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Recent years have seen a lot of discussion regarding “the face of WWE.” A lot of that comes down to a more educated fan base having a more insight into the inner workings of the business than ever via the Internet, tell-all books, podcasts and documentaries, as well as the emergence of a transitional period when it was clear someone was going to replace John Cena on top. Roman Reigns emerged as the clear corporate pick, while a segment of hardcore fans championed guys like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk in his stead.
The Cena era is pretty clearly behind us as he becomes more and more of a part-time presence on the WWE landscape. As such, now that Cena’s prime time has passed, we can more fairly compare his legacy to that of the top stars to precede him like Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Steve Austin, and The Rock.
My unpopular opinion? Cena’s legacy doesn’t just hold up, he stands tall as the greatest face of the company of all time.
No, Cena didn’t have the technical skill of Michaels or Hart, and he wasn’t as explosively over as Hogan or Austin at their peaks. However, he stayed on top and grew as a performer across a full decade. Only Sammartino and Hogan can compare with his longevity as the man.
Hogan (like Michaels and Austin to follow him) was known to be difficult to work with at times, including working a part-time schedule before anyone was equipped to call him out on it, and ultimately defecting to WCW. Sammartino? He spent more time as world champion than anyone in WWE history, including his monster seven-year-plus reign. However, when he was the top guy, he was presided over a still-regional territory without the travel schedule, TV exposure, or media work that Cena was called upon to do.
Cena isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and he’s certainly not the greatest wrestler of all time from a purist’s perspective. However, for being a tireless company man who never let WWE or his fans down with public scandals, bounced back from injury quickly, did more charity work, and headlined more PPVs than anyone before him, Cena rates as the greatest face of WWE ever.
