WWE Money in the Bank: The Return of John Cena, the Professional Wrestler

Well, well, well, if it isn’t John Cena, the professional wrestler. Good to see you, John. Been a long time.

I have had this debate in the past, a debate that seemingly never ends, concerning John Cena, and his work ethic in the ring. In fact, I am on the record here at Bleacher Report as stating my own personal view that John is an entertainer, not a wrestler. The second column I wrote for this site, over a year ago, was on this very topic.

However, I am also on the record as saying that while I don’t believe John is a wrestler, that it does not mean he is not capable. The truth is, he is fully capable.

When he first arrived in WWE, John Cena wrestled. He had the fundamentals down, the give and go in a basic match, he looked good in the ring. I do not recall having an issue with him at all. He seemed to know what he was doing, and he did it pretty well.

But as his street tough, never-say-die persona began to evolve, so did his in ring style. Gone were the takedowns, the side headlocks, and the armbars. Quickly replaced with bulldogs, shoulder tackles, and clotheslines, John’s move set became very elementary, and very repetitive.

During this time I began to wonder what had changed. How could a guy morph from someone who was obviously well trained and solid as a worker into nothing more than a power wrestler with a few silly grandstanding moves?

The debate I spoke of earlier involves a friend of mine who often defends John, saying that WWE creative does not want him to mat wrestle. It does not fit his character, he’s a brawler, and not supposed to be a ring technician.

I have a huge problem with that argument, and always have.

The truth is, this is John Cena we’re talking about here. He is not some Johnny-come-lately, some rookie who is told what to do and begs for any amount of TV time he can get. He is THE guy in WWE.

So, why is it so hard to believe that Captain America himself has the opportunity to speak up and suggest what he feels may be the right thing for his character? Is it not possible that WWE would listen to him, why is he thought of by fans as nothing more than a yes man who punches a clock like any other employee?

Why does John Cena not take it upon himself to speak up, and say “hey, guys, how about I go out there and give them an old school wrestling match?” Do we all really believe that he would not be allowed to do whatever he wished to do at this point?

Perhaps that is exactly what happened at Money in the Bank on Sunday night.

John and CM Punk had a classic match. It was hard fought, full of what seemed like a thousand near counts, bringing fans to the edge of their seats every time.

What we saw were two guys who truly love what they do for a living, and they set out to do it better than anyone else.

I expected this match to be the highlight of the pay per view, but only because of how it might end. But to my surprise, and my satisfaction, I got a lot more than just a precursor to the ending bell. I got an honest to God pro wrestling match. And I for one am pretty happy about that.

Once again, John, it’s great to see you. Now, do me a favor? Stick around this time. You are the face of the biggest pro wrestling company in the world, and you are much better than what you are given credit for. Stop messing around and just wrestle. I know you can do it, you proved it on Sunday night. This is the John Cena I used to know, and it’s the same John Cena I hope to know in the future.