I have a confession to make!

The other day I had an epiphany about John Cena. I was reminiscing about my childhood and my early passion for wrestling. Wrestling to a degree desensitised me to violence but it also gave me a great deal of respect for the athleticism of wrestlers and the technical grappling skills of the art that would eventually lead me to fall in love with MMA and see the tremendous amount of talent and dedication of these pro fighters. However, MMA is still a very violent sport and I personally wouldn't encourage very young children to watch it. Wrestling is a great alternative to MMA for a younger audience - not that I'm saying wrestling is for children, don't misunderstand me. I was also thinking about the seemingly ever increasing violence on the streets. In my home town there has been several stabbings since Christmas and I've also heard an increasing amount of stories about domestic violence - even one from a close friend of mine, which upset me greatly. This led me to think about John Cena. Here is a man who is almost universally condemned and criticised by the adult demographic for being a superhero and 'for kids'. Yet therein lies his strength! If I was a father and my child showed interest in wrestling then John Cena would be a role model I would be proud of my child supporting. Although the principles of hustle loyalty and respect become devalued when just plastered across a different coloured t-shirt and fed to the WWE fanboy community every few months, those fans (young and old) who genuinely support Cena and believe in what he stands for can wear them with integrity. They are values and principles I think are important to instill into young children, especially in our society where violence is reported far more nowadays and the chances of being assaulted increase. Children need to learn that violence and gang crime is wrong and Cena standing up for what is right sends a great message to kids, even if adults role their eyes every time.

From a wrestling stand point I've also come to respect Cena far more, we often criticise him for his '5 moves of doom' and poor selling skills and don't get me wrong he'll never be the greatest of all time by any stretch of the imagination but he has proven in his feud with Punk last summer, the Rock (to a lesser degree) and most recently with Lesnar that he is capable of putting on great matches. I found myself giving Cena kudos last year for his performances against Punk and I think he showed great professionalism by putting Punk and the Rock over. Cena genuinely loves the business and is a great ambassador for the WWE. Basically our default attitude towards Cena is one of negativity but he has proven himself several times and I've come to shift my perspective on him to one of respect and even admiration: admiration not just for his performances in big feuds but also in staying true to his character and not turning heel. I know people criticise Cena for refusing to turn heel but truth be told if he had the IWC would only be criticising him 3 months later for his character getting stale. No, I think kids need a hero and Cena is the perfect guy - he's one of the hardest workers in the WWE, he's loyal to the company, he does alot outside of the WWE.

His t-shirts may be garish and his promos may be cringeworthy at times but there is much to be celebrated about Cena too. Cena may appeal to kids but we were all kids once and the joy of discovering wrestling is something we shouldn't begrudge younger generations from experiencing just because the product is PG. Wrestling needs guys like John Cena, so I would like to confess that I am now a John Cena fan - yeah I said it!

*Prepares himself for *

I can't really disagree with any of that. Food for thought indeed...

Great article. John Cena has always been one of my favourites so you havent converted me, but this gives Cena haters something to think about. Well done.

I agree Cena was the one that got me into wrestling and atm he is one of the only ones keeping me into it

A great article to read. Excellent point about if you had a kid, then he'd be the perfect role-model.