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KEY MOMENT OF WEEK: John Cena's Injury and the Opportunity it Creates Aug 31, 2008 - 11:44:51 AM
John Cena is on the injured list. Initially it was thought that he would be out for over a year, but successful surgery has produced the more optimistic prognosis of three months on the sidelines. Cena is arguably the WWE's top star, selling more merchandise than anyone else on the roster. However, Cena has been stuck in a creative rut for the majority of 2008, making him the most expendable star in the main event picture.
A major issue with John Cena being in the main event is his inability to connect with a major section of the WWE's fanbase. Vince McMahon may have made a conscious effort to market his product to younger viewers, but the fact remains that males aged 18-35 represent a large proportion of Raw's audience. To these fans, many of whom began watching the WWE during the Attitude era, John Cena is a natural heel. John Cena has been pushed as a poser; a clean-cut, suburban street fighter with a childish sense of humour, which a large portion of the WWE audience cannot relate to. Cena is playing to an audience that was taught to rally against traditional babyfaces and support anti-heroes such as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Rock and D-Generation X. Losing clean in his last three PPV matches has hardly made him look strong either.
The material John Cena has been working with for the majority of 2008 has ranged from mediocre to downright embarrassing. At a time when Edge, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho are raising the bar for artistic quality of WWE storylines and promos, John Cena spray painted the words "JBL is poopy" on a limousine as a way of furthering his feud with John "Bradshaw" Layfield. In addition to this, Cena has been involved in terrible comedy skits in which he has overacted and pulled faces in a vain attempt to channel the spirit of Dwayne Johnson. Comparing the Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho feud to John Cena's recent promo work and acting is like comparing The Godfather to an Adam Sandler movie.
While it is galling to have to sit through humour that even a seven year old would consider low-brow, the most disappointing aspect of the misuse of John Cena is the fact that he is the only wrestler on the WWE roster who has the required skills to become a mainstream star. He has more charisma than the majority of his colleagues, and has the talent to deliver main event promos. Cena's wrestling skills will always be called into question, but he is naturally charismatic, has great delivery and has the talent to effectively sell a crowd on a wrestling storyline.
There is a marketing term known as the Unique Selling Point, which is the aspect of a product that differentiates itself from the rest of the marketplace. John Cena's Unique Selling Point is his ability to freestyle rap to a very high standard. Cena was at his creative peak was when he was establishing himself as an arrogant heel on Smackdown. He would come out every week and rap about his opponent so effectively that it ended up turning him face. A move back to the edgy raps would differentiate Cena from the other wrestlers, and make him instantly recognisable to casual fans. Imitating The Rock just makes Cena's character seem like a retread, which became stale a long time ago.
When Randy Orton broke his collarbone earlier this year, many analysts were able to look past the injury itself to see an opportunity that several months off TV presents. Orton, like Cena, was suffering from creative inertia due to a seemingly endless feud with Triple H, but will have the opportunity to return to Raw as a fresh face with the potential to step straight back into the World Title picture.
While he is injured, John Cena should spend as much time thinking of ways to reinvigorate his character as he does rehabilitating his body.
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