Wrestlemania 29 Preview – Raw World Title: John Cena vs. The Rock
Then there’s this.A year ago I was as fired up for a match as I’ve ever been because of Cena vs. Rock. I didn’t know if it was going to be good or bad, but I needed to see it one way or another. That being said, the feeling isn’t there this year. I’m not saying I don’t want to see the match because I do and there’s no way this won’t be good. The problem is there’s nothing separating this match from last year’s version. Yeah it’s for the title, and maybe 10% of the promos have been about said title. It’s not adding anything and is the definition of a prop to set up this match.
All that being said, I’m fine with the match happening again. These complaints of the match being stale or played out are pretty ridiculous considering we’ve seen them fight ONCE in a a year and that match drew more money than any other match ever. Again, we haven’t seen them fight in over a year and that match was an instant classic. But somehow this match is stale because….it just is right? Anyway the match itself should be fine.
As for the big question about it: no, I don’t see Cena doing the turn. I see this being more like Wrestlemania 8 where Roddy Piper picked up the bell, looked at it, and sat it down instead if giving into the demons. Granted he lost about ten seconds later but at least he had a clean conscience. The main thing to remember abotu Cena becoming the villain is there’s no one ready to take his place on top of the company. Cena is way too big of a cash cow for WWE and in his own words:
“”I just don’t see me getting there in order to please a very small group of 30-year-olds.”
That’s what it boils down to. A lot of fans REALLY like John Cena. He appeals to kids, he appeals to women, he appeals to families. Cena is built up as a role model and he’s done that for years. Yeah, the turn would be shocking. Then three months would go by and where would we be then? We would have a small group of 30-year-olds cheering for him and a bunch of people not buying his merchandise. WWE is too smart to cater to such a small group of fans and at the end of the day, the right move is for Cena to stay where he is, at least until someone new is ready.
As for the match, I can’t imagine Rock keeping the title. I just can’t. Rock can’t be world champion long term because of his movie schedule, so you can’t expect him to keep the title even longer. Also Cena has earned a big win as he hasn’t been champion in a LONG time. Think about it. Since Money in the Bank 2011, Cena has been world champion for 34 days, and 20 of those were spent as co champion with Punk. His last title reign that went longer than three months? The year long one which ended in 2007. It’s been a very long time since Cena had an extended reign as world champion and it’s his time again. Cena wins, as he should.
Why would Punk be “afraid” to be the face of the company? That doesn’t make any sense.
It’s a lot of pressure to be the face of the compnay. It’s not just being the #1 face on Raw. It’s working like 24/7 as WWE guy. Punk is taking time off after Mania because he’s burnt out. When has Cena EVER been burnt out? It takes a special guy to be that guy who can handle all the responsibilities and also be entertaining on TV each and every week. It’s not this easy thing that some fans make it out to be like “oh, just replace Cena with whoever and it will be fine”. It’s not so easy.
Punk’s time off is due to nagging injuries, reportedly.
Back in 2004 and 2005, WWE basically begged Shawn to be world champion and he said no way because he didn’t want the increased schedule. That would include more house shows, more media appearances etc. Yeah it’s more prestigious, but it’s also a lot more work. If nothing else it’s more ring time which is more physically demanding.
The reason the ratings won’t happen again like the vaunted Attitude Era is because less was on then. There weren’t 1000 channels to choose from. Thus, getting a 5 rating (5 percent of the viewership at that time) was a lot more possible. Easier to bring in 5 percent when there are 100 choices than when there are 1000 choices. It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, getting ratings to those insane levels again just won’t happen.
With that said, Mania sells BETTER today than it ever did during that era and WWE makes more money today so it’s not like the business model broke, it got better.
As for the Cena stuff, Cena DID put a guy over to be the next guy but that guy has his issues. It’s Punk by the way. Something tells me he’s afraid to be the face of the company which is why he had to resort to being a heel again. Maybe the guy is Ryback but that remains to be seen. I thought it was Punk as he built a connection with fans that you just don’t see every day but he’s afraid to be the man and that’s his deal. On to the next guy.
So you’re to suggest the WWE’s low ratings are merely due to more channels as opposed to a lackluster product?
It’s absolutely a factor. Now, there’s no way to determine what a “great” product is, but if we’re talking about a show firing on all cylinders, what do you honestly think it could draw these days as far as TV ratings?
Not sure what you mean by “firing on all cylinders” as I’ve already pointed out Raw doesn’t have a roster capable of providing the entertainment you saw at the turn of the century.
But Anything can happen in the WWF, Vince told me so. He wouldn’t lie to us fans.
They may never reach that high again. They seem to be happy with status quo, it’s just so frustrating knowing they can do better, but don’t have to.
Who’s to say they have the talent to reach those highs again? Think they want Attitude Era ratings? Sure they do, but it’s not plausible. They had Austin, Rock, Foley, HHH, Undertaker, HBK all in the prime of their careers, with a midcard that was stacked with guys like Jericho, Benoit, Angle. A talent pool like that will never happen again.
The problem with this match is, Cena is getting booed more often then normal and it doesn’t seem like just adults are doing it anymore. Yes I agree people who hate on Cena for no reason are stupid. Why do people who have legitimate arguments get lumped in with that group? His act is tired, This whole cash cow nonsense is just that nonsense. Of course he can be replaced. Like Steve Austin once said. “were all pistons in the machine, It will keep turning long after were gone”
It would make more sense to have someone dethrone Cena now since he’s still young and relevant. Then later when it won’t mean as much. Having said that Cena’s going to win. Rock’s a part timer and since they’re to hesitant to take a chance on anyone it’s going back to the familiar.
Could someone explain this to me? “without being an insulting jackass”
Why is this board so against the idea of Cena turning heel? Better Question why is he being defended so much for being booed?
It reminds me of 1994 WCW They brought Hogan in the biggest name in the world. He was being routinely booed. Granted it took them 2 years but they did the turn. With Cena this booing thing has been going on for at least 5 years.
I just don’t understand if your a face and your getting booed more often then not. Your not a face.
I’ve heard everything from it will hurt merchandise sales. “bullshit as it’s not like all of his shirts and stupid armbands will just disappear from concession” To it will hurt ticket sales. “Which is also bullshit as I refuse to believe anyone is going to say “That Cena guys a bad guy now, better not go to the show”
To it will hurt his make a wish foundation and charity work. “They do know it’s a show right? He wouldn’t actually be a bad guy and could still do charity work outside of the show”
It just screams safe and familiar to me. What happened to the Vince McMahon that took chances? Granted that ended up with us getting the Ringmaster and Dr Isaac Yankem D.D.S. It also lead to Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kane.
Austin was wrong. Evidently he couldn’t be replaced.
Cena shouldn’t turn. I don’t think he’ll be a good heel, just as Steve Austin wasn’t a good heel. Not enough people want to boo him. If you did turn him heel the only guy he could feud with would be Rock. It just wouldn’t be very interesting
Someone should inform him it’s much more than a small group of 30 year olds. Nonetheless, turning him heel would be pointless because everyone has been waiting for heel Cena for so long, he’d instantly be cheered.
Im not stoked for this but am okay with it happening again. My problem with this year’s match is that WWE is just relying on it being a huge deal because it’s Cena/Rock. There was not any interesting buildup to this year’s bout. With last year’s match, most people knew about the past real life heat between Cena/Rock and there was good buildup to that match. Im sure this match will be good and Cena will win, just not very excited for it.