Greetings all to another fantastic installment of the Stomping Ground. I am your fanatically-devoted-to-Latin-women host, Mike Gojira (which is pronounced “Throatwarbler Mangrove”) and you’re stuck with me for the next 5 or 6 minutes.
You know, depending on how long it takes you to read this tripe.
People have been up in arms about this whole John Cena angle lately, so let’s break it down (D-Generation X) and analyze this (Robert Deniro) for what it is.
First of all, besides keeping Cena away from the title picture, this storyline has one of two possible conclusions:
1. Turn Cena heel and allow the company to have a logical kayfabe reason for why people boo him.
2. Make Cena a “tweener” (like Austin) so the fans can rally behind and fully support him.
I can almost guarantee that the second option won’t pan out. Fans generally understand that this is an angle and, no matter how they felt about Cena before, it most likely won’t change a damn thing. Case in point: I have been a huge fan of Chris Jericho ever since I saw him in WCW. I like his style, his presence, and his entertainment value. Whether he is a face or heel, I will cheer the holy hell out of him. The same can be said for anyone who dislikes Cena. He plays a super babyface whom people are supposedly programmed to cheer for. Yet, here is a guy people boo because they’re sick of the push he gets. It’s akin to Triple H over a decade ago, although he was definitely a heel at that point in his career and “embraced the hate.”
So let’s look at the pieces of this puzzle and see where this might (or should) be headed.
John Cena, the Man in Turmoil
I believe the whole purpose of this angle is to “prepare” John Cena for the atmosphere he will have to endure when he goes one-on-one with The Rock at Wrestlemania XXVIII in Miami. The deck is stacked against John, since not only is he facing one of the most beloved talents of all time but also must deal with the backlash of The Great One’s hometown fans. At first John simply ignored the jeers and attributed them to the right of free speech. Then Roddy Piper got in his face and slapped him, but Cena didn’t take the bait. Johnny Ace tried to get Cena to screw over Zack Ryder in order to earn a title shot, but John refused to allow greed to consume him.
Now we have Kane, who returned to the WWE to influence Cena’s dark side. John tried to ignore the Big Red Machine (I refuse to call him “Big Red Monster”) until it became too much for him and he utterly annihilated Jack Swagger after his built-up rage and frustration took over. From a literary standpoint, Cena is approaching the climax of the story, where he will make a decision that will forever change him and everyone he cares about. We have seen a taste of what he’s capable of, so now we have to see how this story will progress. I predict that Cena will slowly but surely lose control over his emotions until he must make some crucial decision involving someone like Zack Ryder…and ultimately chooses to help himself.
The problem I have with this is that I believe it will be more effective to have Cena give up on the fans AFTER his match with The Rock. Knowing how the company doesn’t seem too concerned with long-term payoffs these days, I expect the turn will come after Elimination Chamber and not Wrestlemania, which is where the climax of this story should take place. Everything afterward can be the falling action and the payoff for the build.
What does Kane get out of all this? According to the story, he’s just a Faustian tempter trying to get Cena to turn heel. He gets his enjoyment in the misery and suffering of others. Simple as that. About as static of a character as you can get.
As for Zack Ryder, he’s the guy everyone sympathizes with and therefore the sacrificial lamb. He’ll get the United States Championship back once this whole thing blows over. Ryder just happened to be in the right place at the wrong time.
But this IS wrestling after all, so my opinion means jack shit in the long run. I’m just a guy with an imagination, trying to liven things up a bit in the dreary WWE Universe.
So long, and thanks for all the fish.
