Why WWE fans started booing John Cena

[@francolive5718]

He went from thuganomics to clean cut jarhead. I think fans placed a lot of the frustration of the PG era on to him because he was the top guy.

[@jaco2012]

Top Asshole of The PG (Pure Gayness Era)

[@raymondthomas1574]

Because he sucks that's why

[@shortyg1018]

Love how everyone wants to throw it all on the fans and blame the fans yet ignore his absolute atrocious booking at the time PLUS he wasn't all that in the ring neither (which is something I personally don't hold against him, all the all time greats were pretty standard and/or basic in the ring except HBK, Bret and a couple others I can't think of). His booking in 2010 -2012 was FUCKING AWFUL; Nexus, "embrace the hate", beating a returning Brock Lesnar after being gone for eight years and dominating in the UFC, that awful angle with Zack Ryder and Eve (which was all part of the "embrace the hate" bullshit). A heel turn would've resulted in eventually Cena being an even BIGGER face than he already was.

[@chriswilliams3110]

He started getting stale in late 2005. PG era he was the Superman Fruity Pebble. Thank the Rock for coming back to save us from Super Cena

[@Unethical_Ethical_HackTips]

​@@shortyg1018wtf are you talking about? Most of the greats were excellent in the ring. Flair, Hogan, Harley Race, curt hennig, undertaker, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio and I can go on and on. Again, wtf are you even talking about? You wrote a whole essay of nonsense

[@mtvta1981]

Turning from Thuganomics to Mr. Nice guy is why Cena got boos.

[@BlackEffect]

Yeah fans were sick of the wigger persona

[@DeMan59]

I thought both gimmicks sucked.

[@19Marksman79]

You hit the nail on the head. Cena's freestyle rapper gimmick was organic and popular. Then, he became a corporate machine forced on fans that Vince McMahon loves. It started being apparent how fake it was, and fans can pick up on that. It's the same way Roman Reigns got booed. When Vince creates a top guy model WWE babyface hero, it becomes too obvious. Vince made money because the kids loved it, but adults find it nauseating.

[@farmonious420]

I remember a Cena match in Chicago or maybe Philly, where the crowd Booed and chanted "You can't wrestle!!!!"...Cena put together a really nice set of chain wreslting for the next 5-10 moves.....The crowd was silent for about 5 seconds before they started chanting "You still suck!!!!" An funny way of showing that no matter what Cena did he was going to be Booed.

[@sonomni]

Yeah it was pretty annoying that they criticized him for not having much moves, so he tried expanding his moveset, and they criticized him for that too 😂

[@bigdonald123]

Ecw one nite stand 2006 the crowd MURDERED him literally sent death threats before and during the match and threw his hat along with trash and food at him and toilet paper

[@RobertSmith-ow5kf]

Cena was a horrible technical wrestlers. Even after 15 years he moved like a rookie in the ring. Watch Benoit, gurrero, angle and tell me otherwise

[@jervonte44-fx6wj]

@@RobertSmith-ow5kfcena was good in the ring it’s just annoying how his matches were booked in a way where he would get beat up for 15 minutes then go super cena in the last 5 and win the match. when cena stepped down from being the top guy he put on absolute classics he’s the not the best but he’s good in the ring. hbk, kurt , benoit and eddie where literally one of the best in the world they were ahead of everyone they could have 5 star matches with a barbie doll 😂

[@vishnusreedev2889]

I remember hating Cena just because he was being pushed over Randy Orton in 2010 and it was such a landmark moment when CM punk defeated him after kicking out of a 3rd AA at MITB. At the time that was Just Crazy

[@AntoniBalboa11]

2 AA's*

[@stonecoldsteveowens3188]

​@@AntoniBalboa11Still unheard of in 2010 - 2011

[@LYE333]

Cm punk still lost to John cena after that in 2011 and 2013 and punk was still not main eventing and he would be nothing if it wasn’t for cena

[@jaysco5257]

Best time in this Generation of WWE because that Canon Event ended up bubbling into the Rock/Cena feud.

[@UhOhSpeghettio]

Wasn’t Orton champion in that year too?

[@blizzrd6578]

Honestly, all things aside, I think it mostly due to the fact that he always won. No matter what, he always overcame the odds. He was basically the unstoppable force but people love underdogs. He felt like a heel with a babyface attitude. When he faced someone like the Miz, I wanted the Miz to overcome him because on paper, I know he doesnt have a chance. This is why its become cool to cheer for the babyface again. The top guy in the business is a mega heel who has taken the top title hostage for the last 2+ years. When Sami faces Roman, it feels the same as when Miz would face Cena. You almost feel like he has no chance so you want him to win

[@bigdonald123]

Always won the same exact way with the same bs character for over 10 years (2005-2019)

[@snakeeyes2551]

You makes a lot of sense and really that’s one of the reasons WWE fans love Rey Mysterio so much, because of him being an underdog.

[@Babysnapps60]

He won to much to the point where everybody already knew the outcome

[@gooseherdez336]

Pretty much all of this. Cena was a low key heelish babyface. Not in the antihero-stone cold style, but a babyface doing things only a heel would. His "overcoming the odds" thing was a pure joke because he won so much he was the odds. Hell, people CHEERED Kurt Angle when he faced Cena even though he was talking trash about the troops and had Daivari as a second, that wasn't even a year into his reign of terror. Back in the day it just felt like Cena was being shoved in everyone's faces by WWE. And I mean, I like the guy, he is such a pro, but his character was stale long before any attempt was made to spice things up.

[@snakeeyes2551]

@@gooseherdez336 True and even though I’m a Cena fan I can understand why people booed him.

[@benjiman7454]

I was team Cena. I was late teens early 20s when John hit his stride as a main eventer. I personally saw him as the linchpin because as the other goats left, retired or passed on, Cena stayed. He stayed when it was ugly and took all the flack but none of the credit. I understand why people were frustrated but I didn't Blame him although he took the heat. People overlook the fact he took a good amount of Losses to up and comers than he did burying them. He wasn't perfect, but he showed up and put on a show.

[@LYE333]

To me John cena was perfect in my eyes I never understood the hate it might have been attitude era fans were just jealous of him being the top guy

[@benjiman7454]

@@LYE333 can definitely understand that

[@theworldisimmense]

@@LYE333haha hell no , no one else as jealous , he was just so corny

[@flamezivd1]

True words bro, Team Cena 💪 always

[@bigdonald123]

Cena always had the cringest babyface character of all time just stand their and say it to yourself in the mirror "you can't see me" cringe to the max

[@seankkg]

John slips into a villain every so often, and it's kind of more interesting to see the good guy slip into something sinister for a moment rather than always being bad.

[@abskhairoun]

I just thought that was a rage episode

[@Unethical_Ethical_HackTips]

He was never a villain not even for certain moments

[@TitB1199]

He never had a traditional heel turn, maybe a meta heel turn (?) because he was hated, but not in the 'i'm the villain' heel we all know

[@TitB1199]

If companies still had cojones and we didn't live in a soft PG era, he could have been brought back as Zhong Xena, a Chinese nationalist.

[@mohamedmoharm1819]

As a person who grew up with the attitude era, I never accepted Cena, and Whenever I hear Cena sux I know very well that I wasn't alone.

[@bigdonald123]

Thousands of thousands of fans chanted you can't wrestle for over 10 years (2006-2018)

[@lancethefilmguy9392]

​@@bigdonald123Could they?

[@G.slayer]

​@@bigdonald123 he actually can and has tons of matches to prove it

[@raregrimebeats1352]

@@G.slayertons of scripted matches

[@G.slayer]

@@raregrimebeats1352 all wwe matches are scripted your point?

[@LLSmoothJ]

As much as I think Cena was overhated (especially for things beyond his control), there are a couple of reasons why people turned on him. 1) They made his character child friendly to near Hogan-levels which people didn't like. To quote the TVTropes page in regards to pushing Lex Luger in a similar manner, "there is only one Hogan and the fans weren't even too crazy about him at that point." Thus he gets unfairly blamed for WWE going PG when in truth the man responsible for WWE going PG is Chris Benoit. Specifically his actions, which made WWE realize they needed to clean up their act after the bad publicity. 2) The fans wanted others to be pushed and were not happy that he basically squashed them: Christian, Jericho and Angle. Three men who had feuded with the likes of HHH, The Rock, and Steve Austin. Cena's biggest feud to date at that point was JBL, someone who fans didn't even like to begin with. I compared this to Tim Drake beating Cassandra Cain in combat (For context: Cassandra Cain is someone who was able to beat Batman in a fight). It really didn't help him that they would not long be gone so it looked as if he ran them off. Sad thing is, as much as people wanted Cena to turn heel, the moment they decided to make his work with Make-A-Wish public basically ruined any chances of a heel run. That was probably why he didn't want his work to be public as he did mentioned that if he turned heel he would want to go all in and be a monster heel (None of the "cool heel" crap).

[@sushantijam4098]

Yeah people blamed cena like he was responsible for pg. Really 😂😂 When did the superstars ever have that power lol 😂 If they really need to hate someone who made wwe change into pg, it's chris benoit. Such an immatured and gullible fans who call themselves great insultors for other ppl on the internet

[@djtrankilo231]

Benoit was the reason WWE had to take their Wellness Policy and concussion protocols more seriously. Linda McMahon running for US Senator and the potential to grow on sponsors were what made WWE PG

[@XvXMONSTERXvX]

very well put together comment and agreed.

[@zackfair6791]

His gimmick is juvenile well beyond whatever Hogan did. Cena changed his finished name to "attitude adjustment" which sounds like a child's punishment. At least Hogan didn't change his finisher name to the "time out" or something. I liked his heel thuganomics gimmick but he's been unwatchable trash for most of his career because of the boy scout gimmick.

[@BLACKSTA361]

Beating Batman In a fight is nothing special. Especially when he wasn't going all out

[@dontmatter966]

One of the funny things about his wrestling ability is that cena is capable of doing some wild stuff. The hurricanrana was literally part if his moveset at one point

[@SpongeBob5000_]

No it fucking wasn't. Stop it with this revisionist crap. He pulled that move like two times and it looked clunky and terrible and he almost broke his neck.

[@tinotica]

That was self powerbomb lol

[@vinny1537]

He had no business doing moves like that. They looked horrible

[@sushantijam4098]

​@@vinny1537that sitout powerbomb, some huricarrana looked great. Actually, he had more movesets and variations back in the day and that looked great just a bit slow

[@bigdonald123]

His in ring ability is heavily critized fans chanted you can't wrestle for over a DECADE (2005-2018)

[@Justfishcatches]

Cena was turned into the elementary school version of Hulk Hogan. He got a push over some real up and coming talent.

[@Jerry-jo6dn]

Like who? Almost all the wrestlers that people complain about being “buried” didn’t live up to expectations or were constantly injured. Wade Barret being injured every time and Jack Swagger had no charisma.

[@raymondthomas1574]

​@@Jerry-jo6dnRandy edge punk Umaga Bobby lashley and etc....

[@jervonte44-fx6wj]

⁠@@raymondthomas1574are you actually serious please tell me your joking. randy is an all timer image is a legend but never main event worthy and langley never got buried

[@aks19880]

I liked Cena when he was heel. His feuds with American Badass Taker and Brock Lesnar, who was face at the time, were really good.

[@Squeakypickles619]

As a serious cena hater back in my early teens that saw him from 2002 onward i can say that the hatred stemmed from him being propelled to be the face of the company after brock had just impressed and destroyed everyone and dipped the next year cena was pushed and protected and the wwe going pg definitely didnt help seeing how the wwe had just come down from the attitude era and early ruthless aggression era where the product was much more edgier and badass cena represented the complete opposite and alot of the fans saw it as a downgraded kids show with him being front and center

[@BuhdeeProductions]

It was hard to accept Cena towards as him as the PG guy since his origin of his character was hip hop scolding wrestlers. People who grew up with that kind of attitude is what made him the wrestler that he became the chain gang leader. As soon the transition became he became friendly it was hard to accept his new role but he rose to the occasion despite the boos every week. Cena is the type of guy that will show “One day you’ll all miss me when everything is set & done.” Look at what happened we all miss him you can love or hate him but he’s main reason why he’s the franchise player.

[@dowogenesthedog7186]

No one who isn't a teenager misses him.

[@Unethical_Ethical_HackTips]

Dude the phrase is when everything is said and done not set and done lmaoooo😂😂

[@lancethefilmguy9392]

​@@dowogenesthedog7186Tell that to London lol

[@johngomes4278]

No one misses him

[@nirogalactoid8398]

@@lancethefilmguy9392iam from London and he is overrated lmfao

[@alanlee1940]

Never was a fan, but the level of respect I have for him is beyond that of arguably any other wrestler of all time. This guy is a class act and his body of work outweighed my dislike of having him forced on me. Dude is one of the GOATs, period

[@baroquenroll92]

"John Cena apologize to china" Google it.

[@robertrogers074]

And a hypocrite.

[@fc775]

Definitely not one of the goat!

[@pacmiller7564]

@@robertrogers074 Jung Xhina is definitely a hypocrite

[@robertrogers074]

@@pacmiller7564 😂

[@rn6312]

The product would have been better with at least some years of a heel turn for Cena. Heck, if he ever wrestles more again, make him a heel for a while.

[@duckhouser]

Man, I remember loving Cena when he was a rapper, then disliked him when he was super Cena… just yesterday I bought a John Cena plush for my desk. Great video.

[@Bigdic420]

Imagine being a grown man hating on a wrestler doing his job

[@RepClonetrooper]

I’m 32 now, I’ll say this, I always rooted for John Cena. It’s his never give up attitude that meshed well with me, that drive, the focus, his passion for his craft, cena’s mental toughness as well. Tbh I don’t see how anyone couldn’t get behind that, I’m guessing the people who didn’t support him were probably people who were the exact opposite of him in personality and drive.

[@nessadvantage9447]

For me it had nothing to do with drive. I just couldn't stand his gimmick😂😂 Seeing him freestyle every week was cringe for me. I had plenty of guys i looked up to in wrestling. Loved the undertaker, the rock, stone cold, the hurricane, farooq and bradshaw/apa, hhh, kane to name just a few. If he ditched the rapping bs i could have maybe gotten behind cena, but his gimmick was stale to me.

[@snakeeyes2551]

When I first started watching WWE in 2005 and saw John Cena I became a fan him because I liked his theme song and his attire, to me John Cena stood out from everyone else. As I got older I started to like him because of the whole Hustle Loyalty Respect and the Never Back Down attitude of John Cena.

[@MetsJetsKnicksRangers]

Shut up it's all scripted

[@mr.awesome6011]

Because it's incredibly hoakie and corporate backed bullshit.

[@2011JYC]

Unfortunately, i met him in person only once. He is a real life jerk.

[@darthdesidus4361]

The truth will eventually come out…

[@PathSythe]

You can't see him, yet everyone wants to see him. You can choose to love him, you can choose to hate him. But you have to respect him.

[@pacmiller7564]

Don't know about respect more like disdain

[@LYE333]

I never hated cena only assholes and old jealous Haters do because they were jealous of cena being the face of wwe

[@gatonegro84]

Nah

[@bigdonald123]

I'm waiting for him to retire I'm glad he loses all matches knowadays

[@HogRider_99]

@@bigdonald123the kid in me, who watched Super Cena beat everyone all the freaking time, is really happy seeing him lose all the time now

[@stanleylee3329]

He was the face of WWE at a time where people didn’t like what was going on with the company. So naturally all the blame would be placed on him. I’m just glad that these days he gets the credit he deserves because the man kept wrestling as a genre alive post-Stone Cold and the Rock.

[@lexkanyima2195]

He was drafted to Raw was a BIG reason the WWE was forcing to be a born again Hogan.

[@TheMarine316]

I always felt the reasons given why people hated Cena were paper thin, like “never loses clean, or he’s always in the main event, he’s shoved down our throats” well you can say the same thing about 3 of the most over wrestlers in history in hulk hogan, Stone cold & The Rock, you can say the same thing about those 3 but they were beloved by the fans

[@BSmokeyGaming]

100% facts.

[@life0093]

If fans are booing the guy and ratings are going down, maybe you should stop pushing him. When Austin and Rock were pushed, they didn’t chase away viewership. Plus he wasn’t as good as those guys were. The Thuganomics thing had a shelf life, and the character he turned into wasn’t over. That’s why he got booed 2 months into his title reign, but Vince just didn’t listen.

[@TheMarine316]

@@life0093 Cena wasn’t chasing people away, they never lost viewers over him, the overall product made them lost viewers

[@life0093]

The overall product revolved around trying to make him look good. The ratings declined because of that and the pay per view business was getting slaughtered by ufc under Cena. Every guy Cena feuded with was cheered as a babyface and when he won people got mad

[@TheMarine316]

@@life0093 it wasn’t just the Cena character, if it was he wouldn’t have been leading the company in merchandise sales for nearly a decade

[@angelblue1527]

As a kid, never was a fan of Cena. I prefer a lot of other wrestlers over him, such as Punk, Wang Yang, and Undertaker. I still remember getting a toy of him on Christmas, I was 7, it was a Jakks. My friend LOVED Cena, so I traded him Cena for John Morrison and Boogeyman. NOW, I respect him so much for making kids everywhere happy. Cancer is a scary thing, Cena seeing those kids is such a great thing. Let's go Cena!

[@life0093]

Haha Jimmy Wang Yang. He was underrated

[@bigdonald123]

I grew up watching cena hated he was the superhero beating literally everyone the same way everytime

[@slayer21121]

A Jimmy Wang Yang fan? What an absolute chad, guy was underrated and over as hell

[@ShiNijuuAKL]

When Cena moved to raw his whole character changed. After that he was trash, but the edge feud definitely gave him some more time before it became unwatchable. The reason why the people who hated him don't hate him anymore if because cena went away and wasn't taken tv time anymore, which was the whole problem.

[@koffin9429]

Cap

[@Fuchsfeuer]

I can only agree 100%. Cena was at his best when he was on Smackdown. It felt real. It felt like he wasn't a puppet and earned everything himself. Added to this was the PG Era which not only harmed Cena but the wwe too. At the latest then you knew that you would never be allowed to see or hear the Smackdown Cena again.

[@DTB1995]

​@@koffin9429 He's correct

[@sammylane21]

I never truly hated Cena, I hated how boringly predictable they made his character and more than half his match out comes.

[@johnhannibalsmith1607]

I never hated John Cena. In fact, I tuned in just to SEE John Cena. I never understood the hate. I deployed to Iraq three times. I saw some pretty ugly things. The light hearted, "super hero" type of narrative that John Cena brought to my TV screen was just the kind of distraction I needed.

[@mcmurtersportsupdate7171]

I have always been on Team Let's Go Cena. I became a huge fan of his in 2003 when he was doing the Basic Thuganomics gimmick. I stopped watching for a while after The Rock left. And, when I turned it back on.... John Cena was there. And, he never left. He became my ultimate favorite pro wrestler of all-time. So, the Cena vs Rock rivalry was a dream-come-true for me.

[@HS.19.95]

I still wish deep down cena to turn heel someday...

[@Mega_Collosas]

but its too late for that and wwe must push new stars an move on from old guys

[@HS.19.95]

@@Mega_Collosas agreed bruh...but if it happens, it will be bigger deal than roman's...

[@Krypton853]

I always wondered what's the difference between Cena and Rey Mysterio. Both faces one ends up being adored until he made it to the Hall Of Fame which is Rey Mysterio. The other was adored by everyone for awhile but ends up getting hated by half of the WWE Universe.

[@Longlostpuss]

One understood that you didn't have to come out victorious in every single match and that an L can make you the victor to the fans in the face of defeat, whereas the other didn't...... Trust this helps.

[@thestrong2401]

Because Cena's wrestling skills are mediocre at best and he is only good at being a children's entertainer and at selling merchandise to kids, but adult fans got bored to see him winning every time with the same strategy of taking a beating for most of the match only to wake up at the end and hit a few boring moves and win.

[@Mega_Collosas]

i guess in the iwc its fine to be an overpushed heel(roman, Hollywood hogan) but not an overpushed face(cena,roman)

[@Bigdic420]

He proved he can wrestle when he went against kurt.

[@LYE333]

@@Bigdic420 facts

[@LYE333]

Dude cena proved that he can wrestle better then anyone have you seen hogan Austin and other guys like Roman John cena is one of the goats at wrestling

[@Bigdic420]

@@LYE333 hogan and Austin could wrestle outside wwe. They Japan matches were fire no gimmicks . Everyone was shocked by Hogan actually wrestling.

[@GeeseHoward1984]

People hated him because we still weren't over losing Stone Cold Steve Austin and we thought he was just another rip off of Hulk Hogan

[@Mega_Collosas]

basically the same reason roman and the next face of wwe following him get hate?

[@GeeseHoward1984]

@@Mega_Collosas no Romans situation is different... they're not making him out to be some sort of super hero. What they did with Cena we saw already in the 80s and early 90s and it got stale real quick 😂

[@Mega_Collosas]

@@GeeseHoward1984 im talking about old babyface roman.....but anyway it doesnt matter .heel or babyface hes the only guy wwe sees as true star ..not anyone else

[@Mega_Collosas]

@@GeeseHoward1984 supervillains get away with mega pushes but not super Heroes..this logic is funny

[@lancethefilmguy9392]

​@@GeeseHoward1984I'm glad someone else said this. I have been saying that for years. When Austin retired in 03 & The Rock went to Hollywood in 04, fans weren't ready for Cena or Batista to replace them.

[@thelaborpeasant]

Cena was insufferable It wasn't that he was always a face or that he was a bad performer or that he never evolved. It was that he was ALWAYS front and center. ALWAYS being shoved in our faces. If there was a high stakes storyline or high stakes championship match, OHHH surprise contender JOOOHN CEEENA. Ugh, it was awful. So many of us were like "Goddamnit, just let me watch someone else on the roster for once"

[@life0093]

Because he was so bad at being a babyface, that guys like CM Punk looked better by comparison. Now WWE wrestling isn’t mainstream anymore, and is infected with a bunch of indie guys that aren’t stars. I started watching during the Attitude Era, I didn’t know it was possible for a top babyface to get booed all the time until John Cena came.

[@bigdonald123]

Cm punk should have dethroned cena in 2012 as the face of wwe he was RED HOT

[@fatezero8662]

​@@bigdonald123 CM punk was wasted. He deserve to be the stone cold to John Cena. Cena desperately needed that kind of guy

[@BSmokeyGaming]

I grew up watching Cena back when he was on Smackdown, during his heel run and during his face run. I'm a huge Cena fan also, when he got drafted to Raw, that was when I knew somethings bad gonna happen to his character cause later on he ditched his rap gimmick to some Marine gimmick which is understandable cause he did The Marine movie (that was during his feud with Carlito back on Smackdown which he left to do filming). He still do some rap lines in his promos on Raw, but not alot compare to his Smackdown days. Thats when I know Vince is turning John Cena to Hulk Hogan 2.0 (which is understandable cause of the company moving forward to PG and Cena has lots of kids as fans) and sadly most of the grown fans will hate that and they started to boo Cena sadly. And it also didn't help Cena moving forward when it comes to his character despite him being face of the company (Austin, Rock, Hogan level) cause the company was transitining to PG and fans (dumb fans imo) blaming Cena for turning PG (I remember seeing a sign saying that Cena ruined wrestling LMAO). Last time I checked, the person or two who should be blamed for turning the company PG is Chris Benoit, great and respectable wrestling, but as a human being, what he did was 100% wrong (head issues played a huge role in that) and yep Linda McMahon for running Senate. The fact that remains is that John Cena was a huge merchandise guy back then, which is why you'll see him in numerous colored T-Shirts every 6 months a year, his slogan Hustle, Loyalty and Respect, Never Give Up can translate to the reality when it comes to strugglingto maintain a good balance and become successful from the bottom to the top, IDK why people hate that LMAO. Also he's the most trustworthy wrestler that Vince McMahon ever trusted which is the 100% fact that most Cena haters out there will agree on (over guys like Hogan - Hogan left Vince and went to WCW. HBK - Had drug issues and attitude problems back in the late 90s, but then later on he regained his trust. Austin - IMO his heel turn at WM 17 against the Rock was the downfall which drove fans away which is why Vince never wanted to turn Cena, also Austin gettin arrested for hitting Debra, and him walking out cause he hates the direction of his program with Lesnar. The Rock - He was in his prime, then he pursues Hollywood, IMO he left at a very young age. Brock Lesnar - He left to do the NFL and the UFC.)

[@jasonfocacci9234]

He was hated because he did the same match 52 weeks a year and always fucking won. All we wanted during the Cena era was absolutely anybody but Cena. That entire roster was buried for years on behalf of pushing Cena even harder.

[@MahdiRanger]

Little upset ya didn't do ya research on this one. Cena earliest hate can be found online in 2004. They started hating cena on most online forums. They are still up to find. It wasn't until fall 2005 that it was heard in tv.

[@bigStunna95]

Peak over longevity, Cena was the top guy for soo long because he was safe and Vince knew Cena was committed, Cena was great but not on the same level as Austin, Rock, or Hogan in their prime .

[@jackass541]

wrong

[@LYE333]

Your wrong pal john cena at his best would have beaten rock Austin and hogan in their primes

[@Okkkkkkskskssj]

Cena is bigger than austin rock and hogan pal. No one knows Austin and hogan outside England and u.s. and the only reason rock became big is cuz of hollywood

[@marcbasil]

@@LYE333wut..?

[@marcbasil]

@@Okkkkkkskskssj😳LOL. This is great sarcasm/irony

[@redwan6605]

I never hated him 😊

[@eixd3396]

Same

[@snakeeyes2551]

Same

[@travienantley674]

I was never a cena fan,especially around the pg era and I most definitely hated that nexus storyline but I did respect him because his dedication to the company

[@JayWIll2000s]

I loved that nexus story line Cena was a god

[@travienantley674]

@JayWIll2000s I felt like they could've pushed the nexus in a right direction

[@alekomania]

It’s simple they forced Cena down our throats !!!! Always getting out from opponents finishing move!!!

[@wil3162]

It was the "Wigger" gimmick that killed it for me!! Had they brought him in regular after his debut match against kurt angle, it would've been much more respected!

[@jervonte44-fx6wj]

the thing is he could actually rap and imo that’s the best gimmick he ever had i loved thuganomics cena he was great on the mic and funny asf

[@MrTamperingWithEvidence]

Working in WWEs developmental doesn't exactly count as "working from the independents" but I know what he was trying to say.

[@thatlemur6065]

Another thing worth noting is that on Smackdown John Cena was put against people like JBL who fans hated at the time. On Raw he was put against people that were generally well respected favorites like Jericho and Angle. The change of opponents really did alot to expose Cena's new character and the blandness it had compared to Thuganomics

[@kpinfulleffect]

I will always be Team Cena Sucks! And that's not being a hater. His act grew stale & he never tried evolve his character like Chris Jericho or Undertaker. His in ring work was very limited in comparison to guys like Brian Danielson. But most egregiously, other rising stars were stopped in his favor. Too many to list.

[@LYE333]

Bra just say it your a hater don’t lie 😂

[@kpinfulleffect]

@@LYE333 What part of my statement is a lie?

[@Mega_Collosas]

​​@@kpinfulleffectagain putting heavy importance on inring work over charity work, marketable look,kids hero, mainstream popularity...all that down the drain so you could have gargano and adam cole have a 5star match and bring wwe to 560k view while satisfying you and iwc?and chasing away casuals

[@lancethefilmguy9392]

​@@Mega_CollosasMust be a Meltzer fan 😂

[@Mega_Collosas]

@@lancethefilmguy9392 thinks wrestling is everything needed to make a star

[@tyler55563]

Cena was getting mixed reactions in 2006, the segment when he addressed the haters the Raw after NYR 2006 lol

[@callummarch3970]

It’s hard to be loved as a long reigning champion. So many new guys become relevant while you’re on top and it’s frustrating to see them not get their chance when someone is dominating. For me it all changed when he went against rvd.

[@drdfilm]

I feel the same about Brock Lesnar 2015 up until 2020

[@FaizalKuntz]

I was a kid back when Cena on top of WWE so I don't understand why people hate him when he don't do anything wrong. but now I'm an adult and see why Cena was hated because WWE starting to move the business away from wrestling fans but to more wide family friendly audiences that's why the WWE business was booming and make more money than the attitude era. now I understand why, it wasn't Cena fault to do his job to get younger and more profitable audience. it was WWE fault for doing what best for business at the time. Cena being the top guy like Hogan did, and hardcore fans being push away to sell the product that is John Cena while the fans didn't want him and start chanting for someone else and booing Cena and cheer whoever Cena was facing to express what the fans back then felt.

[@trewilliams8411]

I felt like wrestling fans sabotaged John cena career fans forced cena to lose matches with the cena wins we riot people and it was messed up

[@bigdog3628]

it is because of kids like you. (Don't take it the wrong way) He got pushed way too hard, they wanted to see him be a bad guy and not a kid friendly baby face. They also saw him as the "heart" of PG WWE, which all "old" wwe fans hated and people got bored with seeing him be champ every single year. (Seriously, his 16 title reigns were equal to 1 title reign a year. For a while he had more world title reigns than years in the company) People kind of love him now because what can I say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. it is because of kids like you. (Don't take it the wrong way) Anyways hope this reply gives you some understanding. It is not just the PG thing, though yeah, that didn't help.

[@JeanieBaby24]

I Don't blame Cena for all the hate, I blame the writers. They shoved Cena down people's throats, and they were displeased. Remember, it's the writers who build the fueds and make the rivalries, NOT CENA. So if you're going to play the blame game, place it on the writers.

[@airjordanfan11]

NGL I was a cena fan from 2003-2008. After 08 I was just getting tired of Cena and his super Cena gimmick and when he was hogging the spotlight. When he feuded with AJ Styles in 2016 and putting on incredible matches with him, he regained my respect but the thing I also respected during the cena super gimmick era was his dedication and his work ethic. It was unbelievable!

[@bigdonald123]

I grew up watching cena after 07 him beating Shawn Michael's I turned on him

[@razorramon7573]

Uh, Hulk Hogan stayed on top 1984 through 1996 until he turned heel.

[@marcbasil]

He stayed on top longer than that.

[@marthouismcmiller4787]

He was likable before winning the belt & moving to raw

[@michaelmercury1297]

I thought Cena was going to turn heel when half the fans were booing him all the time But Cena stayed babyface his whole career. Not many wrestlers have done that.

[@noquad824]

I was always taking Cenas Side. He is the goat truly. Glad people acknowledge it after he was gone for so long

[@davidaames1624]

John Cena, not batista, John Cena liberated us from the HHH's reign of terror in 2005. For this reason alone, I will forever be in his corner.

[@bigdonald123]

Lol the rock had 90% of the fans on his side cena only had the kids during that rivary they cheered massively when rock pinned cena at mania 28

[@bigdonald123]

The rock had the fans booing cena in cenas hometown 😂

[@idgaf9333]

we got tired of him always being the good guy is that simple,we wanted him to turn heel over and over and over again and yet didn't get it.

[@Conclusionary3843]

Who's "we"

[@idgaf9333]

@@Conclusionary3843 we the fans who didn't like him during that time,thats who 😐

[@Conclusionary3843]

@@idgaf9333 speak for yourself don't speak for everyone

[@idgaf9333]

ok

[@abdullahafridi1590]

Simple, because he didn't know how to wrestle. His moves looked clumsy, repetitive. If he had a 60 min match, 55 min he'd be getting his ass whooped and somehow he'd perform a miracle and win the match. That's what made it boring

[@Birdhouseart]

I can contribute to two things why I was turned off from Cena's run during that time. The first were his promos, when he became top guy his seemed to be a diet version of The Rock, basically mocking the interviewer, the wrestler, or instead of saying "the peoples champ" he would say "the champ is here." I get it, the Rock still during that period resonated with the older crowd, but we didn't want carbon copy of him especially when a lot of Cena was doing was goofy. The second came down to his matches. Cena's a good worker, but imo I felt his matches were boring. Everyone complained about the 5 moves of doom, but every wrestler had there own 5 moves of doom. Cena's moves to me were on the safe side. I was showing off finishers to my friend from multiple wrestlers, so when we got to Cena doing the AA, he kinda had a blank stare and said "so he just tosses them and that's it?" So with his move set and the whole "lol cena wins" meme going strong or his back and forth matches with Randy Orton which got exhausting after a while, a lot of the older fans like myself just got tired of seeing him cause we can guess how it will all turn out.

[@kingJshawn]

WHATS CRAZY IS IM THE "MORE TESTOSTERONE MALE CHEERS GUY HOLDING 3 BELTS" AT 1:15 MARK LOL . IDK HOW IM CAME ACROSS A VIDEO WITH ME IN IT ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO LOOKIN LIKE A MARK😂

[@jessmark6465]

Cena isn't a great wrestler. He is just MARKETABLE. That's why he is always on top.

[@MihailParshin]

I'm not from USA and back in the day there was not so much WWE content in my country. And without internet(only the rich had it at that time), we couldn't see a lot. So, what I remember is that Cena was literally unbeatable at his peak. I know he has lost some matches, but when there was WWE on the TV(which was even less than once a week), mainly some big matches or tournaments, he was always winning. I couldn't see any of his losses until internet became popular, which was around 2010 by us. I knew WWE is fake, but just couldn't stand how they didn't make Cena lose even 1 match at all(at least from what I and some others have seen). He was literally superman and no body could do nothing to him. And then he had a match with Edge, in which Edge was considered expert, and Cena has his 1st time such match. Well, Cena won(very expected obviously). That was the moment that I personally started really really hate him. Just couldn't stand how he was better than everybody, at everything, all the time. That was the moment that nailed it for me. After that match, I stopped watching WWE for a while. But then internet came and I realized the truth and turned good for him. Can't say I'm fan of him, but I realized that he wasn't such a superman that TV in my country portraited him to be.

[@LYE333]

The only reason John cena lost matches because he was forced to lose by dumb ass hating fans that kept on complaining whenever cena won a match it’s messed up

[@rohankanungo9296]

they boo him during that time, not everyone gets crazy just to see some minutes of Cena at the ring !!!!!!!!! HUSTLE LOYAL RESPECT

[@LYE333]

It’s stupid how fans boo someone that was so awesome and so good in the ring and on the mic makes no since was it jealousy

[@DSN262]

One of the most boring wrestlers of all time that contributed largely to the decline of wrestling today

[@dispinoylovzyou]

He became kid friendly.

[@LYE333]

Cena wasn’t just kid friendly he was bigger and better then that he became family friendly he was just unbelievably great on the mic and more.

[@sazan007]

The whole company was kid frendly

[@Conclusionary3843]

No shit they call it the pg era for a reason

[@Alan_M_Stats]

I was 11 years old when i went to WrestleMania 22 as a Cena Stan. When i heard the boos and "fuck John Cena" chants in the walkways i as floored lol. I think its a little bit of Chicago liking who they like.

[@WhatInTheDeepestShadeOfFeck]

Simple answer for me is that the product became dull while he was being pushed to the moon. The ruthless aggression era gave way to the PG era, and Cena beat *everybody* pretty much until CM Punk came along and Dwayne returned.

[@falconmclenny7284]

Because his character went from entertaining to fruity pebbles and boring, and the way he was booked quite literally destroyed wrestling as a pop culture phenomenon.. its now a very niche product, that is nowhere near as good as it used to be.. cena is the face of that destruction.

[@JackalHavok1992]

John Cena caused an Indie Invasion in the WWE!

[@Est93]

He ruined my childhood with that 1 year title reign . EVERYONE was happy whe he got injured and FINALLY dropped the belt we had seen enough

[@LYE333]

Dude that makes no sense you look at Roman now he is worse cena was on top for a decade his longest reign was over a year and you were tired of it John cena was a fighting champion he wrestled every single time and he defended his championship your crazy and your happy he was injured you are definitely going to hell.

[@FAITHandLOGIC]

He was hated because he was the face of the PG Era. The Attitude Era fans were angry that their wrestling had been taken away and replaced with Cena.

[@KrisBryant99]

Don't you find it odd he came at the right time after the Attitude Era?

[@lexkanyima2195]

​@@KrisBryant99had he been 3 years, earlier, he would have been a huge heel

[@josiahnoblahblah]

I know ppl talk about the 5 moves of doom but man i rember in his early days when he had all kinds in his arsenal

[@LYE333]

People say that and don’t know about hogan, rock, Roman and Austin they had lesser moves then John cena

[@danielshepherd1366]

There’s no denying Cena did a lot for the betterment of pro wrestling. However he just never clicked with me. I think he’s super overrated. But like I said, while he was on top he did an enormous amount of good for the sport and I applaud him for that.

[@SpongeBob5000_]

He did absolutely nothing for the betterment of wrestling. He and the company did the opposite of that by continuously shoving him down everybody's throat and artificially keeping him as the top guy against the fan's wishes.

[@SamuraiRed-ui4ww]

He didn't do anything for wrestling the ratings went down because he sucks and over pushed and un coordinated in the ring he only cares about himself he was booed against Jericho, Angle, Edge, HHH, RVD, HBK, Orton, Batista, The Rock, Lesnar he had the golden shovel that why people walked away from pro wrestling because of this clown

[@michaelshannon3486]

@@SpongeBob5000_weirdo

[@SpongeBob5000_]

@@michaelshannon3486 Why do you Cena guzzlers feel entitled for other ppl to like him and delude themselves into thinking he’s good?

[@danielshepherd1366]

@@SpongeBob5000_ he was and is loved by a LOT of people. Just not me. He kept kids watching, did more work for make a wish than any wrestler ever, and has a die hard base of fans. Just for that, he should be respected. I respect his career, just doesn’t make MY personal top 10

[@jrockwell19]

He wasnt as good as he was booked. His promos were all the same. He played politics to bury rising talent which hurt the business. His moveset was limited. His selling was terrible. He refused to evolve his character for 10 years. That's why.

[@Chief-thunder_charging_bear]

For the life of me i can't understand why he got over so much. He can't wrestle, he can't talk, he calls all the same matches... i just don't get it

[@petersonofleo11]

He can't talk??? what?

[@Mega_Collosas]

because he had charisma,the look, marketability,had a geniune personality,he drew, ..

[@lancethefilmguy9392]

I think his matches say otherwise

[@rah-melrosado4704]

I literally stopped watching WWE because of John Cena… I started back watching wrestling when Cena lost to Brock at Summerslam

[@lancethefilmguy9392]

Really?

[@rah-melrosado4704]

@@lancethefilmguy9392 fr 💯💯

[@fredbjamz4956]

Never hated Cena. I do get a little tired of him sometimes but it’s not that bad

[@LimaKiloRomeo]

While I do feel he was pushed on RAW how Batista should've been, he grew into it eventually.

[@60Wrestling]

John Cena is the real GOAT of wrestling

[@JayzoTheNextKobeBryant]

Yessir Definitely Agree With That

[@trewilliams8411]

Most of John Cena haters were old attitude era people

[@suiken3149]

No. People tuned out on PG era. He peaked during Ruthless Aggression.

[@trewilliams8411]

@@suiken3149 John Cena never peaked buddy he was alwasy that guy on top even in the pg era the pg era is over hated you can’t tell me that their is any era that lasted longer then the pg era in wwe. The pg era has had many fantastic great moments more then the attitude era cause it only lasted about 4 years it was great but short lived.

[@suiken3149]

@@trewilliams8411 PG era is considered by many a one of the worst era in wrestling. Boring storylines. Guys like Zack Ryder, Rusev, Daniel Bryan, etc. getting blue balled. And yes, John Cena's character got stale. WWE at that time killed every momentum of up and coming stars. You can hate Attitude era all you want but that era literally saved the company. PG era is the time that there was little competition. Vince and the writers got complacent. The only reason they were still there is because people had no other option for wrestling outside indie scenes and TNA is not the answer since it present itself like indies too. It wasnt until recently where Vince is almost out of the picture and AEW is gaining traction that WWE is starting to get good again.

[@ragegartl]

Kinda completely missed the point of why Cena was so hated. And it's only about the character John Cena, not the real person whose charity work is without question admirable. The biggest problem is that John Cena was never a real babyface. If you look at his storylines he was always the good guy compared to his opponents but never morally good. In addition, he has too often prevented the advancement of new wrestlers, now whether that was the decision of the WWE or his I can not say, but the fact is the character John Cena has hindered or ended more careers than anyone else. Sure he made up for it with the US open challenge, but that was after the peak of Cena hate. Roughly speaking, Cena has always been the face of sports entertainment and the WWE has moved further and further away from wrestling, which ultimately led to NXT (B&G) and AEWs success. Bit more indie in pro wrestling. Now, you can say it's WWE's fault for presenting sports entertainment and wrestling as opposites and thus dividing the fans, but the Cena character was the face of that conflict. I think the Cena heel turn is one of the biggest missed opportunities in the history of WWE or pro wrestling in general, it shows time and time again that the fans would rather unite against a heel than rally behind a chosen face.

[@chenstormstout9456]

He WAS a heel when started after his debut. it’s like the Rock, you weren’t supposed to like him, but his gimmick was so over that they basically had to make him a babyface.

[@LYE333]

Most of those fans were old washed stupid attitude era people y’all don’t understand a lot of people lived John cena y’all are looking towards the wrong side of the audience cena had fans that loved him as well but everyone looks at the negativity more then the positive side.

[@raymondthomas1574]

In real life he didn't want lose he threw fits backstage

[@InushiDoggo]

I'm sure some fans were incel baby haters, but I think a good part of the boos was Cena being forced in people's faces the way Roman is today. Compared to organic cheers like Daniel and LA Knight, being told who to cheer is an awesome way to have that backfire. Don't get me wrong. I like Cena and Reigns. Hell, I even was a big Kurt fan when he was being booed lol.

[@Thecallmemisterajp]

Yeah. I was always a Cena fan, but as soon as they moved him to Raw, they programmed him with people who had hardcore fanbases. You had Christian and Jericho, both of whom had been perceived as being held down to some degree, and Angle, who as a heel would regularly get cheered over babyfaces like HBK and even Eddie at times. Add in Vince’s hamfisted booking by having Angle do stuff like saying he hates black people, joining up with Davari, and all but begging people to boo him, plus the fact that, unlike when he was rapping on Smackdown, on Raw they actually seemed to start scripting him and micromanaging his character, and it’s easy to see why the fans turned.

[@nabs6415]

The crowd was literally booing at thin air for 10 years

[@alekomania]

They kept more talented stars like orton and Edge for Cena

[@PedalToTheMetal61888]

...SO CM- PUNK AND NEW WIFE AJ- NOW OWNS WOMEN OF WRESTLING NET WORK ...

[@Holy_Diver1616]

I was booing cena in 06 when i was in the 2nd grade even rooting for edge alot of the time in their fued just because i was so sick of seeing cena with the championship all the time i remember being over filled with joy when RVD won the title just to be crushed when Cena sure enough ended up back with it not too long after

[@flyoutchase]

Stone Cold was never a babyface….but he also wasnt really a heel….he was like an anti-hero

[@shadowandroid1823]

the cringe apologize to china is why people hate him.

[@hauvkuabyang7467]

And now all the people that booed him cheer when he returns

[@BlackEffect]

I stopped watching wrestling during this run. One of Wwe worst eras

[@batmansdragon8820]

Cena has always been my favorite.

[@breakvinnysjaw]

Cena was the reason why I stopped watching.

[@MixManiac120]

I just hate that of all people to lose to at Mania it was Theory.

[@LYE333]

Cena should have won.

[@wootage8434]

His Thuganomics character was cool and relatable. Like Rock and Austin. His good guy character was just a Hulk Hogan wannabe. Hogan was his favorite after all.

[@KingOfAllDragoons]

They’re just haters and it be me cool to the marks to hate popular wrestlers and put over guys no one ever heard of

[@ezriderspewstruth8867]

Has nothing to do with him selling out to 🇨🇳

[@KingOfAllDragoons]

@@ezriderspewstruth8867 Sure he did...lol

[@kinginc2000]

There was nothing swiss cheese about the complaint of his wrestling. During his 2000s run, Cena had the most awkard, unconvincing and unlogical moveset. A STF (Really a STS) he never locked in right, a diving guillotine leg drop that looked horrible. It was hard seeing this man actually pin way better performers. It took until he started working with indy wrestlers in 2010, for him to actually execute the moves. Although he added other over the top moves. He looked way better doing them.

[@sarc4sm68]

Love him or hate him, he doesnt care. He simply performs and entertain you once he's already at the ring. Thats why he's the goat and thats what it takes to be the face of the promotion.

[@JayWIll2000s]

Haters sabotaged John Cena career

[@firepenguin38]

I mean what he does for Charity is selfless, but in the ring I never liked him

[@YisroelGoldberg]

Because he was a bad wrestler just straight up. Punches looked super fake as well

[@grandmastermario3695]

Because hes not nearly as good as wwe made him look like he was, same with Roman reigns, my personal opinion anyways

[@samwithers8477]

The hip-hop/rap aspect was the big issue. Contrary to what the mainstream media would have you believe, most people abhore hip-hop/rap music, and when applied to his character appeared very cringe & disingenuous. This wasn't the case as much for the younger fans as they had been inundated with it from birth, but other generations hated it. If you ever wondered why he was such as polarizing character, well now you know. Somebody had to say it.

[@Grinchjefe]

well now i know your white, thanks

[@MrML4L]

Final Boss Rock should show Cena that its not too late to have a late career turn!