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They’re both cocky. They’re both dedicated to the WWE. And they’re the two hardest working wrestlers on the roster. John Cena and Dolph Ziggler are key components to the WWE’s dominance and continued success. Cena is the ultimate main eventer and badass—he’s been involved in more show closers than we can count, and he’s won more gold than anyone else. Meanwhile, Ziggler is the king of the midcard, and in many ways, “The Showoff” is the gatekeeper to the promised land; win over Ziggler means that you’ve gone harder, and that you’re someone to look out for in the future.
Who goes harder: John Cena or Dolph Ziggler? Who does what it take to be the best? Who throws down for the fans in any situation? To answer these questions, we grabbed the two biggest wrestling fans we knew, and brought them together to hash it out. We asked them to judge the two wrestlers in five categories: Grit, Brutality, Injuries, Fans, and Swag. Without further ado, here’s Luis “The Pain Inflictor” Paez-Pumar and Kevin “The Crusher” Wong with their personal takes.
Grit
Cena and Ziggler both reached the top of the mountain. But who took the rockier road to get there?
Luis Paez-Pumar: Okay, so I’m probably not going to win this category. By all accounts, including common sense, John Cena was the chosen one, right? Well, little known fact: Cena was almost released by the WWE early in his career. If not for a lucky freestyle session, the man who became the “Face Who Runs The Place” would have been James Ceno in TNA faster than you can say “brrrrrapadooooo.” Luckily for him, Stephanie McMahon was informed of Cena’s rapping skills. She asked him to perform a freestyle off the dome, and then…well, the rest is history. So, sure, Cena has been on the easiest path creatively since the earlygoing. But at one point his legacy was at serious risk of reading “dude who debuted against Kurt Angle and not much else.” How does the Zig Zag Man stack up here, Kevin?
Kevin Wong: You’re right, Luis. You’re not going to win this category. No way. Yes, Cena may have overcome his first, bland persona, but he was actually pegged for greatness before that. In his developmental OVW days, Cena was considered by booker Jim Cornette to be his top student, in a class that also included Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar, Batista, and Shelton Benjamin. Now compare that to Dolph Ziggler, who was a midcarder in OVW. And then, when he was moved to the main roster, he had to overcome the indignity of being a male cheerleader on the Spirit Squad. He suffered on the midcard for years, and the first time he became World Heavyweight Champion, he held the title for a little over ten minutes. Ziggler has known nothing but struggle. But still, he continues to endure, go out there with his head held high, and give the WWE Universe his 100 percent. Plus, lest we forget—Ziggler hooked up with Vickie “EXCUSE ME” Guerrero for months in order to advance on the card. Months. Handling that shrill shriek day in, day out deserves its own reward, and is perhaps the best example of going hard, and doing whatever it takes.
Brutality
Wrestlers put their bodies at risk, doing insane stunts and bleeding buckets for our entertainment. Who is more willing to lay it on the line?
LPP: Extreme Rules. 2012. It’s almost a copout for a whole argument to rely on a match that is over three years old, but to see just how much the WWE means to Cena, watch his match against a returning Brock Lesnar. Cena took the biggest beating of his life, with blood flying everywhere, in order to truly sell the no-holds barred match against the Beast. Sure, he Cena’d up and won the match with one move, but hey. Baby steps. It’s also not the only time Cena has let Brock beat the crap out of him for our entertainment; if you’ll recall, Cena died for our sins at SummerSlam 2014, getting suplexed 16 times by Lesnar on the way to losing his WWE World Heavyweight Championship. You think getting dropped on your neck 16 times is a walk in the park? You think Ziggler could do that without exploding into a million pieces?
KW: If we measured this category by pints of blood, then Cena would walk away with it, hands down—that “I Quit” match against JBL at Judgment Day 2005 is dizzyingly gory. And yes, Extreme Rules 2012 is classic. But even so, bleeding hurts a lot less than falling off a ladder and landing on another ladder. Ziggler has been involved in plenty of insane, ill-advised stunts—stunts that Cena wouldn’t dream of doing. Have you seen Ziggler’s ladder match against Luke Harper at TLC 2014? The total disregard for personal safety speaks for itself. Plus, what about the “Money in the Bank” ladder matches? Dolph has wrestled in five of these monstrosities, and pulled off insane high spots each and every time. How many of these matches has Cena done? One. Just one. I guess he was too busy fighting Big Show for the umpteenth time. Suplex City may be brutal, but so is taking an annual ladder to the face.
Injuries
It's about the hits you take, and how you come back from them. Who's been under the knife and through rehab? And who's recovered from those injuries the best?
LPP: Cena is a cyborg. That’s the only plausible explanation for his injury record. The man has come back from bumps and bruises and hideous elbow manglings like it’s no big deal multiple times during his career, to the point where fans just assume he will never take any extensive time off. Seriously, remember that shoulder injury. He was back in two months after that…and won the World Heavyweight Championship in his first match back. The man can’t be broken. Even now, at age 38, you can count on Cena to not miss time, not even for a nose so broken that it made a friend of mine throw up upon seeing it. Hustle, Loyalty, Respect, Wolverine.
KW: Yeah, Cena’s got this one on lock. His surprise appearance at the Royal Rumble 2008 was unnatural—no one expected him to come back as soon as he did, looking as jacked and healthy as he did. That “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect” mantra may be old news, but he lives by it. That guy works through injuries, leads the locker room, and still manages to do scores of house shows each year. Ziggler, by contrast, has stayed pretty healthy for his entire career—extremely lucky, considering the bumps he’s taken. Personally, I’d choose the guy who takes more risks and gets injured less, over the guy who takes fewer risks, and gets injured more. But whatever; I’m reaching. Cena wins. I can concede that. Moving on.
Fans
Who gets down with the fans, both inside and outside of the ring? Who goes hard for the WWE Universe?
LPP: “Let’s Go Cena! Cena Sucks!” It’s undeniable that, for better or worse, Cena gets the strongest fan reactions in the WWE. He has his fans; sure, they’re generally young kids, but considering how much merch this one-man stimulus package moves, maybe that’s the important audience. And while his haters are loud and hilarious (the “John Cena Suuuuuucks” sung to his theme song is one of the best chants in WWE), even they have to give “Big Match John” props for his much-improved match managing and moveset. As for going hard for the WWE Universe, well, Cena’s over 500 Make-A-Wish wishes granted speak for themselves. This dude does not stop repping the Universe, even for the jerks that boo him repeatedly. Ziggler is popular, but is he a singular force of fan reaction like Cena?
KW: Ziggler has a smaller audience, can’t argue with that. But what Ziggler’s audience lacks in size, it makes up for in faithfulness. It’s really, really easy to be a Cena fan, because he wins all the freaking time. When the guy is booked like Superman, and takes down every heel that challenges him, it’s not a very far leap to look up to him as a real-life superhero. By contrast, Ziggler is a true underdog—a guy who’s been passed over for less talented, bigger guys with better physiques—and that’s why the older fans love him so much. Their fandom has been tested; Ziggler’s fans have stuck by him through the bad times, which is why they want him to catch a break finally. Can Cena fans say the same thing? Let’s have Cena lose to Zack Ryder, Alex Riley, and Kofi Kingston for a couple of months, (this actually happened to Ziggler in 2011) and we’ll see if his fans still love him just the same.
Swag
Who brings it from a visual standpoint? Who has the flashier moves? Who has the better threads? And who gets the women swooning?
LPP: If we had this discussion in 2014, I probably would have just conceded this point to Ziggler. Thankfully, “BIG MATCH JOHN” also turned into Indie Superstar John Cena in 2015. Throughout the course of the United States Title Open Challenge, Cena busted out a variety of moves not seen in WWE, especially not at the main event level. While some were, uh, less than great (*waves at Springboard Stunner*), his variety of powerbombs and especially his Code Red, once mastered, were things of beauty. His expertise in WWE storytelling and pacing also helped to put on matches that were beautifully set up to maximize their runtimes, whether they were 10 minutes or 30 minutes long. So, while he may look like a goober with his cargo shorts and kaleidoscope t-shirts, few people can match John Cena’s swag right now. Also, my girlfriend loves his smile, so that counts for something, right?
KW: First off, if JBL calls Cena “Big Match John” one more time, I’m going to snap. He’s trying to make it happen, and it’s not going to happen. And as far as the technical skills are concerned, Cena doesn’t get points for diversifying his moveset this late in his career—a wrestler who “goes hard” shouldn’t need Kevin Owens to light a fire under his ass. Let’s not go nuts just because Cena decided to increase his moveset from 5 moves to 10. That’s a low bar to set. Ziggler has always had, and continues to have, the flashiest moves. The Zig Zag. The Famouser. His multiple neckbreakers and chain-wrestling moves. And as for personal style, it’s not even a contest—it’s like putting Rusev against Hornswoggle in a TLC match. Ziggler’s got that beach-bum-meets-punk-rocker vibe down pat. Meanwhile, Cena has no sense of personal style. None back in the early days, he just wore one throwback jersey after another. And now, he basically wears whatever the WWE Store wants him to shill. His gaudy purple shirt. His gaudy orange shirt. His gaudy red shirt. His gaudy, yellow shirt. Enough.
Final Thoughts
LPP: Listen, John Cena is not the favorite wrestler of anyone reading this, most likely. But no one but the blindest CM Punk fan could argue that Cena hasn’t put the WWE on his back for the last decade, with all that comes with that, good or bad. He’s unbreakable while simultaneously being WWE’s break-glass-in-case-of-emergency fixer. He can play any and every crowd to his favor, unless he doesn’t want to. And in that case, he can get some of the sincerest boos in the company. The ladies love him, the kids idolize him, and the dudes hate his guts to the point that they make him even more fascinating. There’s never been anyone like John Cena and there never will be again, for as long as John Cena rules the company with an iron fist and a chiseled jaw. Now...can we turn him heel, please? #WordLife
KW: Cena will never turn heel, I’m convinced of it. He’s going to be the Ricky Steamboat of his generation—no one wants to see the entire front row of children, decked out in John Cena garb, simultaneously burst into tears. And yes, Cena has carried the company on his back for years, but it’s come at the sacrifice of everyone else on the roster. It’s a testament to Cena’s skill and charisma, but it’s also a testament to the WWE’s poor planning and shortsightedness. Cena’s unbreakable, yes, but in “sports entertainment,” what does that even mean? He’s buried too many young wrestlers on the way to building his legend. Rusev. Bray Wyatt. Kevin Owens. Even the Nexus, whom even he admitted, backstage, should not have been buried so thoroughly. How about take some of that creative control and influence you undoubtedly have, and advocate for the rest of the roster? Stop saying, “How high?” every time Vince tells you to jump. Ziggler, on the other hand, has shown a willingness to put anyone over, and take his ego out of the picture. I mean, he took a loss to Tyler Breeze of all people. Tyler. Freaking. Breeze. Ziggler makes his opponents look good—Cena no-sells their moves, and makes them look silly. When half the audience is booing you for reasons that have nothing to do with the storyline, you know that you’ve dropped the ball. And Ziggler is just the guy to pick it up and start running with it.
You can reach Luis Paez-Pumar and Kevin Wong on Twitter, at @paezpumarL and @kevinjameswong. Just don’t bother them on Mondays, from 8-11, because that’s when Raw is on, and they’ll have to lay the smackdown on you.