John Cena On Velocity Collection: And Then He Goes BOOM
John Cena On Velocity
Commentators: Marc Lloyd, Michael Cole, Tazz, Ernest Miller, Josh Matthews
This is firmly in the “oh well why not” category as the WWE Vault comes through with another totally random collection. Velocity was the low level Saturday night show for a good while and since Cena wasn’t exactly a star yet, he was around for a good while. That should make for an interesting collection so let’s get to it.
From September 7, 2002.
John Cena vs. Chavo Guerrero
They fight over a lockup to start as commentary talks about the recent international tours. Guerrero takes him down into an armbar, which doesn’t last very long. Guerrero begs off and lures Cena in for some working on the leg. The leg is wrapped around the rope and a dropkick gives Guerrero two.
Cena fights up and gets elbowed right back down, with Guerrero cranking on the leg again. A Muta Lock has Cena in more trouble and the dropkick to the knee cuts him down again. Back up and Cena gets a boot up in the corner, allowing him to small package Guerrero for the win at 6:30.
Rating: C. This was a totally basic match and that’s what Cena needed at this point. He had only been around for a few months so putting him out there with someone like Guerrero for an easy to follow match was the right idea. Guerrero was a great choice for making others look good and he did it again here, which is why he has been around for so long.
From September 28, 2002.
John Cena vs. Reverend D-Von
Cena takes him down by the arm to start and cranks away with a rollup getting two. Back up and D-Von knocks him outside to take over. They get back inside with one heck of a clothesline getting two on Cena, who manages to avoid a middle rope elbow. Back up and Cena hits a dropkick into a swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker for two of his own. The right hands in the corner are cut off with a diving neckbreaker for two but Cena grabs a quick sunset flip for the pin at 5:13.
Rating: C-. This wasn’t as interesting as the Guerrero match as Dudley wasn’t exactly making Cena look great. The finish coming out of nowhere again isn’t the best sign for Cena either, as both of his wins have felt like he’s just stealing pins rather than definitively beating anyone. He’s winning, but that’s only getting him so much.
Post match D-Von lays him out, much to Tazz’s approval.
From October 5, 2002.
John Cena vs. Albert
Albert powers him around to start but Cena is back up with the right hands in the corner. That earns Albert a SHAVE YOUR BACK chant so he slugs Cena down without much trouble. A running shot in the corner gets two and Albert rakes Cena’s eyes on the mat. The running splash in the corner connects for two more as I try to figure out why Albert’s torso is so much more tanned than his legs.
Albert lays him on the top for some forearms to the chest but Cena gets in a belly to back suplex for two of his own. The pump kick gives Albert two more and I was surprised by that kickout. Back up and Cena grabs a ProtoBomb out of nowhere (that’s some nice power) for the pin at 5:21.
Rating: C+. Now this is where you’re getting more into Cena’s wheelhouse, as he was getting to do more of a power brawl here. Cena knew how to make a comeback (well at least one at his level here) and make it believable, which worked out well enough. Throw in the impressive power display at the end and you could see what would work for Cena in the future.
From November 30, 2002.
John Cena vs. Danny DeNucci
NOW we get interesting as Cena not only has Bull Buchanan (B Squared) as his muscle but he’s also a rapper who tells the Columbia, South Carolina fans to go sleep with their sisters. DeNucci actually hits a clothesline to start as commentary wonders why DeNucci has blue hair. Cena fights back and chokes on the rope, setting up a hard elbow to the jaw for two. The ProtoBomb (or close to one) gets two on DeNucci, who is right back with a middle rope clothesline. A running bulldog gives DeNucci two of his own but Cena is back with a heck of a clothesline. The ProtoBomb finishes for Cena at 4:02.
Rating: C. This was more about DeNucci looking surprisingly good than anything else as Cena was still figuring out what to do in the ring with the rapping stuff. It’s still a work in progress but the new character is such an improvement. The generic Cena wasn’t going to last so this was a huge and necessary upgrade.
From December 7, 2002.
John Cena vs. Paul London
Bull Buchanan is with Cena, who wrestles London down without much trouble to start. Back up and Cena misses a charge into the corner, allowing London to snap off a spinwheel kick. A crossbody misses though and Cena gives him that big clothesline that he usually gives for his last possible option. Buchanan’s cheap shot gives Cena two more and he grabs the seated full nelson. With that broken up, Cena spends too much time jawing with a fan and gets enziguried. A springboard spinning crossbody puts Cena down again and a springboard moonsault gets two. Cena is right back up with the ProtoBomb for the pin at 4:24.
Rating: C+. Believe it or not, London looked good in defeat here but you can see Cena still doing a lot of the same things. There wasn’t much here that made him stand out, as he only had so much in the ring. The good thing though is he has the fans getting mad at him and that is going going to open up a lot of doors for him going forward.
From December 28, 2002.
John Cena vs. Chuck Palumbo
Buchanan is still here and Cena raps about how terrible it is to be in Oklahoma. Palumbo charges in to clear the ring and hits Cena with a right hand on the floor to start fast. They get inside with Palumbo knocking him down for two but a Buchanan distraction lets Cena get in a running clothesline.
A suplex gives Cena two and he grabs the seated full nelson. That’s broken up so Cena elbows him (in the arm) for two more, setting up another full nelson. Palumbo fights out again and hits a running clothesline, followed by a spinning belly to belly for two. An overhead belly to belly sends Cena flying and a spinning right hand drops him again. Buchanan comes in and gets Jungle Kicked (not well either), allowing Cena to hit a low blow for the pin at 5:08.
Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as it was really just showing that Cena was still trying to figure out a bunch of the little things. He’s doing well with playing to the crowd, but a lot of these matches finish out of nowhere. The stuff before that is ok enough, but it’s still not really flowing well from start to finish.
From February 8, 2003 and you might have seen this one before.
John Cena vs. Bryan Danielson
For whatever reason, this is listed as Cena vs. Brock Lesnar on the YouTube chapter descriptions. Danielson goes after the arm to start and Cena (in long pants instead of trunks here) actually takes him down. A crank of the arm lets Danielson get in a drop toehold and it’s off to a quickly broken Kimura.
Cena takes him down again with a test of strength but can’t break Danielson’s bridge. He can however kick Danielson in the ribs and elbow him in the face for two, meaning it’s time for some frustration. Back up and Cena grabs a bearhug of all things, which is broken up rather quickly. Danielson strikes away but walks into the ProtoBomb to give Cena the pin at 3:42.
Rating: C+. Believe it or not, Danielson is someone who can help Cena do a better job of stringing a match together. This was Cena working on the ribs and Danielson fighting to stay in there until Cena hit a big move to win. Danielson was of course a nobody at this point, but they would headline Summerslam about ten years later. Wrestling is a weird, weird place.
From June 21, 2003.
John Cena vs. Funaki
The jorts are here! Funaki strikes away to start fast and snaps off a headscissors. Cena knocks him down but misses an elbow as commentary is surprised at how fast Funaki is starting. Back up and Cena sends him into the corner and hits the big clothesline to start the trash talk. Matthews wonders what You Can’t See Me means but the discussion is cut off as Cena ducks a crossbody. The delayed vertical suplex puts Funaki down for two and we’re off to the chinlock. Funaki fights out again and grabs a tornado DDT for two of his own. The crucifix is loaded up but Cena reverses into the FU for the pin at 3:43.
Rating: C. Oh yeah now Cena has come a long way in about four months. This was FAR closer to the version of Cena you would have expected, down to the look and finisher. He was also getting ready to turning good and that worked about as well as possible. You can see the things coming together, and that’s only going to make things better for him.
From May 1, 2004.
US Title: John Cena vs. Akio
Cena, now a full on good guy, is defending and Akio charges at him to start fast. The fans go nuts as Cena fights back, only to have Akio’s associate Sakoda cut off the Throwback. Akio kicks away in the corner but Cena gives him the running clothesline out of the corner. A side slam sets up the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Cena pumps up the shoes. The FU is loaded up and, after swinging Akio at Sakoda, Cena retains at 1:59. The fans went NUTS on the pin and my goodness Cena is a star. This might as well have been a different person from the rest of the matches in this collection.
Overall Rating: C. So as you can tell, there wasn’t much to a lot of these matches and most of them were just ways to get Cena in the ring to build up some more experience. Things would get better near the end as Cena absolutely exploded near the end, with the last match having Cena feel like a mega star. To say that Cena had bigger moments would be an understatement, but it is fun to see a quick look like this at the very formative months.
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