Every week on Raw and SmackDown, fans are exposed to commentators Michael Cole, JBL and Jerry Lawler's constant claims that John Cena is the greatest champion in WWEhistory. It is a bold claim that is typically met with a roll of the eyes and a "yeah, right" to boot.
But is that comment so out there? Is it such a ridiculous statement? Could the leader of the Cenation really be the greatest champion inWWE history?
He might be closer than you think.
When one looks at Cena's championship résumé, it is impossible not to point out the fact that of his 15 WWE and World Heavyweight title reigns, nine lasted less than three months. That means Cena rapidly traded titles back and forth with his opposition, having very few legitimate, lengthy title reigns.
Putting personal feelings for the character aside, do you believe John Cena is at least a nominee for greatest champion ever?
At the time same time, he has starred at a time when stories trump championship importance. Pride, legacies and undefeated streaks are far more meaningful than capturing a title and holding onto it for a long period of time. His championship legacy was unfairly influenced by the booking style of the company he works for. While it should not affect how he is judged, it does.
While that may be a detriment to how Cena is looked at as a champion, what cannot be is his longevity. Very few Superstars can claim to be as relevant, let alone as popular as Cena has been for the last decade. He has been the undisputed top star of World Wrestling Entertainment for the majority of his career. There have been none who even come close to the reign atop the company Cena has enjoyed during that period. The franchise player of WWE, he has wrestled every major star of this generation and beaten them, racking up a win-loss record that is rivaled by few.
Whether those stars measure up to those who came before them is none of Cena's concern. He has matched up with those who the Vince McMahon marketing machine has produced, and he has done so to great success. It is unfair to judge his legacy on that element when he had nothing to do with it.
But, unfortunately, that is the case.
As a draw, he has been part of some of the biggest matches of the decade and was one-half of the biggest pay-per-view main event of all time, that being his one-on-one clash with The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII. While business may be nowhere near the heights it was with Steve Austin or Hulk Hogan on top, Cena has proven to be the one consistent draw the company has promoted for the better part of 10 years.
So is John Cena the greatest WWE Champion ever?
He certainly belongs in the conversation. He is to this era what Hulk Hogan was to the 1980s, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were to the New Generation and Steve Austin and The Rock were to the Attitude Era. He is the one constant in an ever-changing wrestling landscape and the man the company can count on when all other chips are down.
Would it be nice to see more quality runs with the strap? Of course. But Cena has reigned as champion as many times as possible because the company trusts and, more importantly, values him. He hustles, works hurt and maintains an insane schedule solely for the love of the game.
Just like Hogan, Austin, Rock, Hart, Michaels and Ric Flair before him. He is a wrestler's wrestler, regardless of the bright T-shirts and Superman comebacks.
Undisputed greatest champion, though?
That's up for history to decide.
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