling year. 03 was the climb. So 04 could be the year Cena proved he'd be the guy in '05. John was already a heavily protected babyface in 2004 as the United States champ. In many ways, he felt like the uncrowned world champion. He worked his tail off working all the shows, doing all the media during a year when many of Smackdown's top stars had either left or were injured. We just knew Cena's time would come. Number two, fine speech. Cena 2011 to 2013. >> The fact that that's a that's an era. Fine speech. He did love to say that. That was basically the prelude to whatever you just said, I don't give a damn, bro. This is what's really about to fine speech is crazy, dog. >> 2011, The Rock returning and CM Punk nearly leaving changed John Cena in WWE forever. Rock and Punk called out Jon in a way that fans identified with and related to the Barney the Dinosaur Fruity Pebbles PG Cena of old wasn't going to do anymore. Jon had to step up his game to appeal to this reality form of storytelling. And just like his rainbow shirts, Cena passed with flying colors. Jon was equal to The Rock in their promo battles which made for compelling TV which led to two of the biggest money-making matches in company history as they battled at Wrestlemania's 28 and 29. >> And is it Rock or is it Dwayne? Pick a side. Come on, son. If I was you, I'd stick with Rock cuz Dwayne ain't got a John, son. And after April 1st, you won't be making no more movies. You going to need surgery on your face just like you had it on your boobies. You imitate me every time you leave. For 7 years, we couldn't see you. Dwayne Johnson is a self-centered, egotistical, see-through son of a [ __ ] that wouldn't give a rat's ass if this company closed its doors tomorrow. It's long been said that personal issues draw money in wrestling. And this was certainly the case for Rock and Cena. That's because they carried real life animosity into each television angle. >> 90 seconds before my music hit. Someone to not be named said, "Yo, do you see that? I think Rock has something written on his wrist. That's just not allowed." >> Just like I don't need my notes for my promo on my wrist. >> Hey, makes for some great television, bro. opportunity to level the playing field a little bit, which is a very ballsy decision because you're basically violating the trust of your dance partner. >> To the point where John apologized after their Mania 28 match for going into business for himself rather than working more closely with The Rock throughout the build. >> I'm like, a weird business type guy, but I always >> The legit drama Cena carried into the Rock feud was also observed in the punk rivalry. There was no real life heat. But most of the criticisms Punk directed at Jon were certainly fair and genuine. This is why Cena had to come back with strong material. Otherwise, he would have been outgunned on account of Punk being such a lethal marksman on the mic. As such, the story crafted was one that got the fans to tune in. The creative didn't necessarily hold its end of the bargain. But we can't deny the magic Punk and Cena created in the summer of 2011. That's because it showed how reality storytelling was needed again after the PG era slump. >> I could increase my work rate. I could add to the five moves of doom or maybe let my heel persona shine through. >> This was the beginning of fine speech Cena. Basically, once a wrestler was done talking, John would take off his hat, wipe his head, utter the words fine speech, and then cook his opponent into oblivion on the stick. >> Fine speech. Fine speech. Fine speech. Fine speech. Fine speech. >> Of course, the 52 week a year nature of WWE means not every story line will hit strong. But if we're talking about Cena's work from 2011 to 2014, it's the Rock and Punk Fuse that stand head and shoulders above the rest. >> For 300 days, you have been WWE champion for 300 days. That championship has been irrelevant. >> Some of Jon's more ill- fated battles here came versus The Miz, our Truth, Alberto Del Rio, Kane, and Big Show. Fans were, however, compelled to see Cena wrestle epics against Brock Lesnar, Dove Ziggler, and Daniel Bryan. >> Only way a guy like you gets a set of nuts is by buying them at the concession stand. Don's work with Brock the next year was even more memorable. While programs with Bray Wy and Randy Orton were much weaker >> and you got a bad attitude to boot and then you got lazy. >> Number one, my time is now 2005 to 2007. Earlier we spoke about Cena losing the big box office all-star match with Batista at SummerSlam 2008. It was a long-awaited super clash between the two top stars of Raw and Smackdown from '05 to08. The 2005 Royal Rumble match was the calm before the storm as they each got their hand raised on the night following a box until less than 3 months later. Both would leave Wrestlemania 21 as world champions. Then two months after that, they switch brands with the WWE Champion Jon being drafted to the A show Monday Night Raw. Seen his time as the face of the company had begun and so began the polarizing reactions that defined his career. John as the rapper was the vehicle that got him to this point. He was evolving as the main character and top guy the WWE showed off to the world. A go between Hulk Hogan of the 80s and Stone Cold of the '9s. This was the best version of Cena as the number one star because he still had the edgginess from basic thuggonomics. >> Yo, this is Chain Gang. We run the show down. Tonight's like your sex life. Your ass is going to go down. >> Yeah, he was still rapping. >> You can pick my number. You like playing with balls. Here's a 5second pose. Then in the ring, he could get viciously violent when the moment called for it. We retreated to classic blood bats with JBL. >> I remember his soul to John. >> I remember this match too. >> This was a great match. >> Willing gimmick matches with Edge. When my career is said and done, I think people will look back and go, "Okay, yeah, >> Eden Cena, that will be one of the uh >> such a good view >> series of matches year long, year and a half long that will define my career." >> And I'd like to think, you know, define a big part of John's career, too. >> Bell-to-bell clinics with Shawn Michaels. >> Great Shawn Michaels. He's been brilliant here tonight. He's caught. He's caught. And Cena wins. Cena wins. Not to mention bouts where hot crowds stole the show with their chance for and against Jon like the one night stand 2006 clash with Rob Vanam >> has put off for the win of this boss telling you. >> How about SummerSlam with Chris Jericho? >> Listen to this. >> Yeah. >> Well, this place is absolutely ELECTRIC RIGHT NOW. >> And Wrestlemania 21 battling Triple H. >> John Cena wins here. Having such a polarizing figure on top was unheard of in WWE since the crowds never consistently reacted one way or another to a main star like this. Equal booze, equal cheers. Pro Cena crowds versus anti-cena crowds. >> They're up to a two count. Meanwhile, has been out of the ring for about a 20 count. And this crowd right now may WWE champion. Oh, >> it's a rockish crowd here tonight. D. >> You can't deny it, bro. My goal was always to get John cheered and we thought maybe Boston would be an easy cell and it turns out it wasn't. >> I remember turning events. I'm like, "What am I supposed to do?" He goes, "Just go out and smile." >> Booze, bro. >> Over time, John learned how to play into this dynamic, crafting a promo style that some considered pandering to the tide. Matt Morgan publicly oils himself up and walks around in spandex. Michael Cole privately oils himself up and walks around in spandex. >> How do he know that? >> That were able to constantly turn a crowd like John did. >> And I may be a stupid son of a [ __ ] but I'm a tough son of a [ __ ] And half these people want to see me get my ass kicked anyway. YOU GOT your match, [ __ ] >> He developed such a unique rapport with the audience, even those who disliked him. people who were watching changed and there began to be more kids and more families to come to these events and I saw what happened. I didn't need a sheet of analytics. >> So I said, "This is it. >> We're changing up right now." I remember going into Vince's office and said, "I have to stop rapping." If you're an older viewer, an older male, if you like what you saw in 1999, when you turn in in 2005 and six, it is not the same thing. And it's easy to pin it on me. More often than not, John backed up the content of his never give up mission statement as the polarizing top baby phase that was often booed. >> The champ is here. >> AND IF YOU WANT SOME, >> COME GET SOME. >> His time truly was then, now, and forever. >> We've had great champions and great poster boys, but none of them have outworked John Cena outside the arena. Now, if you enjoyed this video, be sure to check out our similar. >> Not gonna lie to you, man. >> John seen the writing on the wall. Vince ultimately seen the writing on the wall. And once they pivoted for John to be more on the familyfriendly PG side, I know a lot of us older males and stuff didn't really care for it. For a lot of kids that are now young adults now, they love that. That's what they that's what that's what they lived for. So ultimately when you think about it, it worked in that sense. Did it work overall in the grand scheme of things for some people? No. Cuz some people they left because of it. But at the same time, he built a lot of fans that grew up and will consider John Cena the greatest of all time. Cuz wrestling is a revolving door. And not everybody's going to look at the attitude era as the golden days because guess what? There's some people, a large section of individuals that weren't even born then. They only know John Cena. They only know the Batistas, the Randy Orton. They don't know too much about the yester year. And that's okay. That's how it's supposed to be. So, but hey, comment down below. Let me know what's your favorite version of John Cena over the years, man. Let me know down below. Appreciate all the love support you guys show on channel. Road to 200k. Appreciate y'all. See you on the next one. Peace.