John Cena is good for business · Sep 25, 03:29 AM by The Source
This past Saturday George Antonio wrote an excellent article for prowrestling.com about the business sense behind John Cena and why he’s held the title for so long.
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You could compare Cena, to the Hulk Hogan of the 1980’s. A man who largely relies on his charisma moreso than in-ring ability. Keep in mind though, these men must have some sort of althletic ability to make it into the biggest wrestling company in the world, right? John Cena CAN wrestle; the way he is booked though, he doesn’t have to, he can rely more on his charisma and mic-work because the majority of people eat it up. This is how the WWE sells Cena to us, and this is how Cena brings the cash to the WWE.
Face it, like it or not Cena is the WWE Champion. There is no heel turn in the cards, (something a lot of people think might freshen up his charatcer a bit) and we should all be prepared to have Cena involved someway or another with the title for years to come. The WWE is quite aware of the fact that many people are tired of Cena, but they do not change their stance. Why? They are still getting money.
You have to hand it to the WWE now because they are using this backlash against Cena to their advantage. Every PPV they place him in a program and into a fued where he has the potential to finally lose the title. People tune in to see, “Will this be the day that Cena is no longer the Champion?” Think back to when Edge first beat Cena by cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. No one saw it coming, and some would say it was a treat to finally see someone beat Cena and take that belt!
The WWE turned that into one of the most prolific fueds of the past five years. Think again of ECW One Night Stand when Rob Van Dam did the impossible and finally won the big one! Who’d he beat, John Cena; which only made his win that much sweeter! Fans hated Edge at the time, but thanked him and appreciated him for taking the title away from Cena; and fans were finally treated to RVD getting what he deserved, the title!
This is the new approach the WWE is using when they book John Cena and the fueds he’s in; they know fans want to see him lose, so they build every new fued up to be “the one” where he may finally do just that. Take this feud with Orton as a prime example. Randy Orton has been built up to be a legit “killer” of legends, the perfect challenger for Cena’s title. The past two pay-per-views, fans have been waiting, hoping, and praying that Orton would finally do the impossible and they have been let down. The WWE however from a business standpoint, is doing exactly what they need to do.
The longer the WWE delays the moment where Cena loses, the sweeter the pay-off will be. They know people will continue to buy their PPV’s as long as the potential for Cena to lose is there. People cannot blame the WWE for this sly approach, after all, they are a business!
John Cena as the WWE Champion is great for their business. Whether he wins or loses the people will be there. The question is, do you ride with the Chain Gang, or do you play the waiting game?
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Overall I have to say I think George hit the nail on the head with this article even if he misspelled feud a few times heh.
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