John Cena The Wrestler Never Impressed Me But I Love John Cena The Actor – /Film

Let me be clear: I am not a fan of the professional wrestling character John Cena. As a person, he's great. He has granted over 650 wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which is the most in the organization's history. He donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter as part of BTS' #MatchAMillion initiative. Then there's his "We Are America" PSA for the Ad Council, the "Rise Above Hate" anti-bullying campaign, his work with breast cancer survivors through Susan G. Komen, and much, much more. Seriously, he's a great dude. He's also a great reality TV personality thanks to "Total Divas" and "Total Bellas," but that's another conversation for another time.

I'm also not denying the fact that Cena has been a cultural ambassador for professional wrestling in the wider scope of pop culture. Just like Hulk Hogan, The Rock, and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, people outside of wrestling have been drawn in because of Cena's appearances outside of the ring. He's definitely earned his future WWE Hall of Fame induction for all of those reasons and more.

But I don't like John Cena as a wrestler for the same reasons that I didn't like Hogan (aside from the unapologetic racism) or DC Comics' Big Blue Boy Scout, Superman: After years and years of being the top guy, these characters are unstoppable and you never believe for a second that they're going to lose. For the most part, they never fail and they never change.

Whether it's saying your prayers and taking your vitamins, standing for truth, justice, and the American Way, or preaching hustle, loyalty, and respect, it's all just so boring. And it's not just for the present day me, the writer and critic that professionally analyzes media. Childhood me wasn't having it either. Watching these types of characters becomes a chore because they're not flawed, which makes them unrelatable. Ted Lasso and Captain America can be seen as a squeaky clean baby-faces too, but both of them are also complex characters with their own flaws that they're working through. They're not the pinnacle of perfection. On the other hand, Cena is now a 16-time World Champion. We didn't need to see him win that many titles because the story rarely changes, yet we've gotten it again and again and again. Unfortunately, this kind repetition has even been applied to superstars beyond Cena at this point. Vince McMahon picks his guys and girls, decides that they're the heroes of the story, and shoves them down the audience's throats whether they like them or not. That's just what WWE has become these days.

Link:

John Cena The Wrestler Never Impressed Me But I Love John Cena The Actor - /Film