John Cena: Finally, I Can See You

"Nothing lasts forever.  I know that there was people before me, there will be people after me, in this same position.  As somebody that is heavily invested with a ton of passion for this brand, it gives me pleasure to go to all of these places and speak on behalf of the company.  To know that that when it is go-to time and they need someone to do work for this company, they choose me.  It is such a great honor and a great position, that I believe all of the WWE superstars look to be in that position.  It is not something that I want to or choose to monopolize, but I wish we could get more people on that level and I think there is a lot of young and hungry WWE talent that will join me in the next few years.  For now, the company is choosing me to do a lot of things and I'll enjoy it, and I love to be here.  I love this business." - John Cena (2010)

In the summer of 2002, a man by the name of John Cena walked onto WWE television. We didn't know much about him at first, but it became known rather quickly, that we were about to learn a lot about him, rather we liked it or not.

For me, I didn't like him from beginning, and I've never given him a chance.

The freestyle rapper gimmick that Cena carried with him the first few years of his career was a big reason why he turned me away from the beginning, regardless of his early success and amazing strength.

When 2005 came, Cena's career would reach new heights.

Cena defeated WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield at WrestleMania 21 to capture his first WWE Championship in the company.  From that point, he hasn't came down from the cloud of success he has been riding on since then.

At WrestleMania 22, Cena entered the ring as a tommy gun shooting gangster with the WWE Championship around his waist.  He went on to retain and defeat Triple H, causing him to tap out with the "STF".

The success didn't stop there.

Following WrestleMania 22, in June of 2006, was ECW's One Night Stand, which emanated from the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, in which the crowd consisted mostly of "old school" ECW fans.

On a night John Cena was defending the WWE Championship against Rob Van Dam, the rough crowd really turned up the heat, chanting things at Cena we've never heard before.

It is a good thing that Cena lost the belt that night, or things may have got ugly.  

One thing that Cena didn't lose that night was his pride, because the hate towards him through the years has only pushed him harder and made him stronger. 

At WrestleMania 23, Cena once again, entered a champion.  This time, he drove a brand new Ford Mustang through a WrestleMania designed glass window right next to the entrance ramp at Detroit's Ford Field.  He drove home with a victory, beating "Mr. WrestleMania" Shawn Michaels, the same way he beat Triple H a year earlier, a tap out submission, via the "STF".  Wow.

At this point, you either loved, or hated John Cena.  Most, included myself, didn't care for him.

In October of 2007, Cena tore his pectoral muscle in a match with Mr. Kennedy, during a simple hip toss move.

An injury that should have cost him nearly seven months, only lasted less then four, as he made a surprise return at the 2008 Royal Rumble, last eliminating Triple H and winning it.

To this day, Cena entering the Rumble that night is still one of the most shocking moments to me as a WWE fan, I never saw it coming. 

I attended WrestleMania 24, at this point, the Cena hatred was at boiling point levels.  I recall seeing a sign (photo pictured to the right), of a fan with a sign in the upper deck of the gigantic Citrus Bowl that read, "Cena Wins We Jump".  Of course the sign was taken by security before the show got underway, but it was those kind of things that made me realize something.

I realized that most WWE die hard fans, only hated Cena after a big victory.  Such as Triple H at WrestleMania 22, and HBK at WrestleMania 23.

With that being said, I realized that I disliked Cena for the same reason and most of the other fans who didn't like him, I was jealous of John Cena.

Thats right, jealous.

Cena didn't go on to win the Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 24 against Randy Orton and Triple H that year, but he did reclaim the top spot eventually, seven months later at Survivor Series 2008, defeating Chris Jericho for his first World Heavyweight Championship.

Fast forward to 2010, Cena is now a two time World Heavyweight Champion and a seven time WWE Champion.

Loved by as many people that still don't care for him, Cena still goes out there and does his job better then the best and loves every moment of it.

One thing that Cena has taught me, is negative criticism is positive energy and you can always use it to your advantage.

Cena has come a long way to get where he is at and I am proud to have become a fan of his work and I am disappointed that I was so blind in the beginning.

He is an asset to the WWE and with wrestlers like The Rock, Shawn Michaels who are already gone, wrestlers such as Triple H and The Undertaker are soon to follow.

At age 33, Cena has plenty of good years left in him inside the squared circle and we should all enjoy it while it lasts.  As far as his haters, keep booing him, it only makes him that much more entertaining.

Follow me on Twitter @nyyrobinson.