by Erin Anderson
Exclusive to OnlineOnslaught.com

"But last night was something special. Cena's already proven to be more than capable on the ring and on the mic; that wasn't new. He's proven that he can draw crowd heat well; that wasn't new, either. It wasn't the fact that the crowd responded to him…. it was the fact that the crowd responded favorably to him, despite his heel status. That makes all the difference."

- The Broad Perspective, May 9, 2003

What the hell is happening to John Cena?

Last year while he was still a heel, I compared him to the Rock after a particularly inspired night on the mic during a show in Halifax. He evoked memories of a certain wrestler-turned-actor we all know: too clever, too funny, and too good on the mic to boo.

I predicted then that Cena would turn face shortly thereafter and be tremendously successful in that role; I was partially right. His long-delayed face turn finally materialized in late 2003, and he instantly established himself as a legitimate U.S. Title challenger by pinning the Big Show at Survivor Series.

After Cena's face turn, a comparison to Stone Cold Steve Austin was more apropos than to the Rock. His actions and attitude were identical to those of his heel persona; the only differences were in his opponents and the targets of his raps. Total disregard for the audience and a "Look out for Number One" motto were what made Austin a fan favorite in the first place, and those same characteristics applied to a freshly-turned Cena.

The best babyfaces in the modern era of wrestling are typically the ones who don't play to the crowd; they only allow the crowd to play along. Austin has the "What?" chants, the Rock has his endless stream of catchphrases, and Eddie Guerrero and Booker T have an infectious enthusiasm for what they do. They give the audience the chance to participate without explicitly encouraging or demanding any sort of reaction.

In a nutshell, the best babyfaces are actually heels who are very, very good at what they do.

Too much awareness of the audience is the kiss of death for most fan favorites; at the very least it will greatly diminish pops. Kurt Angle's 2003 face run, which started out so strong (against Cena, no less) became rather unremarkable when goofiness and morality replaced his intensity. Hulk Hogan's last run was for nostalgia purposes only, his monster pops falling in volume by the week.

This is where Cena is failing, and it first became truly noticeable when he and Chris Benoit memorably forced Paul Heyman to chow down on a bar of soap last month. Cena was obviously enthusiastic about humiliating his boss, but instead of simply enjoying himself, he went out of his way to play to the crowd. His repeated use of the word "Soooaaaaaaaaaaaaap!" could best be translated as "I'm cool! Cheer for me!" Unfortunately, in this day and age, wrestling fans won't put up with patronization for very long. Despite what mainstream America may think, we don't like to have our intelligence insulted, and we don't like pandering.

A great babyface shouldn't have to stop after every line during a promo and wait for a crowd reaction, but listen to John Cena on a Thursday night. His raps, which he previously prefaced with a quick "Yo, yo, yo…" have now been replaced with "Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, YO YO YO YO YO YO YO!!!!!!!!!!" and a look up at the audience, baiting them for applause. This is classic behavior of a self-absorbed heel, not an edgy babyface.

There are other signs, too: Cena's original stoic-yet-intense walk to the ring has been replaced by an odd sort of goose-stepping gait. I guess it's supposed to be "cool," but every time he makes his way to the squared circle, I get a visual of a large, epileptic chicken walking on a bed of hot coals.

He smiles a lot more now, as well. Sure, a badass rebel like Austin smiles a lot these days. So what's the problem with Cena doing it?

Austin can get away with that type of behavior because he has over a decade of rebelliousness and badassery under his belt, and thus a large amount of goodwill with the fans. He's no longer an active competitor, and is free to enjoy himself more than any other member of the roster. Even then, he only smiles when he does what he lives for: raising hell. When Austin's happy, he's still not out of character. He is happy because he loves who he is, not because of what the fans think.

Cena is a rapper. Rappers don't smile. Rappers aren't jovial. Rappers aren't goofy. Cena's new babyface attitude completely contradicts everything that made his character so popular in the first place^__Lesnar's character took the same sort of hit during his Happy Fun Brock phase. Imagine the Undertaker making his return to Wrestlemania, strutting down the ramp and flashing a big grin. See the problem?

What happened to your edge, John? What happened to the man who stood in the middle of a flaming pentagram and rhymed "Mideon" with "Branch Dravidian"? Now his raps consist entirely of sexual innuendos. What happened to the guy who would only make an uneasy alliance with Angle and Benoit to get revenge on Paul Heyman? Now he's buddy-buddy with Rey Mysterio for no discernible reason and congratulating Eddie Guerrero on his title win.

At one point, Cena was the most entertaining personality on Smackdown!, and he's still as popular as ever. But if he keeps up his current schtick, he'll inadvertently turn himself heel. It won't happen right away, but slowly, the fans will catch on to the fact that his raps are no longer the clever rants of last year. The fans will catch on to his Please-Pop-For-Me promos. The fans will catch on that the current incarnation of Cena is the not the same one that won over the crowd in 2003.

What's happened to John Cena? I see him every week on Smackdown!, but he's not really there anymore.
  

E-MAIL ERIN
BROWSE THE BROAD'S ARCHIVES

Erin Anderson is an Atlanta native and a student at Georgia State University. Since writing about wrestling didn't go over too well with her English professors, she vents here at Online Onslaught.

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