Special ECW Analysis: Why Cena and ECW just don't mix (for the A.C.A)

Picture this if you remember:

June 11, 2006, around 10 p.m., if not earlier. An angry crowd fills the Manhattan Center in the Hammerstein Ballroom, and they are taking turns spitting on and wiping their butts with a t-shirt. They throw it into the ring. The person who owns that t-shirt throws it back into the crowd after seeing what happened to it when he threw it in the first time. The same thing happens again, this time with obscene gestures, lewd remarks, screaming, glares, and even signs promising anarchy. The t-shirt owner is John Cena. The event was ECW One Night Stand 2006. One of the signs, which has reverberated all over the wrestling world when seen on pay-per-view television said the following: "If Cena wins, we riot!" As sure as I'm writing this, this was what happened. In fact, as sure as I am writing this, there would have been a riot that night, of epic proportions. Cena was in no-man's land. Cena was in a world he couldn't quite comprehend. Cena was in ECW country, the most rabid, unpredictable, and violent part of the wrestling world.

Now, this whole scenario should be proof positive that ECW and Cena don't mix. ECW is about many of the things that the wrestling world didn't take stock in. When ECW was created, it was created amidst the bad gimmicks, poor politics, and overt silliness in the wrestling world. All ECW was trying to do was change the way we saw wrestling. Story lines were cutting-edge, matches were well fought and fast paced, stars were different, gimmicks were realistic to a point. It was a different vibe that many of the wrestling fans enjoyed. They were sick of the current products out there and wanted something new, something different, something they could relate to, and ECW delivered. These fans all clamored into the Hammerstein in 2006, and they saw something they could not stand: John Cena, the embodiment of all that was wrong with the way wrestling was and how it is currently. Yet, two days later, we are watching Cena confront RVD about the WWE title on ECW television, and what happens? He gets in a fight with him and Edge and Paul Heyman and he gets away Scot-free. How do you think some of the ECW fans felt after that?

It's real simple. You can't take something like ECW and try to put something that embodies WWE with it and expect something good to happen when the WWE part succeeds. Well, I mean, it worked with Jerry Lawler, but even Lawler got his in the end. Did Cena ever get his? No. He might have lost a chance to get the belt from RVD, but got the belt 2 months later, without beating him, and stayed WWE champ for a whole year. Now, just think if that had been done on ECW or if Cena was a main fixture on this show.

Look, it's no secret. Cena has been made into this generation's Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan, back in the day, was the embodiment of baby face. He was "The Real American" who fought for every body and their rights and for fairness. It was perfect for the WWE since it brought in a slew of new, younger fans, and even entertained older fans who either didn't know the inside scoop about wrestling, or didn't want to know. As we grew up and as the world changed, things like ECW came along to change our perspective on wrestling. Because of its popularity, WWE and WCW had no choice to take some cues from them and change the ways they did business. As ECW folded and became WWE property, aspects of it were starting to meld into the world of wrestling, but slowly faded in the WWE as time passed. Cena then emerged and became this sensation, using his pseudo-ability to rap as a way to connect with fans who thought they had street cred, when in turn, they were just trying to be gangsta. In short, Cena was the poser that every wanna-be gangsta was at the time. He was the embodiment of the fake thug, and every fake thug supported it. Fake rappers did, too. But, there was one thing the WWE liked about it all: Cena's passion for the business. He has such a passion and a hard work ethic to get people to like him or hate him that it's admirable. Yea, right. I'm sorry but I don't mistake a word like "passion" with words like "blind obedience". The reason Cena is Vince's little treasure is because he is doing what Hogan, the Warrior, Macho Man, and the like have done in the 1980s. In all specifics, he's doing exactly what Hogan was doing: cutting promos to appease a bunch of simple-minded fools, appealing to the lowest common denominational fan, giving his all for children, and doing it with a limited move set, something greats like Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, or even Christian don't abide by. Yet, it was ok for Cena to beat those guys, as long as he did was he was asked to do. He loves this business so much that he'll give his life for it. Sure, he sees the political games and how bad his wrestling style is, but will he raise a stink or even his voice? No! Simply put, he's just protecting his own carcass and being blindly obedient to Vince. Now, can you imagine this guy in the new ECW?

If he were put there, untouched, unaltered, and utilized to the degree he has been, let me tell you what would happen. First off, he would become the ECW champion as soon as RVD got picked off for his marijuana charge. For this to happen, however, he would have to beat the Big Show, which will happen, and then Big Show's value on ECW would drop dramatically, as it has before elsewhere. As for the WWE belt, Edge would have it, and would probably hold onto it for a long time on Raw, at least until Triple H's return. Now, Cena would dominate as ECW champ, which would not only cause a massive amount of original ECW fans to stop watching, but it might even affect ticket sales. I'm sure it would have at the Hammerstein on August 1, when C.M. Punk debuted. If not, there most definitely would have been some rumblings when the main event of Cena vs. Batista at the Hammerstein went down. If there wasn't a riot, there would have been a mass exodus of fans as soon as the match happened. Cena's title reign would have been just like Big Show's, only Heyman would not be supporting Cena as a face, but he'd be trying to get at him as a heel. Then, we would have December to Dismember. By then, I would have figured that a handful of ECW originals would have quit over this, but if they needed money they would remain. But, come this event, the outcome would be as follows: Cena wins. That's it. No big, elaborate ideas. Cena beats everyone in that match, plain and simple.

This is supposed to be a new brand with new and different talents. These wrestlers were put here because their style was figured to be conducive to that of the ECW brand. Cena is in no way conducive to the brand, with his wrestling style, mentality, or his backstage protection. He would do to the new guys what he does to every new guy: beats them and forces them off the brand to find new direction. It's fact, folks. Every new and upcoming talent that has battled Cena while having some relative form of push or upward movement has been downgraded dramatically because of Cena's untouchable nature, and inability to lose. Kenzo Suzuki, Rene Dupree, Matt Striker, Muhammed Hassan, Chris Masters, John Morrison, Lashley, Mr. Kennedy, Umaga, The Great Khali, and the list goes on. Every one of these people after losing to Cena has been downgraded dramatically to either losing big matches almost every time, pushed to the lower card, moved to a new show to be re-established, or at its worst, being fired in a matter of months. This kind of nonsense has crippled the talent pools on Raw and SmackDown. The damage was so great that it has yet to fully repair on SD, while on Raw, the damage may very well continue as long as he is there. To be frank, Raw's wrestling quality is at a low, and Cena's presence and victories lowers it every time he shows up. Can you imagine what would happen to the talent that debuted here? Mike Knox would not be seen on ECW because he would be fired, thanks to Cena, along with Test. RVD would be relatively forgotten, as he is now. Sabu would have ended up losing so much, he would be worse than Dreamer. Both Dreamer and Sandman would not stand a chance. As for others like Kevin Thorne, Elijah Burke, and Matt Striker, don't count on them seeing the light of day on this show.

See, it's real simple. If you are looking to advance talent that couldn't get a chance on Raw or SD b/c of Cena or people like him (i.e. Batista), having those types of people on this show would be very counter-productive. In fact, Batista's last stint on ECW cost us Elijah Burke on a more active basis. We haven't seen him wrestle actively on ECW, and win even since then. ECW is supposed to be the "land of the misfit toys", which according to Tazz, is what the original ECW is. So far, the WWE has made it that way to the extent of finding more conducive uses for some of the toys which will lead them to being accepted to a Raw or SD toybox. If you send a toy like Cena to ECW, there won't be space for the misfit toys. Then what happens? They get destroyed, thrown out, sold in a bargain basement, or left without anyone playing with them.

In conclusion, Cena and ECW just don't mix. Yea, we've seen some things that don't mix with ECW like Test, Big Show, and Hardcore Holly, but with the right booking and with a little believability, they could belong. I mean, they don't belong anywhere else, thanks to Cena and such. Why not give them a shot in another place that was lacking some talent if you wanted to use them as talent on television? In the hands of Heyman, they could adapt to the ECW style. In the hands of Heyman, Cena became what he is now, as the WWE took his character and ran with it, ramming it down everyone's throats. He became exactly what the WWE wanted. If something the WWE wanted ends up in the original ECW, they will be destroyed. Is this the original ECW? No, but there are aspects of it. Cena's involvement in this would destroy those aspects. ECW has created its legacy by making it completely different from WWE and stuff like it, vehemently rejecting those who support the WWE. Cena is WWE, erego, Cena has no business being in anything ECW, for if he is, the very fabric of ECW, new or old, will be destroyed.

I'm running out of words or things to say either because the thought of Cena in ECW is troubling me to the point where I'm actually thinking of what would happen. So, I better end it here. On June 11, 2006, if Cena won, there would have been a riot. On June 13, Cena got away with murder on ECW television. But, the possibility of Cena being on ECW? I think that would be WWE's way of finally destroying ECW, its spirit, its legacy, and its existence once and for all. The ultimate revenge for Vince McMahon, wouldn't you say?