Struggle & Ease: John Cena vs. Cesaro
John Cena spends much of the 2010s having his legacy and relevance to the WWE be questioned. Already at this point in time, February 2014, Cena’s been dealt several blows on this front. The most significant comes at the hands of CM Punk at Money in the Bank 2011, where Cena chooses to both do the right thing while also being surpassed in a way that feels momentous even over a decade later. Later on in 2013, Cena would take a decisive loss to another major stalwart of the 2010s in Daniel Bryan, further advancing the super indie crop of talent in the WWE with Cena’s own credibility adding fuel to the YES! Movement fire. It would all culminate later in 2014 against Brock Lesnar, when Cena’s position as the top guy in the WWE would be irrevocably snatched away when he gets demolished by Lesnar at SummerSlam.
Before Cena’s figurative death as the company ace though, there’s this overarching feeling that he’s losing his grip on the top slot in the company. Beyond just the significant losses I mentioned above, there’s also this growing sense that the shifting talent pool around Cena is forcefully shifting the industry standards around him as well. Cena came up in a time where the fairly regimented American TV style of wrestling was still the predominant mode of work in the WWE main event style. While it’s very true that the WWE never strays too far away from a specific kind of presentation on their product, there’s just enough variety introduced in the 2010s that really challenges Cena to adjust both in and out of kayfabe. The rise of Punk and Danielson to positions of prominence mean that the WWE’s main event scene gets tinged with more of that 2000s super indie flavor. Not too much that it becomes an exact replica of anything once seen on SMV DVDs, but certainly enough to make a noticable change to the standard.
Long story short, John Cena’s struggling with the feeling that wrestling’s threatening to leave him behind.
That binary between where Cena came from and where wrestling was headed gets translated beautifully in this TV bout against Cesaro in 2014. Cesaro’s yet another 2000s indie luminary, and an especially fascinating match up for Cena. Where Bryan and Punk were often cast as underdogs against Cena (relying on either a mix of determination, technique, and cunning), here we see Cena thrown up against a fellow athletic freak in Cesaro. Both men are known for stunning feats of strength, but the means that both men have deployed that strength throughout their careers and in this match speaks volumes to the contrast between them.
For Cesaro, more often than not, his power seems effortless. It’s what made him such a favorite on the indies, surrounded by a cast of competitors often smaller than himself that he could just hurl around with dizzying ease. Meanwhile, John Cena makes his feats of strength look hard. Even when it might seem like something easy for Cena, as we saw in the last match we covered, he does something like crumble beneath the weight of Rey Mysterio when going for an AA. But that’s just always been Cena’s MO: he’s superhuman only in the face of extreme adversity. It’s why he has to choke Umaga’s life away in 2007, strain to lift both Edge and Big Show on his shoulders in 2009, and all the rest. Cena can achieve absurd displays of power, but only after he works for it.
This weaves so naturally into their match. Cesaro’s coming off a big win against reigning champion Randy Orton, so he’s already being built up as a major threat against Cena and everyone else in the upcoming Elimination Chamber match. And in the opening moments, Cesaro’s holistic combination of power and technique presents a real stumbling block for Cena. Not only can Cesaro go hold for hold, but his strength makes Cena look tinier than he’s ever been—note the way that Cesaro nails that first tilt-a-whirl backbreaker with all the ease of lucha legends gone by. His advantages come from sheer physical dominance, powering Cena around, outpacing him when chaining together offense, whereas Cena’s backed into a corner and forced to play more tactical.
And note just how pained Cena makes all his own comebacks look. Even something as simple as an early hip toss requires this strained grunt of exertion from Cena. He goes back to that hip toss later in the match too, primarily because it’s some of the only stuff he’s able to throw in there against Cesaro at all. Every other comeback feels borderline sneaky, but still in line with the resourceful Cena we’ve seen through the years. He does things like pull Cesaro’s throat into the ropes or dodge a charge in the corner to send Cesaro into the turnbuckles.
We also see Cena work to diversify his attacks as his trademark comeback sequence continues to be scouted by the new generation of competition. Notably, we once again get the Cenacanrana in the back half, popping up with a standing variation of it that looks absolutely awesome. There’s a half nelson neckbreaker he seems to bust out of nowhere to pause an initial Cesaro control. Then later on, that beautiful sit up in the giant swing position to nail the DDT. Small things that force Cena to really test himself and reach out as the bar is raised in real time.
If there’s anything to be said for Cena though, it’s how oftentimes his most direct actions can win the day for him. In the face of freak athleticism and well-rounded offense, Cena’s cut off to win the match feels so goddamn simple and obvious. Cesaro, smooth as butter, lands on his feet coming out of an attempted AA, so Cena just clobbers him with one of his sickest lariats ever and then into that rolling AA set up that he would continue to perfect later on in the decade. Hell fucking yeah. After spending the whole match working for everything, struggling in the face of effortlessness, Cena just puts his whole being into that one big strike that wins him the day.
Taken as is, speaks to this idea that just putting in the work can still get it done. What good are all those God-given gifts if you don’t put the grit behind them? It’s not that Cesaro doesn’t, it’s just that here, Cena puts it all right into one key moment to seal the deal. Another day, hard won, by our hero.
Rating: ****1/4