As far as careers go, John Cena is an A+ player. That is just how he is pushed. He has been the centerpiece for almost a decade now. He has had a few rest periods here and there where he was not in either the title hunt or the main-event scene, including some periods where he was injured, but the WWE constantly keeps putting him back into that top spot. Even if they should start phasing him out now as the centerpiece, Cena will still remain one of those guys that they could insert into a major storyline at any time and it wouldn't look weird. And this treatment from the WWE is what makes him an A+ player.
What do the critics have to say about John Cena? This is where John Cena starts to not be an A+ player. Daniel Bryan is the guy with great wrestling ability, but he gets criticized for his look and mic skills. Cena is somewhat the opposite. He has the look and better mic skills, but it is his wrestling ability that people often criticize. He only knows 5 moves. He can't sell. His strength is overrated. I am usually not critical of anyone for wrestling ability. Number of moves does not bother me. It is how well the wrestler executes the moves and actually performs that I care more about. That being said, I don't like Cena much for his wrestling ability. He is not as smooth in the ring as others. People sometimes criticize his promos for burying his opponents. He did a number on Bray Wyatt this week. I don't have a problem with that. The Rock did that kind of thing a lot. It was entertaining. My problem with Cena as far as his promos and mic skills go is that I just find him annoying. I don't know whether it is the sound of his voice or that he often sounds like a politician, but he doesn't entertain me as someone like The Rock could with his promos. Even Cena's harshest critics usually give him credit for his loyalty to the WWE, including doing all those charity events. How much does that really define how great of a pro wrestling performer Cena is? I think it matters a little. But loyalty does not overshadow everything. Cena's harshest haters might give him a D or an F. It would definitely be wrong to critique him as an A+ player. He does have issues. I would give him a B+.
When it comes to actually bringing results, John Cena once again falls short of an A+. I have already said that Daniel Bryan is probably the only regular in the WWE today that I would give that grade to based on how well he is connecting with the fans. Cena cannot get the consistent reaction and fan support that Daniel Bryan has been getting for a while now. When you are getting pushed as John Cena is, as the centerpiece of the company, you are not only being pushed to be over, but also to be the top draw. I will get to that in a moment. Just looking at how well John Cena is connecting with the audience, the mixed reaction says it all. I even remember him getting "Boring" chants. It's one thing for a heel centerpiece to get a mixed reaction. Heels are pushed to be booed. And since the centerpiece is supposed to be such a great performer, you would expect him to get cheered by some, even as a heel. But a face centerpiece getting this kind of reaction? That is bad. You might say Cena should be getting a C if anyone ever evaluates the results he brings based on fan reactions. Women and children love him. Women love him for his look, while the kids love him for the character the WWE has made him to be. When you take it a step further and look at how well Cena is drawing, I think there is even more reason to not give him an A. Cena has been treated like a top draw, but the WWE's ratings and PPV buyrates have been mostly on a decline. They had to rely on stars they created a decade ago and celebrities to give them major boosts. You can say that it is the overall product's fault, not Cena's, but if the WWE had a centerpiece that was working out better, would they then better be able to turn their attention back to the midcard, tag division, diva division, and so on? Things weren't always as bad as they are now during Cena's reign as centerpiece. But as issues with the centerpiece have continued, that might have had an impact on how the bosses of the company are handling things. I would say John Cena is bringing B results. I am probably being too generous.
John Cena is pushed as an A+ player, critiqued by me as a B+ player, and brings B results. That's not good for a centerpiece. I don't think all the blame should go to Cena. That is why I don't give him a C for how poorly he is connecting with the audience for so long. Part of the blame should go to the WWE. They cannot come up with new ways to keep him fresh. There has to be a way to please the women, children, and the rest. However, Cena is not let completely off the hook. He definitely has some shortcomings that are holding him back. If he had the wrestling ability of Daniel Bryan and the promo skills of The Rock, I don't think a lot of his haters would still be haters. He got very over with his rapper gimmick. But when they started pushing him as the centerpiece, that gimmick soon went away. Would he be better with that gimmick again? Would he be better if he was never pushed as hard as he was? I don't think everyone who gets popular needs to become a main-eventer. Keep some of them in the midcard. You need over stars there. I am not saying Cena should never have held the WWE Championship, but there are a lot of guys who get that big win and remain midcarders or upper-midcarders after. Nothing wrong with that. Maybe Vince McMahon saw a ton of potential in John Cena, but Cena has not worked out as a great centerpiece.
Since I am on the subject of Cena, let me finish with talking about his Wrestlemania feud. He will officially be facing Bray Wyatt. This is a rest period for your centerpiece. There is more to it for that. This is the most mediocre match centerpiece Cena has had at Wrestlemania. Bray Wyatt, however, has been developed very well. When Bray feuded with Kane and Daniel Bryan, the subject of whether he would brainwash them came up. That does not appear to be an issue with this feud. No need to question whether or not Cena will become a Wyatt. This seems more about Bray Wyatt trying to take Cena out. He has his illusions of grandeur. It's seems obvious how this feud will end. I doubt the WWE will do anything in the coming weeks to make this feud too much more interesting. Re-injuring Cena might be an option. The Wyatts need more momentum on their side.
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