John Cena, star of screen and squared circle, recently gave an insightful answer about who he thinks will be the next top guy in WWE; there won’t be one!
While promoting his new children’s book, Elbow Grease, at BookCon, Cena talked about one way WWE is changing is that, because they’re trying to appeal to a much wider range of people than in the past, there’s no natural pick for “the next John Cena”:
“I think the dynamic of the program is changing. For the longest time, I think, if you consider WWE a band, there’s been one front-person of the band. I think that dynamic is changing and it’s because the audience is too diverse. I think older males are watching it, younger kids are watching it, females are watching it. The audience is so diverse so with a diverse audience, it’s tough to universally please someone…
“In the ’80s, you had a family-oriented program and Hulk Hogan was the front man. In the ’90s, you had 18 to 35-year-old males. In comes Steve Austin and Dwayne Johnson, because they hit right down that wheelhouse. And then there was me, but even myself as you know, went through a polarizing stage where half the audience likes you and half the audience doesn’t…
“I don’t think there’s a universal figure that will lead the company forward. I think as the company grows and especially expands globally, you’re gonna have, like a super-friends of the WWE which is like, people who are essentially fighting for equal share of popularity. I think the band essentially will have ten lead singers of every different race, creed, color, sex, ethnicity. So, I believe that I was kind of the last of that, and I think the landscape has changed so much that’s more of group effort rather than an individual effort.”
Cena’s been part of on-screen feuds and segments to put over Roman Reigns — somehow those “worked shoot” promos were under two years ago — and, more recently, Becky Lynch. Though the Lynch-Cena interactions were mostly received well, it’s become clear that The Man isn’t going the be “the man” the way Cena was.
What do you think about Cena’s comments? Will this help or hurt WWE in the future? Let us know in the comments!
(transcription h/t to 411mania)
