That shift was monumental. The Perspective Period took liberties with raunchiness, blood, swearing, and antiheroes like Stone Chilly Steve Austin and now, that extra was gone. As an alternative got here a extra family-friendly storytelling, partnership-focused imaginative and prescient from the highest of the corporate. This introduced in collaborations with entities like Mattel and Submit Client Manufacturers. Sponsorships and a sudden uptick in mainstream enchantment triggered one of many loudest fan rebellions in wrestling historical past. Die-hards rejected the tamer product typified by Cena, and crowds responded in individual. They threw his shirts again at him, introduced indicators with them that stated issues like, “If Cena Wins, We Riot.” They cheered the unhealthy guys, hijacked his promos, and crammed arenas with chants like, “You possibly can’t wrestle.” Followers directed their frustration on the man they believed was the herald of this new course.
Anti-Cena sentiment wasn’t fringe. It was frequent and he took the brunt of each grievance that had been constructing between the viewers and the enterprise. The individuals wished riot and so they bought respectability as a substitute. Under the floor, this was a chaotic time, however Cena was nonetheless there, standing as a relentless via all of it.
Only a few individuals in trendy leisure can say they labored seven days every week. Cena did. For greater than a decade, he lived a punishing schedule that noticed him wrestle greater than 250 nights a yr, journey internationally, seem at reside occasions, headline tv and pay-per-views, and nonetheless handle early morning discuss reveals and late-night interviews. On prime of that, he turned essentially the most requested celeb for Make-A-Want, granting greater than 650 needs and setting a document nobody has come near. His life was relentless, structured virtually completely round WWE’s calls for, and but he carried that accountability with out faltering. He by no means as soon as complained. He all the time confirmed up. He labored via accidents and gave his finest day in and day trip.
His presence was not solely cultural, however monetary. In 2018, Cena was working part-time and solely second to Roman Reigns in gross sales. He headlined extra pay-per-views than anybody else in firm historical past and was a scores stabilizer when Monday Evening Uncooked was averaging round 3.5 million weekly viewers. Throughout that run, WWE’s annual income climbed from roughly $485 million in 2007 to $729 million in 2016, with reside occasion gates and merchandise gross sales strongly tied to Cena’s drawing energy.
Streaming numbers proved his drawing energy too. Cena’s 2021 return to face Roman Reigns in the primary occasion of SummerSlam drove the event to develop into the most-watched SummerSlam in WWE historical past on Peacock on the time. His 2023 SmackDown comeback in September led to one of many model’s largest viewership surges of that yr. Cena’s presence produced measurable enterprise lifts.
Followers, nonetheless, didn’t admire how these numbers translated into their expertise and sometimes didn’t care to see the superhero both. What was taking place on digital camera wasn’t the shock and awe or the sting that they demanded. At that very second, antiheroes have been dominating popular culture and Cena’s squeaky-clean persona was unwelcome. Occasions rang with chants of “Cena sucks.” He confronted steady criticism of his wrestling means and his notorious “5 Strikes of Doom” and promos that sounded virtually too good. He by no means bent. He walked into the fireplace each evening, within the midst of a brutal and grueling schedule that preceded his appearances and waited for him afterwards. He turned Superman made flesh onscreen and off of it too, when the world thought they wished him to vary and be one thing totally different.
