Cena and Miz go all-out on each other

[KaiserGlider]

This segment fucking ruled. See it now.

[Messiah]

Cena probably had one of my favorite wrestling quotes of all-time in this segment.

"If I was really this black arts manipulator, pulling all the strings. This close to WrestleMania, you think I would be standing in a ring, toe to toe, face to face, with YOU?! HELLLLL NAH!"

"You're not The Undertaker, but if you press me again, you a dead man."

This is going to be an awesome feud.

[Hanley!]

I'm never as into Cena's promos as everyone else. The dude has great delivery, but my problem with him is that he really does just say the same old shit over and over again. And it's funny, because one of the major elements of John Cena's one promo that he does is chastising his opponent for saying the same stuff that everybody else has already been saying about him for the last decade.

So in the one promo that Cena always cuts, he mocks his opponent for cutting a repetitive promo. But the thing is, when the Miz is feuding with someone else, he doesn't cut that promo. So while Cena blasts his opponents for their lack of originality, it's only his act that's actually suffering from it.

[Str8Shooter]

Cena ethered Miz there. I get Cena and his big promos being repetitive, but really, aren't every big time wrestlers promos same-y after a while?

I don't get Miz ripping Cena for running off to do movies when Miz's whole character is wanting to be in movies and be a big star. Shouldn't he appreciate that? Now if he came out and said Cena is taking all his roles and now is trying to ruin his movie career like he did his wrestling career, then maybe it makes sense.

Regardless this could be a fun feud. I still think it's a waste of Cena at the biggest show of the year in a midcard mixed tag. He should be in something higher profile, you've only got a handful of Mania's left for him perhaps. Make them count.

[Hanley!]

Cena ethered Miz there. I get Cena and his big promos being repetitive, but really, aren't every big time wrestlers promos same-y after a while?

Not to the same extent as Cena. Unless you include guys like Undertaker, but he only cuts a couple of promos a year. Actually, Paul Heyman is almost as bad these days too. Much as I love him on the mic, again I get sick of him saying the same thing almost every time.

Another problem I have with Cena's promos is he rarely defends himself these days. If the heel is running him down for being a hypocrite, he should have something to say to that, rather than just getting his shots in on the other guy.

He is still a great talker, but he just needs some new material in order for his promos to really have an impact on me at this point.

I don't get Miz ripping Cena for running off to do movies when Miz's whole character is wanting to be in movies and be a big star. Shouldn't he appreciate that? Now if he came out and said Cena is taking all his roles and now is trying to ruin his movie career like he did his wrestling career, then maybe it makes sense.

Yeah, that was an obvious missed opportunity. Miz could have also claimed that he's a big movie star but he manages to do it without missing so much time from WWE, because unlike Cena he's a hard worker and he's passionate about the business. That sort of thing. Would have made a stronger point.

[KaiserGlider]

I thought it was one of the best promos Cena has ever cut, at least top 5 imo. After all these years the dude's mic game just keeps getting better and better. The creative freedom he has gotten on Smackdown has allowed him to bring out an edge to his character that he couldn't really utilize during the PG SuperCena years. Almost heeling it up with his tone at times, but still staying true to himself and his fans. I'm digging this "no BS" version of Cena. He knows who he is, he's comfortable with it, and everyone else can either get on board with it or fuck off.

I can see why his promo material may seem repetitive to some. The problem I have with it is sort of the same. He tends to run down all his opponents like this, from Styles to Miz. It makes it less of a big deal if they beat Cena because he just belittled them, and if he beats them it doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment for him. I guess hat's more of a problem with Cena's character in general, and always has been. His character is so indestructible that you can never actually, really beat him. Even after Lesnar squashed him Cena came right back and was about to beat him when Rollins broke up the feud.

Miz did a great job too. He sounded like he really believed everything he said. I'm glad he is getting this spot; he deserves it. I'm still not interested in their match (whether it's singles or mixed tag), but their feud has captured my attention a lot more than I thought it would.

One last thing. I found it strange and somewhat irritating that even Cena straight up said he should be facing The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. That had to have been a shoot, right? I still don't get why they're not pulling the trigger on that match this year considering all the buzz it has gotten. Even the face of the company said on live TV how obvious it is. But nope, they're gonna randomly stick Taker with the Sufferin Succotash Son instead, even though they have no reason to feud and that match makes no sense on paper. It's just bizarre.

[PorkChop]

I'm a bit bored of the "You're at the top but you're not the best, you're a suck up" promos from Cena's opponents.

It was a good promo but we've seen it before.

[Hanley!]

@KaiserGlider, I think the "shoot" elements that they keep adding to these promos actually hurts them more than it helps these days. When Cena belittles his opponents, it's almost breaking kayfabe sometimes because the implication is that he's the top guy in the company so even when he's not the champion and even when he loses big matches, he's still above everyone else - he's still the most important guy there. And it does nothing to elevate the matches that he's trying to promote.

When he told Styles that Styles wasn't anywhere near his level, after Styles had already beaten him three times, it just told the audience that the result at the Royal Rumble didn't matter - he'd always be above Styles no matter what. That didn't exactly make me more enthusiastic to watch that match.

The Undertaker comment was also irritating. I mean, it was a good burn on Miz, but it also just buried the Wrestlemania match that he's actually having. Why the fuck would they want to do that? People are already complaining about how weak a match it is for Cena. The best response to that would be for the company to change their plans and give Cena a different match. The second best response would be to go ahead with the match anyway but do whatever it takes to prove to the fans that it is going to be an awesome feud/match. The worst thing they could be doing though his going ahead with the weak match and getting John Cena to acknowledge how weak it is to get a cheap pop from the crowd.

He could have just said that if he was a master manipulator he'd be fighting for the title at Wrestlemania instead of fighting the Miz. It still would have been a burn on the Miz, but it wouldn't have broken kayfabe, it wouldn't have made the Cena vs Miz feud look even weaker than it already is on paper, and it wouldn't have reminded fans about the bigger match that they're not actually going to see.