But it is the company’s own fault for the existence of this long-running problem; by stubbornly insisting on fashioning Cena as the second coming of Hulk Hogan mainly through his predictable tendency to overcome any and all comers, as well as insisting on this model despite the negative reaction he gets, they fuel the fire of Cena’s staunchest critics for seemingly no productive reason. (Even though Cena steps up to the plate and proves those critics wrong, at least with regards to his actual ability, on occasion.) The insistence of Cena as the company’s flagbearer is so great that they have to try and engineer heel heat for the Rock, who remains a beloved figure of a different demographic, thus splitting the audience in the context of their rivalry.
By now, most fans are well aware of the rhetoric thrown around both for and against Cena, as the many debates about his ability, or perceived lack thereof, have raged on ever since the company made it clear that he was to be the focal point of this generation. While a good number have already been convinced of his physical prowess in between the ropes, and another good number refuse to acknowledge it, what most agree on is that same staleness of his Hogan-like superhero character. A greater number seek a change to that, as it is what we have been seeing for almost seven years now.
The WWE, for their part, does actually recognize the apparently permanent disdain towards Cena’s character, which is nearly always present in the audience. They have capitalized on it with actual merchandise, they have had Cena himself acknowledge it and channel Vince’s refusal to change the character’s alignment, and they have even taken advantage of it in propelling other Superstars to the spotlight. (See: CM Punk.) What they have never done with it, however, is to use it in the exploration of Cena’s character, who had always just lived and worked by a set of principles designed to raise his young fans the right way.
Of course, until now. Enter Kane.
Kane had never tangled with Cena before and really had no reason to go after him at the beginning of this storyline. He still really doesn’t have one now, but his current involvement with Cena is clear, poignant, and meaningful. And because no recent storyline has ever truly explored the motivations of a character quite like how Kane is making Cena look at his life right now, it is also groundbreaking. In fact, I’m going out on a limb and calling it the storyline of the decade so far.
You see, Cena’s introspection goes above and beyond the desire for achievements both tangible and intangible. You can look at CM Punk’s rise to the top last year and say it was meaningful – it was, but in the end it was a quest for respect by way of the WWE Championship. You can look at Shawn Michaels and the obsession with the Undertaker’s streak that ultimately led to the end of his career, but in the end it was another quest to create his own legend by destroying another. Pro wrestling has always built its narrative, both successful and unsuccessful, on the quest for that something that embodies the subject’s hopes and dreams.
But rarely has it ever touched upon the question of how the wrestler himself should be, and even rarer has it touched upon that element when it is born out of reality, trying to force itself into the mythos the storytellers have created, and on which they are vehemently insistent. The last memorable time the audience ended up dictating a star’s alignment was when CM Punk rebelled against authority – and Vince had no problem turning him face and inserting himself into the picture as the villain. The same goes for Stone Cold Steve Austin, who laid down that very same model for Punk to follow. Now they are dealing with a star they desperately want to remain pure, but the temptation to at least flirt with the idea is too much to resist.
So here we are now, and boy, what an amazing job they’re doing with this. Never mind that Kane is also wielding the weapon of satire, intending to also guilt-trip the audience along with Cena; not just by profiling and generalizing them in a way a heel always does, but as well as admonishing them somewhat subtly for actively choosing to glorify the concept of hate. They’ll never get that and they won’t care about it.
No, all this is actually to set the Cena character up for his impending legendary clash with the Rock. Without Kane trying to corrupt Cena and at least leaving a mark on his soul after this is all done, we would get the same old verbal warfare between Cena and the Rock when Wrestlemania draws nearer. The logic of the storyline is beautiful as well, even if the execution falters slightly at times, as the supporting actors play their roles perfectly. This is exemplified by last Monday’s RAW: the incidents involving Zack Ryder (whom, for the record, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of in the U.S. title scene just yet) and Jack Swagger – which Kane also had a hand in manipulating – were not only about them, but they were ultimately about Cena as the evening built up to his outrage and Kane’s exposition, which moves the story forward.
And the questions keep coming, like a good story should cause, and even better, you know the bout with Kane will provide most answers. What does Cena do next week? Does he ultimately embrace the hate, especially so that he can properly defend his friends? Or does he get a little more cautious so as not to fall into Kane’s trap, but risk putting them in more danger by being lax? What happens when Cena does defeat Kane at the Royal Rumble? Will he win by ultimately giving into hate, or will he manage to rise above it? How does he go on to face the Rock after that? Will he turn on us, like we’ve been asking for? Most importantly, however, will Vince even consider any of this by the time the payoff needs to be delivered?
We won’t know until we find out. I don’t think John Cena – the character – will either, until he finally gets to the end of the biggest trial of his career. But we, the critical, unhappy demons of fans that we are, welcome anything that makes him really think twice about what he’s doing and how he does it.