Realistically rating John Cena as a wrestler

Half of the fans of WWE think John Cena is the best there is, many of them think he’s the best there ever will be. The other half is the complete opposite in terms of their opinion of him. When the commentators call him “polarising”, they’re not lying.

This article tries to put bias aside and neutrally rate John Cena as a wrestler. Not as a WWE Superstar, but as a wrestler. In order to judge a wrestler, there are five main aspects to look at: his or her in-ring ability, microphone skills, charisma, popularity and crowd connection. Coming up, in order of Cena’s worst to best, are these aspects rated out of ten, and an average rating at the end.

Popularity

“Love or hate, you cannot debate that I am in the centre of this ring and I am surrounded by all of you,” said John Cena aptly when summing up his situation, relationship rather, with the WWE universe in regards to his popularity in the business. As mentioned earlier, he has the fans split right down the middle. The ones who like him are generally considered to be the younger audience, and the ones who hate him are stereotypically considered to be the more ‘mature’ internet fans.

The reasons for this hatred vary widely. Many consider him a bad wrestler, some think he is repetitive and some are just tired of seeing him for the past thirteen years. But whichever side you choose to be on, Cena is the most talked about guy in the WWE and he is by far the most popular superstar of his era.

John Cena’s popularity rating: 8/10

In-ring ability

John Cena can wrestle. He may not be able to wrestle as well as some, but that doesn’t make him a bad wrestler. He’s is nowhere near the best, as many fans think, but he is nowhere near the worst either. He can pull off his coveted “five moves of doom” and a lot more, including tricky hurricanranas and a newly added stunner off the second rope.

Given that, however, some of his moves appear botched at times, such as his sloppy dropkick. This is a major letdown for an otherwise quite technical performer. For this reason his rating has had to be pulled down.

John Cena’s in-ring ability rating: 6/10

Crowd connection

There is a difference between popularity and crowd connection. While popularity simply defines if a wrestler is liked or not, crowd connection shows if he or she can handle a crowd and also keep them entertained all the time. People can hate heels, but they can always be entertained by them. There are very few competitors who can handle a crowd like Cena can.

If anyone else was in his situation at ECW One Night Stand in 2006, they would have broken at some point. That’s one trait that he is as near as perfect with. However, Cena’s crowd connection rating falls because of his stale gimmick, which has brought down his value of entertainment over the years.

Had this article been written ten years ago, this wouldn’t have been the case. But, it is as it is.

John Cena’s crowd connection rating: 7/10

Microphone skills

There aren’t many people in history to have as much confidence as John Cena has when holding a microphone inside a ring. Be it with his initial Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick, or his now trademarked ‘Super Cena’ gimmick, Cena is always consistent and excellent with his mic work, and that deserves a straight ten on its own.

As always though, there is a downside to this as well. While his promos may be crisp, they seem repetitive at times. The slogan “Never give up” seems to no longer have any value. Sadly, this is another brilliant characteristic which can’t be rated to its full potential.

John Cena’s microphone skills rating: 8/10

Charisma

This is John Cena’s greatest characteristic by a mile. It’s probably the reason he made it so far in the WWE. Charisma is something Cena has and there is no denying it. The energy he emits when he enters and sprints down the ramp to the ring, to all his taunts and maneuvers inside the ring, John Cena appears to be a showman by blood.

Every feud he’s involved in can become interesting if he’s allowed to be let loose. Thirteen years on top doesn’t just gift itself to anyone, and John Cena has earned it with his workmanship.

John Cena’s charisma rating: 9/10

Overall

John Cena’s overall rating (by average): 7/10

His haters might consider this quite high, and his followers might consider this too low, but that’s the neutral perspective. John Cena isn’t the best, but that doesn’t make him a bad wrestler.

Overall grade for John Cena as a wrestler: B