Monday, 29 November 2010

Goodbye John Cena, Hello Juan Cena?

As John leaves... We welcome 'Juan'?
Juan Cena.
This is, according to rumor, the next direction in the saga of John Cena vs. Nexus. Apparently, John has a Mexican cousin we didn’t know about, who will be competing in a mask and getting involved in Wade Barrett’s matches. This will lead to a contract for Juan Cena, who in actuality, is John Cena, who just got a new WWE contract (subject to rumor of course).
In the words of the current WWE Champion: Really? Really?!
As a wrestling fan, and wrestling optimist, I try to give each storyline, no matter how head-scratching, a chance to impress me. This story, however, is not one of them. In my opinion, the John Cena/Nexus feud, with its twists and turns, has been the most compelling wrestling feud of the year, and one of the most important feuds of John Cena’s career. If WWE introduces this “Juan Cena” chapter as I’ve described, and carry it through as we’ve been hearing, it could wreak havoc on the story being told and those involved in it.
This scenario is very similar, as some have pointed out, to the Mr. America/Hulk Hogan storyline from 2003. Hogan was sent home by Vince McMahon, and reemerged looking like a beefed-up Captain America knockoff. The story was that everyone knew it was Hogan, and Vince McMahon became intent on unmasking him. This, of course, led to Mr. McMahon being embarrassed in hilarious segments every week (note the sarcasm).
In terms of buildup, does anyone believe Wade Barrett is that stupid? To become obsessed with a masked John Cena just to prove it is John Cena? To follow through on this is to make both wrestlers look ridiculous. Not the kind of effect you want to have on your top guy and hottest villain.
If WWE is going to play up “Cena is fired” scenario, and if they’re going to borrow from a past storyline to do it, they might be better served to look at how they handled Steve Austin’s firing in 1998. Basically, Austin looked for ways to make Mr. McMahon’s life miserable, from pouring cement in his car, attacking him in the hospital, or taking Mr. McMahon hostage. With some tweaking to the story (to fit the PG standard and no in-ring peeing, lol), John Cena and Wade Barrett could pull this off, leading to John being “reinstated”. Heck, Cena could stalk other members of Nexus similar to how Austin stalked DX on an episode of Smackdown.
In closing, there are other options to resolve this story until the Royal Rumble (the rumored conclusion of the Cena/Nexus feud). Putting John Cena in a mask and calling him “Juan Cena” is not one of those options

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