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Professor Wrestling: Stick With JBL

Why Cena As Champ Is The Wrong Move

POSTED: 2:21 pm MST March 4, 2005
UPDATED: 5:42 pm MST March 4, 2005

Listen up!

Class is in session.

This week's lecture concerns one of the main events at "WrestleMania 21," coming up April 3.

It appears the "Smackdown!" champion, John Bradshaw Layfield, will be dropping the WWE heavyweight title to current U.S. champion, John Cena. Bad move, Vince. Bad move.

Here's why. If WWE isn't going to push Booker T to the title -- a run he richly deserves -- then I just don't see why the promotion should switch to Cena. JBL, by my observation (I may have ripped him before, but that's in the past), has done everything right in his title run -- including the impressive transformation from mid-card nobody to main event attraction.

When JBL went with the "Bradshaw" moniker, teaming with Ron Simmons a while back, he was your run-of-the-mill talent. He was nothing special, but not terrible enough to cut from the roster. With the exodus of several stars (Steve Austin, The Rock), via injury or other commitments, WWE suddenly had a void to fill.

JBL accepted the challenge, and flourished.

Out was the beer-drinking Democrat doofus, in was the cowardly Republican financial whiz. JBL went from the blue side of the ring to the red. His matches haven't been especially stellar, but a chicken heel champion doesn't need to be especially compelling in the ring. He just has to be creative in his cowardice, doing anything he can to keep his belt. Along with that, he also has to be good on the microphone. On that end, JBL is approaching greatness.

He's not Ric Flair by any stretch of the imagination, but few in the wrestling industry have delivered better promos than JBL the past few months. His "I am a wrestling god" mantra is as fresh (in its goofiness) as any catch phrase this year. He also gets better and better each week, which is rare among the sports entertainment crowd. Strong speeches combined with being a weasel in the ring equals money in my book. Cena as champ is not money.

Plain and simple, Cena was a better heel. As a babyface, he's lost his edge. His rapping rhymes seemed to be much funnier and biting when he was a bad guy. But his act became so popular, he couldn't remain a heel, and turned face. While he's good in the ring, I just don't see him as championship material. Try as he might, he just doesn't seem to be in JBL's league -- and that seems pretty strange to say.

If I were running things, Cena would lose to JBL at "WrestleMania 21" and chase him for the next several months, finally winning the belt at "SummerSlam." JBL, if he's not champion, might fade into mid-cardness again -- and wasted. Just ask Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero how that's working out.

Bottom line: WWE has created a diamond out of coal in JBL, and he shouldn't be tossed aside.

That's it. Get out of here. Class dismissed!

(Professor Wrestling is an employee of Internet Broadcasting Systems. Got a beef with him? Want to tell him how great he is? Either way, toss him an e-mail right here. If you dare.)


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