When WWE Superstar John Cena was described as an "old man veteran" on Monday Night Raw on February 9, many fans voiced their concerns.
WrestleZone reported that there was a lot of talk about how terrible it was to portray Cena as such. Others actually questioned why he even agreed to go with the plan. The concept involved putting Cena in a compromising situation to move the focus to a rising WWE star. However, fans did not like the approach at all, considering how Cena appears much younger than his 37 years and is the biggest merchandise seller of WWE. He garners huge support from wrestling fans, especially women and children.
Nick Paglino of WrestleZone wrote, "I don't mind WWE positioning John Cena to allow more focus on up-and-coming talent, but the "old man veteran" tag is overkill. Why not just freshen up Cena's character?"
Wrestling experts described the scenario as putting Cena in the same situation as Bruno Sammartino in the 1970s when up and coming star Bob Backlund was being groomed to be the next star of the organization. In this case, Cena is Sammartino while Backlund may be Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt or Seth Rollins.
EWrestlingNews wrote that Cena still has more years left in him and it was unfair to label him as an "old man veteran." Plenty of other wrestling stars continued to make waves long after their prime such as Ric Flair in 1986, Hulk Hogan in 1990, Bret Hart in 1994, and Stone Cold Steve Austin in 2002. These other stars were highly favored by fans and age was never a detriment to their dominance in and out of the ring.
There were fans, however, who shared their opposing thoughts on WrestlingForum. Some said that it was proper for WWE to remove the spotlight from Cena and pave the way for new talent. According to some fans, Cena has been the center of attraction for several years and it might be time for some changes, which will require new storylines excluding the veteran. People want to see new wrestlers making a name for themselves in the ring and it would be quite dramatic to see Cena being fallible during this late stage of his career.
The WWE may be experimenting which rising star fans will receive well in lieu of Cena. The wrestler might be taken off the headlines for a while to see which stars will be bankable when he finally retires. However, fans should expect Cena to make a return, such as by reclaiming his title against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31.