The Champ Is ... Hated?

When John Cena used to hit the ring, take the mic, and announce "The Champ Is Here!" the crowd would roar in approval, over the past months there have been a mixture of jeers and cheers.

Now Cena is injured, so the next time he returns he is sure to get a great ovation but before that when his music hit he still got the initial loving reaction but during his matches he would get booed.

Why the hate, why the boos?

Cena is a smash mouth wrestler. He doesn't do anything very pretty but it is like seeing a brawl every time Cena steps inside the squared circle.

Cena also has somewhat of a comedic sense with the microphone like The Rock did, but he can also amp himself up and lay down a really remarkable promo. Somehow he can just switch gears at the snap of a finger; not something many in the business can do.

Promo's are often what hold back many wrestlers, whether they are up and commers trying to make a name for themselves or even superstars who are already established wrestlers.

Look at a guy like Kennedy who can work the crowd and owns the microphone when placed in his hands - he has won the Money in the Bank match and the United States Championship. He was scheduled to become World Heavyweight Champion before he was injured and is always in the mix, feuding with wrestlers like Jeff Hardy (current rivalry), Undertaker, and the champion Batista.

Then, look at a man like Mark Henry. With no disrespect, he was a one time World's Strongest Man. Henry has the look and the strength, so why isn't he always in the mix for the championship? Because he has little mic skill and and it has really held him back from being at championship status although he was at the cusp several times.

The obvious ultimate goal is to be a main event status wrestler. What holds so many wrestlers back is their skills on the mic. In ring skills is only half of the business - without the ability to work the crowd and talk on the mic you shouldn't expect to make very many main events no matter how talented you are inside the ring.

So, Cena has the in ring capibility, the strength, the physique, and the mic skills, so the question as of to why he is hated still remains.

There is only one possibility. It seems to be the same reason why JBL and Triple H were booed; because they held the championsip for too long.

Granted JBL and Triple H were heels at the time of their long championship reigns, however, things just get boring. You know that one way or another they would win virtually every match, especially when it was for the title.

The same happened with Cena. He beat anyone and everyone there was.

At the time, Umaga was unbeaten and Cena beat the odds, retaining his championship and handing Umaga his first loss. Cena faced The Great Khali who had only lost once to Undertaker in a Last Man Standing Match on Smackdown, but was never made to submit or get pinned. Cena was the first to do either to the monster Khali and still he and Taker are the only ones to have victories over Khali.

When the near unbeatable Bobby Lashley was traded to RAW, he challenged Cena for the title. Lashley regained his ECW title by defeating Vince McMahon, Shane O' Mac, and Umaga. Cena found a way to beat him as well, giving Lashley and FU off the top rope.

For the short time he was not champion when he feuded with Edge, he won his title back in a TLC match, which is a match that Edge has dominated over the years.

It didn't matter what the match, who the opponent was, or what odds he was faced against such as when he defended his title in the Elimination Chamber, he always came out on top.

For some it was exciting to see how Cena was going to slay the dragon this time although you knew he was going to retain his championship. For others it was boring and don't want to see anyone - not even if this was other fan favorites such as The Phenom, The Undertaker, The Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels, or even The Texas Rattle Snake, Stone Cold Steve Austin - hold the title for too long as it can get tedious to watch after a while.

It seemed at times like Cena wasn't human. He was an unbeatable force. Cena has earned his main event and championship status, however the creative team can't let the same man be champion forever.

He isn't unbeatable, he is human and can be beaten. It is fun to live through Cena as nothing is impossible for his character but it just isn't real.

Now, as far as being real, wrestling is obviously fixed but at times you need to see your hero fall so he can come back stronger than ever. He can't always be the main event.

Cena needs to be in other matches and create other feuds. When you are the champ, you can't really create a good feud because you don't get that feeling that the match is personal and that it is soley for the title.

That was the reason why the Randy Orton rivalry was going so well. They added another element in it with Cena's father. Cena was also rumored to soon be losing the title to Orton ad with Cena, one thing no one can deny whether you love him or hate him is that he gives 100% in all his matches and you know whether he wins or loses you will almost definately see something special.

So, if the creative team can keep him out of the championship picture for a little while, you will see the Chain Gang come back stronger than ever.