Money in the Bank 2014: Just One More Step
Money in the Bank 2014
Date: June 29, 2014
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler
Tonight is one of those nights that is going to change everything all at once. The World Title is vacant and will be hanging above the ring like the briefcase normally would. In addition to that we have a regular briefcase ladder match, meaning we’ll see the future of the company for the net few months decided tonight. Let’s get to it.
As per the pre-show, Bad News Barrett is officially out of the ladder match with a shoulder injury.
Instead of a match on the pre-show, we’ve got an interview with Daniel Bryan. He’s already out of the neck brace and does a full YES chant around the ring. The fans come unglued for him and Bryan is clearly overwhelmed by their reaction. Bryan: “Shh.” Fans: “NO! NO! NO!” Bryan: “Well ok. YES! YES! YES!”
Cole gets right to the point: when can we expect him back in the ring? Bryan doesn’t know because his arm strength isn’t back and there’s talk of another surgery. He promises that he’ll be back and better than ever though. It wouldn’t be a Daniel Bryan story if he didn’t have a setback, and he’s coming back to win his title.
It’s time for some Twitter questions. Bryan thinks Reigns will win tonight and felt disrespected when he was stripped of the title. He finds it interesting that he was stripped of the titles because no one could beat him. This brings out Bo Dallas of all people for this line: “I know you can’t compete tonight. That’s got to be a pain in the neck!” Bryan can still climb the ladder of life and make his way back to the top. All he has to do is Bo-lieve! Bryan steals the line from the NXT fans and tells Bo to leave.
The opening video is about the climb and how it is more important tonight than ever before as it will decide the future.
Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Wyatt Family
The Usos are defending and have been feuding with the Wyatts for over two months now without actually defending the titles against them. The children’s choir sings a few lines of He’s Got the Whole World before the music changes to some slow rock music. It’s far better than the banjo music they had on Raw. Jey and Harper get things going and Luke gets kicked in the ribs to start. The Usos speed things up with some tagging but Harper dropkicks Jimmy down.
Jimmy gets caught in the wrong corner for some double teaming but he finally dropkicks Rowan through the ropes, setting up a big dive off the barricade to take him down again. Back in and a high cross body gets two on Erick and it’s off to Jey vs. Harper. Luke quickly sends Jey through the ropes before catapulting him throat first into the bottom rope for two. Rowan puts on a claw hold for another two before it’s off to a neck crank.
Jey avoids a legdrop but Harper breaks up the tag. A legdrop gets two on Jey but Rowan misses a splash and goes shoulder first into the post. Jey finally makes the hot tag to send Jimmy in to face Harper. Things speed way up and both Wyatts take Samoan drops. The Umaga attack nails Rowan and a Whisper in the Wind gets two on Luke. Two straight superkicks get a near fall on Harper but Jey dives into Rowan’s arms. Jimmy dives onto both of them but walks into a shot from Harper as he comes back in.
Jey saves his brother from a double something and Jimmy rolls up Harper for a VERY close two. Harper powerbombs Jimmy for an even closer two before diving through the ropes at Jey. Jimmy’s dive is caught by Rowan so Harper dives through the ropes again to take Jimmy down. Back in and something like a double chokeslam (if you lift under the arms instead of by the throat) gets two on Jey as Jimmy has to make a save. Harper is kicked to the floor so Rowan goes up top, only to get crotched out of desperation. The Usos superplex Rowan down and both add splashes for the pin to retain at 13:17.
Rating: B+. This was AWESOME and a great opener. Luke Harper continues to blow my mind every time he goes insane out there and those double dives should not be coming from someone his size. The Usos are a great team and work so well together with a lot of that coming from being brothers. You can’t create chemistry like that.
We recap the Shield split, leading into Rollins vs. Ambrose.
Ambrose says he wants to grab Rollins by his new tie and rip him apart before climbing the ladder and grabbing the briefcase. The question is should he climb the ladder and grab the briefcase or use the ladder to bash Rollins’ face in? Case or face? Case or face? Eh why not both?
Divas Title: Naomi vs. Paige
Paige is defending and Naomi gets the shot due to beating Paige on Main Event. There seems to be a respect between them but Cameron and Naomi have been having issues lately. Naomi takes Paige down to start and slams her down from the apron to the floor. A big running dive over the top rope crushes Paige again but Cameron doesn’t look happy. Back in and they trade some quick rollups for two each before Naomi puts on a modified surfboard.
Naomi goes up but slips off the top, only to pull Paige out to the floor with her. They get back in at eight and Paige grabs a stump puller of all things. Cameron is finally smiling. Paige lets the hold go and Naomi snaps off a quick hurricanrana. The Rear View connects for a near fall but Paige blocks the split legged moonsault with knees to the ribs. Naomi tries the reverse DDT but Paige spins out and hits a fisherman’s DDT for the pin at 7:03.
Rating: C+. They tried something different here and it worked for the most part. They’ve been letting the wrestlers wrestle a bit more lately and it’s getting better every time. Naomi vs. Cameron isn’t going to do much for anyone but it’s what you have to expect from reality show stars?
Cameron cheers at her partner losing.
The expert panel (host Renee Young, Booker T., Alex Riley and Christian) talks about what we’ve seen so far and make predictions for the ladder matches.
Money in the Bank by the numbers video.
Here’s Damien Sandow as Paul Revere to warm us that the half wits are coming. That would be the Rosebuds for those of you that aren’t smart enough to understand him. Rose comes out and says his usual stuff before backdropping Sandow to the floor.
Adam Rose vs. Damien Sandow
Rose hammers away with his comedy stuff to start but Sandow trips him up and rams Adam’s face into the mat. The fans sing Rose’s song as Sandow hooks a chinlock. Sandow hits the Wind-Up elbow (Sandow: “The elbow is coming! The elbow is coming!”) and it’s back to the chinlock. You’re Welcome (full nelson slam) gets two but Sandow misses a middle rope moonsault, setting up the Party Foul for the pin at 4:18.
Rating: D. Just a Raw match here but Sandow got more offense than he’s gotten in months. Rose needs a feud against someone not named Jack Swagger but he might have already reached his peak. He’s still good for a lower card act for the song though so he’s worth keeping around until he gets something to do.
Jon Stewart from the Daily Show is here.
We get some old school interviews from each guy in the MITB contract match.
Seth Rollins says he’ll shock the world again. Plan A is he wins the contract. Plan B is he wins the contract.
Rob Van Dam says he’s the winner.
Kofi Kingston says he’ll fly high and everyone else will have trouble in paradise.
Dolph Ziggler says lightning strikes twice tonight.
Zeb Colter says tonight another great patriot will have his moment in Boston.
Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Jack Swagger vs. Dean Ambrose
Everyone but Kofi and Van Dam head to the floor to start but Kofi is quickly outside as well. Swagger goes for a climb but Kofi is back in to dropkick him down. The Boom Drop on a ladder crushes Swagger and Kofi goes up. Ambrose shoves the ladder over but Kofi lands on the top rope and springboards down onto the rest of the people in the match. Rollins and Ambrose fight over who gets to climb with Ambrose slamming Seth down. A ladder is laid in the corner and Dean suplexes Rollins onto the steel.
Kofi and Dolph climb the ladder but have to deal with Swagger. They climb again after sending Jack to the floor but fight down to the mat where Rollins nails them with another ladder. Van Dam kicks Rollins in the face and puts a ladder over the bottom rope. Rolling Thunder crushes Rollins onto the ladder and Ambrose is kicked to the floor. Ziggler and Ambrose are dispatched as well with Swagger taking the Five Star. Lawler points out how meaningless that is as Rob finally realizes he needs to climb.
Kofi comes back for a save but takes too long trying to superplex Van Dam, allowing Swagger to hit Kingston in the back with a ladder. Jack sets up a ladder in the corner in front of Van Dam but gets headbutted down to the mat. Rollins breaks up a Five Star attempt but has to fight out of a superplex attempt. Swagger climbs up and powerbombs Van Dam down but Dean climbs the ladder and superplexes Rollins down. Both guys are down but Ambrose grabs a ladder, only to have Ziggler dropkick it into his face.
Swagger throws Kofi around and hits the Vader Bomb onto the ladder onto Kofi. Van Dam makes a save but Ambrose and Rollins pull them both down. Seth and Dean climb up and slug it out on top of the ladder with Rollins being knocked down. Swagger makes a save and pulls Ambrose down, only to have Dean counter into a DDT off the ladder. Ambrose comes up holding his shoulder and the doctor says he dislocated it. He quickly walks off under his own power but isn’t happy about it at all.
Rollins goes up but Rob makes the save. They fight on the ladder and Kofi bridges a ladder between the ropes and into the standing ladder. Van Dam falls and seems to have hurt his leg. Kofi backdrops Rollins onto the bridge and almost gets the case but Ziggler makes a last second save. Ziggler hammers away on Swagger as Van Dam is back up, only to take a Fameasser.
The Zig Zag to Kofi sends both guys onto the ladder but Dolph is still able to climb. Swagger puts him in the ankle lock but Ziggler still climbs in a cool visual. Jack gets kicked away but Rollins his Ziggler in the injured ankle. Rollins climbs but Ambrose comes back and destroys him with the chair. Dean goes up but Kane’s pyro goes off and he makes the save. A chokeslam plants Ambrose and the safest looking tombstone I’ve seen in years knocks him out. With Kane playing defense, Rollins gets the case at 21:23.
Rating: B. Good but not great match here. One thing that stands out to me more than anything else though is how much easier this match went with fewer people. There were a lot of times where people were able to stand around, meaning there wasn’t so much insanity that you couldn’t keep up with it. Some of the earlier spots were scary at times but they settled down and got a great reaction for Ambrose, which is a really good sign.
The Authority comes out to celebrate with Rollins.
Orton says he doesn’t need the same help Rollins needed. He has nothing to say about Roman Reigns.
Goldust/Stardust vs. Ryback/Curtis Axel
Axel now wears a singlet but gets quickly taken down by both Dusts. An armdrag sends him over for a tag off to Ryback who gets double teamed very quickly. Goldust comes in for an atomic drop and kick to the side of the head but Axel gets in a shot from the apron. Goldust gets hammered by Ryback and the middle rope splash/elbow combination gets two for Axel.
We hit the chinlock as JBL sounds like his voice is starting to go. Ryback comes in with a slam but misses a splash in the corner, allowing for the hot tag to Stardust. House is cleaned and Stardust DDTs Ryback for two. Shell Shock is countered into Cross Rhodes for two with Axel making a diving save. Stardust sends the partners into each other and rolls up Ryback for the pin at 7:40.
Rating: D+. Another Raw match here and there was no way the Dusts were going to lose this early into their run. The team could go one of two ways in the coming months but the clear thing is how into the role Cody is. The visual of his face is awesome and the character is already working.
Goldust and Stardust dispatch an attacking Axel after the match.
We recap the love triangle between Summer Rae, Layla and Fandango. Summer had been Fandango’s dance but Fandango dumped her and picked up Layla. She saw him kissing Summer recently and now they’re fighting over him.
Fandango is in the back when the girls come up and present their attributes to him for lack of a better term.
Rusev vs. Big E.
Big E. hammers away to start and actually has some early success. Rusev in knocked to the apron but gets up a knee to stop the spear through the ropes. The gutwrench suplex drops Big E. and we hit a chinlock from Rusev. A splash misses though and Big E. gets two off a belly to belly. Rusev charges into the Rock Bottom out of the corner for two and Big E. avoids the jumping superkick. Another suplex sends Rusev to the apron and now the big spear connects. Back in and the straps come down but Rusev kicks him in the side of the ear. The jumping superkick and Accolade keep Rusev undefeated at 7:19.
Rating: C-. Better than last month’s match between these two but it was still nothing special. Rusev needs to move up a step as he’s defeated Big E. twice in a row now. It’s good to see him get tested a bit though and that’s what this match was designed to do. Those kicks still look good too.
The expert panel talks a bit more and we see clips from Bryan’s pre-show speech.
Summer Rae vs. Layla
Fandango is guest referee. It’s a brawl to start with Summer stomping her down into the corner. Layla kicks her into Fandango and puts on a leg lock, drawing a CM Punk chant from the bored crowd. Summer fights out with a bunch of basic offense, only to get her neck snapped across the top rope, setting up a high kick for the pin at 2:59.
We recap the main event, which is taking place because of Bryan’s injury.
WWE Title: John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns vs. Kane vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Cesaro
The title is vacant coming in. It’s a huge brawl to start with everyone going for a ladder or each other early on. Bray escape an AA attempt and dives at a ladder to crush Sheamus before hooking up with Cesaro to clean house. Reigns and Orton fight while Sheamus and Kane do the same on opposite sides of the ring. Reigns and Sheamus pick up ladders to crush Kane and pin him underneath the smaller ladder. Del Rio stops Reigns from going up as Cesaro and Sheamus climb. All four start climbing two ladders but Kane breaks it up and cleans house.
Cena comes back in and charges into a chokeslam before Kane cleans out most of the ring. He sets up a ladder in the middle of the ring and tells Orton to go up just like he did with Rollins earlier. Reigns shoves Kane into the ladder for the save but gets jumped by Bray. Cena comes back in with a ProtoBomb to Wyatt, only to walk into Swiss Death. Cesaro and Sheamus slug it out on top of the ladder as Bray spider walks up and shoves the ladder over. The Europeans are left hanging in the air and eventually fall to reset things.
Orton is all ticked off after getting hit with the ladder so he pulls out more ladders. He bridges one between the announce table and apron so he can put Sheamus over the bridge for an Elevated DDT. Back in and Orton throws a ladder to the floor before setting up the big one in the middle. Everyone gets back in and we go into scramble mode with no one getting higher than the second or third rung.
The people all get steadily knocked to the floor until only Kane is left standing. He takes down the big ladder and goes over to fight with Sheamus instead of climbing. Sheamus comes back with the forearms to the chest and White Noise, followed by a Brogue Kick to Cena. Sheamus sets up the big ladder again but Kane makes a save. The Irishman goes up but Cesaro bridges a ladder into the tall one to climb faster for another save. Cena and Del Rio fight to the floor as Reigns lifts up the big ladder with Sheamus and Cesaro on top. The bridged ladder keeps them from falling and Cena pushes it back to level.
Everyone is back in again and Cena is slammed onto the bridged ladder by Wyatt. Kane pulls people off the ladder but gets speared by Roman. Orton sends Reigns into the big ladder and knocks it over though, leaving no standing ladder in the ring. Reigns comes back with Superman Punches all around and the apron boot to Del Rio. HHH is all ticked off and we’re down to Cena vs. Reigns. They slug it out and Cena tries the AA, only to get speared out of his shoes.
Reigns goes up but Orton makes a last second save. With blood on the top of his head from earlier, Orton goes up but Bray takes him down with Sister Abigail. Del Rio stops Bray (and kills the crowd) but Sheamus shoves the ladder over and kicks Del Rio’s head off. An RKO pulls Sheamus off the ladder but Reigns stops Randy’s attempt. Orton is busted open BAD so Reigns rips at the cut and headbutts him a few times. Kane is back in for yet another save though by chokeslamming Reigns off the ladder. Cena grabs Kane for an AA though and Orton gets one as well, allowing Cena to get the titles at 26:30.
Rating: B. They toned down the big spots in this which kept my stomach in better shape this time. These matches are fun but man alive can they be scary at times. Cena winning is going to annoy some people but he’s the most logical choice as Lesnar is waiting in the wings for whoever gets the belt here. Brock vs. Cena will be awesome and is the money match that people will pay to see.
Overall Rating: B. This was a solid show for the most part with the Tag Title match and the ladder matches both delivering, but the rest was pretty meaningless stuff. Still though, those are the only matches that mattered for the most part and they were good enough to make the show solid. Money in the Bank tends to be hard to screw up and this was no exception.
Results
Usos b. Wyatt Family – Superfly splash to Rowan
Paige b. Naomi – Fisherman’s DDT
Adam Rose b. Damien Sandow – Party Foul
Seth Rollins b. Kofi Kingston, Dean Ambrose, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler and Rob Van Dam – Rollins pulled down the briefcase
Goldust/Stardust b. Ryback/Curtis Axel – Rollup to Ryback
Rusev b. Big E. – Accolade
Layla b. Summer Rae – Kick to the head
John Cena b. Randy Orton, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Bray Wyatt and Kane – Cena pulled down the titles
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Holy crap these comments are long lol.
This is true. If you’re bored by a match, you don’t respond to it (or if you’re annoying fans you chant for anything else you can think of and ruin the show for people who paid for the same tickets you did and want to see the show because you’re immature pests). Look at a Bella match for example. Do you know why you can hear them shout COME ON when they start their comeback? It’s because no one is doing anything else and there’s a lot of silence. You won’t hear that in a Cena match, ever.
Yes how dare those fans be bored by the same old act and try to entertain themselves. Despite the fact that, that’s what Cena is supposed to be doing. If he can’t and the fans are forced to chant. That’s on John Not the fans.
Also didn’t you just say that the fans, are having fun getting into the chant for john because it’s topical? You can’t have it both ways either the chants are annoying. Or it’s what they do because that’s how they have fun with john.
If they come to a WWE show and not expect a heavy dose of Cena, they’re not so much bored as they are stupidly wasting their money.
I don’t remember saying topical.
The fans chanting at him garners a reaction. A reaction is all that is expected of a wrestler. The fans don’t chant to entertain themselves. If that were the case, why can you hear a pin drop during an Alberto Del Rio match? It’s because he’s boring. Curtis Axel is boring. See the difference?
The day the fans are actually bored by Cena, and stop giving him the biggest pop of the night, will be the day he is no longer pushed as the number 1 star in the company.
I thought Orton would get Reigns before Reigns moves on to HHh
It could be Rollins first.
The three main matches coming in were really the only ones worth anything here.
Though I was oddly entertained by Fandango for some reason tonight. “Fandango loves triangles” made me spit out my drink.
I disagree with your ratings though. I know it’s on a different scale, but the briefcase match was much better than the title one. One reason: at some point, each guy had a moment where it looked like he was about to win. That didn’t happen in the title match and it felt a but run of the mill at times. I was waiting for the big spot where you thought Roman would win to pop the crowd huge before someone stops him but it didn’t happen. Also, any concern over the lack of a pop for the Reogns/Cena show down?
It was a good show and the right way to go with Cena winning. Especially if the plan is for Brock to take it from him.
Oh, and after last night I’m convinced people boo Cena just for fun. NOBODY gets booed in their hometown, it’s all just part of the show at this point.
You might be onto something about the ladder matches. I think my fear of heights has something to do with not liking MITB that much. That kind of stuff terrifies me. The lack of insane spots in the second one made it easier for me to watch.
You’re definitely onto something with the crowd. They love to hate him.
Yeah I think so. Cena’s music hits and its instant boos. I think the fans just have fun with it now. I kind of cant wait for the day he announces his retirement and the crowd gives him the ovation he rightly deserves.
Any thoughts as to who gets the first shot at Cena? I’m thinking either Cesaro or Rollins
Unfortunately, probably Orton.
“Yeah I think so. Cena’s music hits and its instant boos. I think the fans just have fun with it now.”
Couldn’t be boredom or resentment? are you really trying to justify why a babyface is booed constantly on every show as a good thing. He’s as boring as 10 year old toast.
It’s not boredom. Ever go to a WWE show? When you’re bored you sit there and check text messages. The fans are bored by Curtis Axel and almost every Diva on the roster. Cena comes out and they want to be apart of what he brings. I’m certainly not saying every boo is from someone being snarky, he definitely has his haters. But the cheers are just as loud as the boos.
There’s nothing boring about John Cena. If you don’t enjoy watching him that’s one thing but to insist that he’s dull because your attention span can’t handle the same star at the top of the card where he belongs is ridiculous.
So of the fans that don’t like him. The only possible reason for not liking him must be hating? You also suggest my attention span can’t handle the same guy on top as my reason for not liking him? Not the fact that’s he’s stale, boring, and needs a change desperately. Really? If you like the same old stale act more power to you. I don’t. Also don’t try to pass it off as a minoirty thing. He’s clearly being booed in every major and minor event he’s in.
Also the cheers are not as loud as the boos. Remember wrestlemania 29? or 28 or 22 for that matter? The fact is they’ve painted themselves into a corner yet again. The usual fans of john boy are going to latch on to that as a reason he should be used above all others. Is Cena good? Yes. But come now can you honestly say you don’t want someone new on top?
I didn’t say everyone is a ‘hater’ I simply meant he has those fans that actually dislike his act. Not everyone is for everyone. For example, I don’t like HHH. He’s a great talent and entertaining on almost all levels, I’ve just never liked him.
Yes I think it has much to do with attention span. Nobody has made a bigger impact on the business in the last 10 years than Cena. He deserves to be on top. In this day and age, there is so much wrestling on that some people’s attention spans cannot handle the same person being pushed longer than they want. You probably think Cena is boring because he doesn’t make you laugh and doesn’t jump off the top rope. Stop yelling other people they’re wrong when Cena is clearly the right choice to be champion when Plan A came down with a sudden injury.
Wrestlemania 29? 28? You mean when he fought a bigger all around star (one of which in that guys hometown)? Wrestlemania 22? 8 years ago? Great example.
We got someone new on top…his name is Daniel Bryan. Your attention span probably erased him already.
So your only argument is attention span? Not that it’s been over 10 years and his character has made minimal changes. It is more then reasonable to expect someone new after a decade.
Also who are you to tell me why I dislike Cena? What does him jumping off the top rope and making me laugh have to do with anything? My dislike of John Cena the wrestler is that he bores me and his character doesn’t put people over. Look at the Bray Wyatt angle. Is Bray more over after working with him? ” I hold no ill will towards people that do like John. I just don’t and that opinion is valid.
“Stop yelling other people they’re wrong when Cena is clearly the right choice to be champion ” Do you see the hypocrisy in this sentence?
Your pathetic attention span argument notwithstanding. I hope Byran makes a come back. He’s very good and fresh on top.
Finally you listen here marky marc. You may not like what I have to say. But I’ve got the funky bunch backing me.
In less than 10 years Cena won the world title 15 times which I think helps some people justify being pissed but like I said other than Orton they don’t really have a choice right now. I’d rather Orton won but I get why Cena did.
The fact that they don’t have a choice is their fault. Which in turn justifies resentment/anger.
People are surprised by Cena surpassing Flair? The guy was at 14 reigns with probably another 8-10 years of wrestling left. It was inevitable.
I can’t wait for the Cena/Lesnar rematch, I loved the first one. It was the match that should’ve gotten a series rather than that Triple H snoozefest.
You Think he’ll be wrestling at 47?
Probably.
the fact that you’re ok with cena beating flairs record is astounding to me kb, the guy doesn’t deserve it, plain and simple? was he on top during the hottest periods in WWE? No. has he caused any boom periods in wrestling? No. Is he as good a wrestler as Flair? not by a long shot. It reeks of Vince trying to erase the past and that is the best parts of wrestling, not todays hodge podge. Whats next? will he beat Hogans longevity record? or Brunos? Cenas a great superstar in the business but he can’t stand on the same level as greats like Flair, Hogan Rock and Austin, even though WWE is trying their damnedest to shove him up there.
What boom period was Flair on top of? The NWA was hardly dominant during his time on top. Flair was indeed great in the 80s, but his time last passed.
Every single thing you say here really does come off as ridiculous.
Ditto. Maybe he isn’t the wrestler Flair was (hell, who is?), but I don’t see Flair’s “Record” as something that’s inviolate. Plus, as has been mentioned elsewhere, Cena has been in a number of 5-star matches in his career. Maybe he ain’t Flair, but he ain’t nowhere near as bad as chad makes him out to be.
Besides, I’m sure Flair would be pleased as punch if Cena broke his “record”.
im not saying Flair was the catalyst of a boom period, just that Cena isn’t up in that league of guys like Austin, Rock and Hogan who DID usher in great success in wrestling, Flair is up in those guys’ category as well because of his talent and ability to go. John Cena is not and frankly he doesn’t deserve to be pushed to that spot either, he’s like a Bret Hart or HBK, great no doubt, but id never put him on that A+ level
Flair is nowhere near in their league. Cena can go in the ring better than most people ever and can talk as well as almost anyone. Flair is great in the ring but to act like he’s miles ahead of Cena doesn’t work.
Actually it does.
Cena’s made boatloads more money than Flair.
Yes and this equates to Cena being more entertaining? Or having a more historically significant career? Better matches or being a better promo?
Yes. The point of a wrestler is to draw and make money. Therefore Cena is a better wrestler than Flair. There is no argument of this.
Also saying Cena has never changed his character is stupid. He is nothing like when he started to get the original Cena hate. Now the hate is part of his character and no matter what he does, he can’t get rid of it. Sure he can turn heel, but that would be incredibly stupid.
Good grief I wonder how many times this money argument must be shut down.
Ok Lets try This with Marvel studios. The highest grossing non avenger film is iron man 3. This cannot be disputed as it’s there in black in white. Now having said that, Does this make iron man 3 the best film in the marvel universe according to fans? No. Why? Because there don’t just look at the money. They look at the acting, cgi, storyline, etc.
The same could be said for wrestling fans. Do they care who draws the most money? No. They look at the performance. Who is the most athletic, entertaining, etc. Do they decide who the guy on top or the greatest is? Of course. The fact of the matter is most wrestling fans “including the ones on here” have no stock in the wwe. You can’t just tell them John Cena draws money so like him. Or develop Stockholm syndrome because he’s here to stay.
This does not work and is unhealthy. It is not unreasonable to want a change after a decade.
I look forward to people giving me buy rates and gates from shows. Like that means anything to people who don’t work for wwe. I can only hope you don’t go to see movies based on how much money it grosses. or Buy music based on it’s place on the charts. God forbid people actually have their own taste. John can be replaced and probably should have been already.
Also you last line should read. “That would be stupid to me”
Tell me what change Cena has made to his character from 2006 to 2014?
Finally If you care what buyrates a show got or who draws the most money “hint it’s no one as no one is a draw anymore” Bully for you. But your not in the majority.
I don’t care about buyrates or any of that crap. But it does explain why things happen the way they do and who is the best. That is why Cena is better than flair. He is a better draw. In your opinion Flair might be better but factually Cena is better.
The point of a wrestler is to draw. If Cena is the best current draw that means he is the best wrestler in the world right now.
Since Cena is the best drawer that means people are the most interested in him. Therefore Cena is the best in the world because he does what the entire point of being a wrestler is. You have to remember wrestling is scripted, which means that you can’t measure the best wrestler in terms of in-ring or microphone ability since the value for that is all relative to what style you like. Otherwise Shelton Benjamin would have been one of the biggest wrestlers ever.
Cena draws money because people like him (or want to see hin lose). I didn’t say you have to like him. But you do have to admit he is the best.
You say Cena doesn’t appeal to a lot of people’s taste. The business side would tell you otherwise. Don’t let opinion get in the way of facts.
I’m sure if WWE had JoJo vs Eva Marie in a 3 hour ironman match for a PPV it would draw the same as Cena vs Bryan. Since as you say there are no draws.
Cena’s changes don’t have to be in a gimmick overhaul. He has been tweaking his character for years. He acknowledges and plays to the crowd way more. He changes his chatacter to fit his feud. Like for Wyatt. He wasn’t a bullish I’m gonna attack and be brave. He acknowledged he was scared. He was worried about Wyatt’s influence. He wanted to prove he still was the top guy. While his feud with Rock had him play a different character. Where instead of trying to prove is still the best, he wanted to prove he was the best (very fine line there but still very different).
How would Cena turning heel be smart to you? It would hurt all the make-a-wish stuff he does. It would take away a bunch of merchandize sales. It would hurt his drawing power.
Like I wanted McIntyre to be world champion and dominate. Probably because I’m Scottish too which drew (sorry for the pun) me to him. But I know that would be a bad idea.
You can’t ignore the business side. You don’t have to care about the business side but you can’t ignore it. WWE is a business. Whoever is best for business means that’s who the most people buy into and want. If WWE ignored the fans, they wouldn’t be in business.
Just got home from the show. Crowd was hot for ziggler, Ambrose, bray and reigns. Very anti-Cena crowd, surprising seeing as how he’s the hometown boy. And lots of CM Punk chants. Decent crowd overall.
Yes, IWC, let the butthurt flow through you…
Have to agree on all the ratings. Both ladder matches were fine, the opener was solid, Divas match was OK, and the rest were forgettable.
That kind of stuff astounds me. I’m assuming it’s because he’s approaching Flair, and Heaven forbid we have a guy with basically no marks against him as the record holder instead of Flair, who becomes more of an embarrassment every time he shows up on Raw bombed.
You want my theory? He’s a kid friendly character in a community that wants an Attitude Era 2.0 in WWE instead. That’s not ALL the reasons, but that’s the most prevalent from what I’ve seen. You go to any wrestling video or article, and there’s going to be one comment saying “bring back the Attitude Era” no matter what it is.
It’s just that he’s around the main event territory seemingly no matter what. We get it. He can wrestle a broom and sell out Wrestlemanias. But after 10, it would be nice to see someone else get top billing while Cena does what he was doing with Bray Wyatt. It was a very nice spot being the emotional investment of a PPV card while Daniel Bryan closed the show.
But as usual, WWE tests other people and when the numbers down go their favor immediately, summon John Cena.
Is it wrong? Not, really. It brings the income. But I’d love to see other things out of him other than going for the title or curb stomping authority figures. Which seems to be the next step.
In most situations I’d buy that. With Lesnar looming though, it doesn’t hold up. At the end of the day, he’s taking the title at Summerslam and likely holing it until Wrestlemania, just like he should. If you put the title on a new guy at the moment, he’s a two month champion and a lame duck the whole way through. Why waste a title reign on Bray, Cesaro or especially Reigns under those circumstances?
A million times what killjoy said. The guy is just BORING. Seeing him overcome the odds is dull. The fact that People will cheer once Brock kills him proves it. Cena is at a point where he should be putting people over. He doesn’t need to be champion ever again really.
Yep the 37 year old top star/draw who still has probably 3-5 years left should never win shit anymore and put everyone over. Putting people over is more impressive when you actually win every once in awhile. Plus its not like he hasn’t put anyone over recently.
Plus Bryan was most likely supposed to be the champion still and Cena is just the backup plan. Better than putting the title on a rising star only to be killed 2 months later. Cena can be killed and still come out fine, rising stars can’t.
I don’t view Cena as boring. A lot of people don’t.
People have cheered Lesnar over everyone but Taker. So I’m not sure what you mean by it proves people are bored of Cena. If people were bored of him they wouldn’t react to him.
As long as Cena doesn’t drop the belt to Lesnar, all is right here
Well the IWC is exploding right at this moment as we speak which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Overall MITB was a good PPV with the Ladder Matches and Tag Title Match delivering.
Yes, CENAWINSLOL