John Cena: Earned Respect more than popularity

There are many wrestlers in WWE, at present and in the past, who earned huge popularity and fame from the WWE Universe but very few who earned respect. John Cena is one of those wrestlers.

There is no doubt that John Cena is one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE history, but the man earns a huge amount of respect from the WWE Universe. He is the one who never asks for it, never commands respect. He always earns it because of his wrestling qualities and his complete dedication towards wrestling.

Well, let’s talk about some of the situations when Cena was not the favourite but still he earned huge respect from the WWE universe. Back to Wrestlemania22 when Triple H was the favourite, but Cena won the match and created the legacy. Then back at WM23 when he beat Shawn Michaels and did something which many peaple thought he could not. Talk about Unforgiven 2007 when he beat Edge in the TLC match in Edge’s hometown at Toronto. Then at Money in the Bank last year, when the Universe at the Chicago went crazy and shouted against Cena. On that night, Cena lost but he earned the respect of Chicago because of his extra-ordinary match with Punk.

But what I think is the biggest breakthrough of John Cena’s career was the feud with the Rock. Well, we all know that by that time, John Cena was the biggest star of WWE, but still the odds were not in his favour and a popular slogan born at the time was “We hate Cena, Cena sucks”. The feud with the Rock really pushed John Cena’s popularity. This was a time when John Cena’s Facebook page crossed more than 10 million fans. He got more Twitter followers. Ultimately, Cena lost at the grand stage of WM28 with the the Rock, but he fought for around 30 mins and proved to the entire world why he was the face of the WWE. He earned much more than winning a match, it’s called respect of people, including his opponent Rock.

John Cena is also associated with the social welfare trusts and represents the WWE in social partnership with several foundations like Make a Wish and Cancer campaign. Recently, he created a milestone by making the 300th wish, which ultimately enhanced the respect for him.

Nearly after 10 years in WWE, after winning the WWE championship 10 times, after earning huge popularity, huge respect, one may ask what is next for John Cena?

In my opinion, it is time for the WWE to recognise the work of John Cena and reward him by putting him in the greatest and the biggest matches. Like giving him a match against the Undertaker at Wrestlemania or giving him title opportunities.

Well, everyone talks about how John Cena is going to be the next Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin but what I think is this. John Cena is going to be a John Cena. He has his personal individuality, a will to wrestle till the last breath, never giving up, never backing down to a challenge and most importantly, to provide the universe a better show that will differentiate John Cena from the other wrestlers. He is just a great wrestler. A man who deserves to be a future hall of famer.

The man who earned my and each member of WWE universe’s respect –  “John Cena”.