Cena or JBL?

[Naked Snake 0]

Cena for the simple fact I've had this msn name "I’m not changing my name until JBL loses the title!" since he won the damn thing, and it's getting pretty old!

[Taker666 0]

I'am a fan of both superstars and yes, I've enjoyed JBL's WWE title reign sence he won the belt last year. to me, hes a great Champion, a damn entertaining heel, and above average in the ring. but a Cena Title win is needed. face it, hes the most over superstar on SD! right now. and as much as JBL has had a long entertaining title reign. now is the time for SD! to get a new Champion and Cena is definlly the perfect choise right now. and once Cena wins the title. I think he has plenty of Challengers in line for him. theres always the JBL re-match clause, but than he could go on to feud with a heel turned Eddie(which is a feud I'd love to see), Kurt Angle, a heel turned Taker, Booker T, hell even RVD when he comes back. or they could find a way for some Raw guys to come to SD! and their feud with Cena. theres plenty of different options they can go with here. and with all this talk with Taker being to old, Angle being to crippled, Booker being washed up. so what?? they are still SD!'s top superstars and could easily have entertaining feuds with Cena despite what people say about them. I'am looking foward to a Cena WWE title run.

[rising up out of the back seat-nuh 0]

The problem SD! has, is that I can't see Cena being cheered against Eddie, Taker or RVD, should they be turned.

[Guest JMA]

While I really like JBL's character and promos, I truly hate the fact that he's WWE Champion. John Cena should win the title at WrestleMania relatively easily, which will really put him over. Afterwards, JBL should job to EVERYONE he went over during his run before becoming US Champion, shocking everyone. I think he'll actually draw pretty well as an upper midcarder, rather than a main eventer.

 

As for Cena, I agree that he should lose his title to Edge (sent to Smackdown after the draft lottery). Edge would hold the belt until Rob Van Dam returns, who would win the title at WrestleMania.

[Guest MikeSC]

Cena needs to be a Public Enemy-type heel. Serious promo's with a comedic edge, and a brawling style to cover up for his weaknesses in the ring. And a new finisher. The FU either needs to go, or be turned into a proper DVD.

His shitty finisher, at this point, seems to be the least of Cena's problems. He is one insanely lazy performer at this point, getting by on his cliched spots.

 

Let's keep one thing in mind: it is rare when a Cena match is actually better than a JBL match nowadays.

-=Mike

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Let's keep one thing in mind: it is rare when a Cena match is actually better than a JBL match nowadays.

-=Mike

I'd put that down to the wonders of booking. JBL's matches are booked to work around his weaknesses, whereas Cena's tend not to be.

[Guest MikeSC]

Let's keep one thing in mind: it is rare when a Cena match is actually better than a JBL match nowadays.

                -=Mike

I'd put that down to the wonders of booking. JBL's matches are booked to work around his weaknesses, whereas Cena's tend not to be.

I think Cena's matches are cookie-cutter affairs. JBL has held his own in vastly different matches. He played the bully v Guerrero in some underappreciated matches. He played the terrified coward against Undertaker. And he played the champ inexpicably baffled by Booker T.

 

I don't think the WWE would try to book Cena in a way to make his flaws more obvious. I just think he's a worker even more flawed than JBL (who can at least work a style that LOOKS fairly stiff) at this point.

 

Cena is a nice guy and would be a good public face for the WWE. He just needs to learn how to work a match.

-=Mike

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Let's keep one thing in mind: it is rare when a Cena match is actually better than a JBL match nowadays.

                 -=Mike

I'd put that down to the wonders of booking. JBL's matches are booked to work around his weaknesses, whereas Cena's tend not to be.

I think Cena's matches are cookie-cutter affairs. JBL has held his own in vastly different matches. He played the bully v Guerrero in some underappreciated matches. He played the terrified coward against Undertaker. And he played the champ inexpicably baffled by Booker T.

 

I don't think the WWE would try to book Cena in a way to make his flaws more obvious. I just think he's a worker even more flawed than JBL (who can at least work a style that LOOKS fairly stiff) at this point.

 

Cena is a nice guy and would be a good public face for the WWE. He just needs to learn how to work a match.

-=Mike

JBL's matches are all filled with foreign objects, varying amounts of interference, lots of out of the ring stuff, and with a finish that is rarely, if ever, clean. His matches are cookie cutter too, it just happens to be of a different shape.

 

And while WWE wouldn't book Cena in a way to make his floors obvious, because he's not WWE Champion, he automatically doesn't get the kind of attention to detail that the champion gets. Remember, it's the main singles champions, or top guy when Hunter isn't the champion, that get all the shortcuts not afforded to the lower card guys, and it's those shortcuts that have helped cover up the weaknesses of JBL. I'm not saying it's wrong, because it isn't; it's sensible booking. It's just how things are.

 

And yes, JBL works a style that looks fairly stiff, because it works to his strengths. However, ask him to only wrestle a straight match for 20 minutes, and he'd be in trouble, because that's not his strongest point, it's his weakest, and would make for a bad match, hence the reason we don't see it.

 

As for Cena needing to learn how to work a match, while that may be true, it's not a life or death need, because any Champion, now matter how limited they really are, can look the part with smart booking. Just look at JBL.

[Youth N Asia 0]

You can't fault JBL for the run ins. The shitty WWE bookers just think the fans are complete idiots and there need to be run ins for every single match.

[Guest MikeSC]

JBL has actually been mis-used during this push. He has a great character and he works a style that meshes with what he does well. Imagine if JBL was given the run of dominance that Cena has been given as of late.

-=Mike

...Outside of his match with Spike Dudley (and I think one with Shannon Moore), has he had a clean match?

[CanadianChick 0]

Cena, without a doubt.

 

He's insanely over right now, and strike while the iron is hot. The only potential problem I see is that the win might seem less special because it isn't the main event. And if Cena does win, I'm thinking that Batista won't. I don't really like Batista, but damn it'd suck for the live crowd if he didn't win. Both challengers should win.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

You can't fault JBL for the run ins. The shitty WWE bookers just think the fans are complete idiots and there need to be run ins for every single match.

I'm not faulting JBL. I never said anything of the sort.

[iggymcfly 0]

Personally, I'm not much of a Cena fan. His act has been stale to me for over a year now, and he seems to be one of the people that makes wrestling look bad.

 

However, with that being said, he has to win the title at Mania at this point. JBL's reign has been an unmitigated disaster, and if they let him retain at Mania, it's a slap in the face to all the fans that have stuck by Smackdown up to this point.

 

Cena is over with the fans that they have, and it's in the best interest of the brand to let him win the title at the biggest even of the year. If they let JBL win just because they don't want both titles to change hands on the same night, they're basically telling people to just watch Raw because Smackdown sucks.

[Guest Tjhe CyNick]

You know what I love? I love when people on here say the "white rapper gimmick isn't working" or "the white rapper gimmick is getting old". Do you guys watch the shows? Do you hear the fans cheer for him? Do you hear them chant his catch phrases with him? Do you see them with signs that have his name on them? Do you see them with his merch on?

 

I mean its one thing to say 'I' dont care for the rapper gimmick, but to say its not catching on, or its not over, or its not working is just flat out wrong.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

You know what I love? I love when people on here say the "white rapper gimmick isn't working" or "the white rapper gimmick is getting old". Do you guys watch the shows? Do you hear the fans cheer for him? Do you hear them chant his catch phrases with him? Do you see them with signs that have his name on them? Do you see them with his merch on?

 

I mean its one thing to say 'I' dont care for the rapper gimmick, but to say its not catching on, or its not over, or its not working is just flat out wrong.

For a cynic you're sure high on Cena.

[Guest FromBeyondTheGrave]

JBL, without a doubt. Cena is such an idiot, and I can't respect idiots. Rap isn't cool, and it's even less cool coming from a white guy. JBL is a man of the peolple. If Cena does win it, he should turn heel a month later and grow an evil moustache.

[Taker666 0]

You know what I love?  I love when people on here say the "white rapper gimmick isn't working" or "the white rapper gimmick is getting old".  Do you guys watch the shows?  Do you hear the fans cheer for him?  Do you hear them chant his catch phrases with him?  Do you see them with signs that have his name on them?  Do you see them with his merch on? 

 

I mean its one thing to say 'I' dont care for the rapper gimmick, but to say its not catching on, or its not over, or its not working is just flat out wrong.

For a cynic you're sure high on Cena.

Still doesn't take away the fact that its the truth though.

[Guest Ransome]

Cena, without a doubt.

 

He's insanely over right now, and strike while the iron is hot. The only potential problem I see is that the win might seem less special because it isn't the main event. And if Cena does win, I'm thinking that Batista won't. I don't really like Batista, but damn it'd suck for the live crowd if he didn't win. Both challengers should win.

Both challengers can't win. This is one of those 'diminishing by compositing' things.

 

JBL has been champ 9 months, so two more months won't hurt things, and hopefully Cena taking the title is 'special' enough to focus the next SD only PPV around. It would mean a lot more than to expose SD for the B-show that it is by having him win a midcard match that'd be forgotten by the end of the night. Cena can wait.

 

Batista, on the other hand, has to win the title at WM 21. They just can't afford to have Triple H holding the title at the end of the pay per view. Sure, they let a heel retain at WM 2000 when the WWF could do no wrong and could take those risks, but things have changed. They can't piss off that much of their fanbase on the biggest night of the wrestling year.

[Placebo Effect 0]

I want JBL to be the champion forever, if only because of the pussyhurt smarks whose incessant bitching provides much entertainment.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

You know what I love?  I love when people on here say the "white rapper gimmick isn't working" or "the white rapper gimmick is getting old".  Do you guys watch the shows?  Do you hear the fans cheer for him?  Do you hear them chant his catch phrases with him?  Do you see them with signs that have his name on them?  Do you see them with his merch on? 

 

I mean its one thing to say 'I' dont care for the rapper gimmick, but to say its not catching on, or its not over, or its not working is just flat out wrong.

For a cynic you're sure high on Cena.

Still doesn't take away the fact that its the truth though.

I don't doubt that. Most people are just following the common opinion, and they should be shot for it. Cena IS over. His gimmick IS working. He SHOULD win at Mania. My personal preference would be JBL, only because I dont want Cena to win his first WWE title from him. This is not a knock on JBL, because god knows I push him like hell on my EWR and I enjoy him whenever I even bother to catch SD, but it is anti-climatic for your future franchise player to win his first title from a glorified midcarder.

[Just call me Dan 0]

Am I the only one that thinks JBL snapping out of it for a second and wasting Angle with the clothesline to finish the Rumble three way was pretty damned clean and put him over strong at the same time?

[King Cucaracha 0]

JBL has actually been mis-used during this push. He has a great character and he works a style that meshes with what he does well. Imagine if JBL was given the run of dominance that Cena has been given as of late.

-=Mike

...Outside of his match with Spike Dudley (and I think one with Shannon Moore), has he had a clean match?

I think he beat Mysterio clean too. Aside from that though, no.

 

Anyway, I'm one of the bigger JBL fans on the board, but I think they need to freshen things up and at the same time, give the fans what they want at Mania. Which is Cena winning. The whole point of how they manage JBL's 'push' is to make people crave the show JBL finally loses. And right now, there's no better time than Mania and person than Cena. So I say Cena.

[Scroby 0]

Cena needs to be a Public Enemy-type heel. Serious promo's with a comedic edge, and a brawling style to cover up for his weaknesses in the ring. And a new finisher. The FU either needs to go, or be turned into a proper DVD.

 

Did anyone notice with Cena's win last week, he acted like the Rock in finishing moves? The FU followed by 5 knuckle shuffle where Rock does the Rock Bottom and the elbow, ok I'm mr. observant I know. But did anyone find what he did a bit odd? I didn't think they'd try add parts of the Rock gimmick to his gimmick but apprently they might be doing that. And I completely agree about the FU, I think instead of just standing there after he slams the guy down, he should sit out while he's slamming the person to the mat. It would look a lot more viscious and not like a basic slam.

[Guest Tjhe CyNick]

You know what I love?  I love when people on here say the "white rapper gimmick isn't working" or "the white rapper gimmick is getting old".  Do you guys watch the shows?  Do you hear the fans cheer for him?  Do you hear them chant his catch phrases with him?  Do you see them with signs that have his name on them?  Do you see them with his merch on? 

 

I mean its one thing to say 'I' dont care for the rapper gimmick, but to say its not catching on, or its not over, or its not working is just flat out wrong.

For a cynic you're sure high on Cena.

lol

 

I think Cena is really good at what he does, he's no an awesome wrestler, but he's good at the few things he can do, and he's better than anyone else on the roster (except maybe Eddie) at connecting with the fans.

 

Thats all I'm saying. I dont care if people think he sucks, but at least be objective when talking about putting the title on him. Like most people are saying, he's over, so it makes sense to give the fans what they want.

[Nevermortal 0]

JBL easily.

[Twisted Intestine 0]

Cena should lose, because Batista will steal his heat. Cena has the kind of push going for him that he won't lose popularity by losing the match. If Batista loses at WM, might as well put him in a midcard tag team, because his whole push up till now will be ruined.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Cena, without a doubt.

 

He's insanely over right now, and strike while the iron is hot. The only potential problem I see is that the win might seem less special because it isn't the main event. And if Cena does win, I'm thinking that Batista won't. I don't really like Batista, but damn it'd suck for the live crowd if he didn't win. Both challengers should win.

Both challengers can't win. This is one of those 'diminishing by compositing' things.

 

JBL has been champ 9 months, so two more months won't hurt things, and hopefully Cena taking the title is 'special' enough to focus the next SD only PPV around. It would mean a lot more than to expose SD for the B-show that it is by having him win a midcard match that'd be forgotten by the end of the night. Cena can wait.

 

Batista, on the other hand, has to win the title at WM 21. They just can't afford to have Triple H holding the title at the end of the pay per view. Sure, they let a heel retain at WM 2000 when the WWF could do no wrong and could take those risks, but things have changed. They can't piss off that much of their fanbase on the biggest night of the wrestling year.

I agree 100% with what you said. Batista HAS to win, and Cena's big win would be blown on a PPV featuring a bigger match. Also, there hasn't been enough time to build a proper Cena/JBL feud, which is the only big name feud that Smackdown has right now. Based on how JBL's been booked, all interest in the feud is done the very moment Cena gets the three count, and he's stuck with no immediate challenger. Save the big blowoff til Judgment Day. It is too early in the feud for JBL to be dropping the title.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

The problem with Cena not taking the title at WM, is that it would require either yet another screwjob decision in a JBL title match, which would devalue his reign even more, or Cena doing a clean job, which you don't do to a guy who you intend to push as the next superstar sensation. While the argument to keep the belt on Bradshaw has merit, what it would take to keep the belt on him involves decisions that are would be bad for business as well.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

The problem with Cena not taking the title at WM, is that it would require either yet another screwjob decision in a JBL title match, which would devalue his reign even more, or Cena doing a clean job, which you don't do to a guy who you intend to push as the next superstar sensation. While the argument to keep the belt on Bradshaw has merit, what it would take to keep the belt on him involves decisions that are would be bad for business as well.

You do the screwjob. Nobody really cares because of the Batista match later, so you can keep Cena strong and not piss off the fans. JBL can't possibly be booked any weaker than he is without picking up after Hunter's dog. He won't be damaged much by this.

[Guest Tjhe CyNick]

If they were on the same show, I would say yeah hold off on Cena winning, but the SD crew has to go back and sell tickets for their shows. I think another heel win would really be running the risk of alienating the few fans they ahve that are buying tix.

 

Plus, there is something to be said for the face actually getting the job done. There are screw jobs every week, in just about every title match, so its not like you can say Cena can lose the match via screwjob and not lose momentum. I think him losing would be too risky at this point. Orton got screwed, and look where he went.

 

I do agree with the thought that it would be better fo Cena's title win to happen on a night when he's in the top position, but at the same time, this is Mania, so I think that is a big enough stage to have two special moments. Plus, from the SD perspective its not like they will be putting over Batista's win every week, they will only talk about Cena's win.

 

The JBL-Cena program can easily go beyond Mania, and I think if you have a strong babyface thats more liekly to draw than another PPV with the heel champion, provided of course they come up with good TV leading to the rematch.

 

Maybe they could do a deal similar to Rock-Austin in 99, where Cena tries to "Cena-fy"the WWE Title, and JBL steals it, and says Cena isnt worthy to carry the gold. Cena wants to get "his' belt, so they set up the rematch at Judgment Day.