Andrew Weber – USA TODAY Sports

In the WWE Universe, John Cena is a black hole sucking up everything that comes near him. He’s killing WWE.

He’s not Hulk Hogan. He’s not Stone Cold Steve Austin. He’s not The Rock. He’s not even Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels or Edge.

Cena has been on top of the WWE for the last decade, and his popularity has peaked. He won’t ever be a household name. He has a huge following in wrestling, but that’s it. It’s time to stop his push, or at least put it on hold and try something different with his character.

Cena’s eternal and never-ending push, his tired, recycled promos, his awful, amateurish attempts at comedy, and his stupid, embarrassing over-acting on live TV are off-the-chart bad. When it comes to acting talent, he makes Keanu Reeves look like Daniel Day Lewis.

The WWE Universe is so tired of it.

Unfortunately, it feels like the yuck of Cena is about to get worse. A lot worse. Cena is dating WWE diva Nikki Bella. Bella’s twin sister Brie is dating WWE superstar Daniel Bryan. Cena and Bryan will wrestle in the main event of Summerslam for the WWE title.

And once again, everything in the universe revolves around Cena and his inability to throw a right hand that looks anything close to real. Cena is the most overhyped wrestler of all time. You would think Cena, not Triple H, is married to Stephanie McMahon, the way Cena gets to call the shots in the WWE.

Cena has been booed out of more buildings than Roseanne Barr. Like a bad police interrogation where the innocent suspect starts to believe he committed the crime because of the cop’s bullying tactics, some fans have tricked themselves into thinking Cena is a good wrester and entertainer.

If Cena were a singer, he’d be “Weird” Al Yankovic: talented but clearly a gimmick. If he were a basketball player, he’d be Kurt Rambis: a good role player, but not an MVP. If he were a tennis player, he’d be Michael Chang: a hard worker, but not a legend. If he were a rapper: (wait, he is) well, he’d be himself.

The WWE keeps Cena on top largely because he is one of the hardest-working performers in the business. Cena has fantastic ring entrance music, sells a lot of T-shirts, wristbands and championship belts. Kids love Cena, who has granted more wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation than any other person in the history of the organization.

And he is also the ultimate company man. If Cena worked in your office, he would regularly be bringing the boss coffee, house-sitting for the boss while he is on vacation, walking the boss’s dog on weekends and laughing at the boss’ dumb jokes.

Now, Cena will wrestle Bryan at Summerslam. If the WWE is smart, Bryan will win and enjoy a nice, long title reign. Bryan is legitimately over with the fans. He’s not the guy we cheer for because WWE tells us to cheer for him. Thousands of fans in unison at live events chant “Yes!” every time he strikes his opponents. When he gets hit, they shout “No!”

WWE put “Yes!” and “No!” on Daniel Bryan T-Shirts after the crowd starting the words. WWE didn’t put it on a T-Shirt to encourage the crowd to chant the way it did with one of Cena’s phrases, “The Champ is Here.” “Yes!” and “No!” happened on their own.

There is a place for Cena in the WWE besides Vince McMahon‘s lap. Cena needs to turn heel. The fans badly want to boo him and not feel bad about it.

This whole angle with Cena, Bryan and the Bella twins starring in the “Total Divas!” on E! television feels like the company telling the fans who to cheer for (Cena), rather than the company responding to who the fans are already cheering for (Bryan).

We know The Champ Is Here. We just don’t care anymore.

Joshua Molina is a mixed martial arts and pro wrestling writer for www.rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECMolina and add him to your network on Google.


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