5 reasons why we should respect John Cena

John Cena was the face of the company in the PG era and has one of the most loyal fan bases around the world. He is a 16-time world champion, tied with Ric Flair for most world championship reigns, and would be keeping an eye out to break his record.

However, he is now wrestling on a part-time basis since he is busy with his Hollywood schedule. But still, he finds time to wrestle, especially in live events around the world. He recently battled Elias and Jinder Mahal at a live event in China.

However, he is one of the most polarizing figures in the wrestling business. But we think it is high time we stopped disrespecting the guy. Here are the reasons why John Cena deserves to be respected.

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#5 He CAN wrestle.

John Cena vs. CM Punk was rated 5 stars by Dave Meltzer.

One of the biggest criticisms faced by John Cena was he cannot wrestle to save his life. However, that is very untrue. Cena has been a part of various memorable matches throughout his illustrious WWE career that included a 5 star classic against CM Punk.

However, that is just the tip of the iceberg. He had excellent matches against the likes of Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Neville, Cesaro and Seth Rollins, showing he could carry himself even against the best of the best. His matches against AJ Styles were absolutel barn burners and deserve a list of its own.

#4. His US open challenge was revolutionary

In 2015, John Cena defeated Rusev at Wrestlemania 31 to capture the United States championship. This received quite a huge backlash.

But in the long run, his title reign was accepted as something revolutionary by fans, critics and haters alike. It was so good that superstars like Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins emulated it and started their own versions of the Intercontinental title open challenge.

As mentioned earlier, he had plenty of memorable matches against the likes of Zayn, Owens, Cesaro, and Neville. His US open challenge was one of the best things in 2015.

#3. He is an inspirational and charitable person

John Cena holds the title for the most wishes granted by a single individual.

This is something that does not need any explanation. Cena's motto - "Never give up", is an inspiration for thousands of kids suffering from various illnesses and conditions.

He is a forerunner for various charities and has granted more than 500 wishes. Currently, John Cena is the most requested athlete and celebrity for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Although every WWE superstars grants wishes, the scale at which John Cena does is just unreal.

#2. He is a huge draw

Even after passing the torch as the face of the company to Roman Reigns for over 3 years and moving to a part-time schedule, Cena was still the guy with most merchandise sales up until recently.

He still sells out live event venues and is the 2nd best merch mover. Advertising his name itself causes a significant movement in ticket sales. His YouTube videos are some of the most viewed videos for WWE.

#1. He puts talents over

Seth vs. Cena on RAW is one of the best TV matches of all time.

A huge criticism faced by Cena in his career was that he buries a lot of talents and hogs the spotlight. This was partially true a few years ago. But from 2015, we started seeing a new Cena who started putting over those who needed the win.

Kevin Owens beating Cena in his first main roster match clean as a whistle was a huge surprise for most of the fans. Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Braun Strowman, Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, and Roman Reigns have pinned Cena clean in the last 2 years.

At Wrestlemania 34, the 16-time world champion was squashed by a returning Undertaker. Cena could have said NO to the squash match, but he didn't.

He has become the perfect company man who uses his status to push the talents onto the main event scene.