I would like to introduce another gentleman who will be sharing his thoughts with us each and every week at Parts Unknown…Will!
Great Championship Reigns, Very Different Champions
By Will Barley
I was one of many writers asked to do a column comparing wrestling’s past to wrestling’s modern day business, and I was the one that was accepted. Actually I think I was the one that managed to e-mail in a response at the right time. So perhaps accepted is the wrong word. Lucky is probably the better word. At any rate I am the guy that will be writing about days gone by and comparing them to days that have arrived. That is good for me, and up to all of the readers out there to determine whatever it is for you guys.
Nobody comes to a wrestling site to hear the life story of the writer. They come to hear about wrestling. So, just know that I am going to be writing about wrestling past, present, and maybe some future as well for however long I am allowed to. The rest you will be able to figure out as time passes by. Oh, I will say that Will Barley is a pen name. My last name is not the same as a type of wheat, and for anyone that is stuck with that name in real life, I am sorry.
I volunteered to throw an introductory column together in an effort to get some content on the new site as soon as possible, and thus I gave myself roughly forty-eight hours to get a topic on my mind, do the research on said topic, and get a rough draft done before a final draft early Saturday morning.
The following is the result of less than two days of work, and for that I apologize. I hope my future, fully worked columns will be a bit better in detail, quality, and overall entertainment value.
It has been talked about in all walks of the wrestling media. John Cena’s current title run at ever how many days it stands now is the longest reign of any WWE champion since way back in the day when Hulk Hogan was holding the title for spans that stretched more than a year at a time (though to be fair he rarely “defended” the belt as opposed to John Cena’s continual title defenses, but in a worked sport that’s just splitting hairs.)
When Hogan was the (then WWF) World Heavyweight champion he was the champion because the fans wanted him to be. They had been clamoring for him to wear the strap since 1983 when he chased Nick Bockwinkle all over the AWA trying to get the belt, and the second he arrived in the Federation Vince McMahon Jr. knew exactly who had to take the title. It was the obvious choice. Hogan was the people’s champion in every sense of the word, and with Hogan wearing the gold the WWF could do no wrong.
While Hulk Hogan was the champion house shows sold out across the country, and even shows that he didn’t appear on got huge numbers by proxy. Hogan helped usher in the era of pay-per-view wrestling events, brought wrestling back to network television, and made wrestling mainstream for the first time in over twenty years. Hogan was like King Midas; the man with the golden touch.
Even the wrestlers in the locker room were happy with Hulk being the champ as well because huge houses meant huge payments, huge payments meant great working environments, higher morale, and a whole lot of drugs. See that happened back then, but it doesn’t happen now so sayeth Ken Kennedy. Where is Kennedy these days anyway? I am missing his great ponderings on the way the wrestling universe works and how internet smarks know absolutely nothing. That’s some fine quality reading if I do say so myself. I digress…
Hulk Hogan was the champion for all the right reasons. To sum it up: Hogan put butts in the seats.
However, John Cena has held the title just as long as Hogan did way back when, and yet the house show numbers aren’t exactly holding steady, television ratings are dropping into 1997 territory, and pay-per-view buy rates are in the toilet. Even with all of that going along with Cena’s title reign, he is still holding that belt and it does not appear that anything or anyone in the near future will remove it from his waist.
What is wrong with that picture?
The simple answer is that the promotion is backed into a corner and they have nowhere else to turn. Right now Cena is the only wrestler they see as marketable or having the potential to carry the company’s top title. E
Anyone else that could challenge for it either got suspended (Kennedy), got injured (Michaels and Edge), outright quit (Booker T), or just returned from an extended hiatus (Helmsley.) The only thing close they have to a top contender is Randy Orton, and let’s be real. Even with all of the stuff surrounding Cena and his title run, he is a far better choice for champion than Randy who has managed to fall ass backwards into his current main event series with Cena simply because he’s the only option they have left for Cena to even have a feud with.
The “E” has experimented with Orton holding the title and, even with the nepotistic power of Mr. Stephanie McMahon backing that pet project up, it did not turn out well at all for any of WWE’s key target points (ratings, buy rates, or attendance figures.)
John Cena’s title reign will be forever remembered as part of a period when WWE couldn’t get much worse. He will be remembered as a champion who held the title for a record length not because of talent or charisma (though he does have plenty of that even if it is lost in ridiculous scripted promos and over the top attempts at being cool and edgy) but because he was the only one left; the proverbial last man on Earth.
Cena will be remembered as the guy that continually found himself holding onto a title for reasons such as injuries, suspensions, walk outs, and even the lowest of lows; WWE wanting to get some extra mileage out of the “bling belt” trademark design.
John Cena may hold the title belt and be declared WWE champion, but when all is said and done he will not be remembered as a champion or a record holder. He will be remembered as that guy that wore the stupid spinning belt, never had a solidified crowd reaction, and the guy that the company stuck with just because they had to.
In short John Cena will be remembered for being everything that Hulk Hogan wasn’t. Though that could be a good thing on a few levels. Just ask anyone that knew Hogan in WCW.
John Cena can take solice in the fact that he and the Hulkster do have a handful of things in common. They both put out music albums that nobody wanted to listen to, they both had theatrically released films that nobody wanted to watch, and they were both champion of the WWF/E at a time when drugs were a major problem in wrestling. Though, to be fair that could be said of any champion in wrestling from the 1970s onward.
That’s a rant for another day.
