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