The D’Amore Drop is a recurring guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D’Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D’Amore is the current owner of indie promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling.
John Cena’s heel turn was just as shocking to some inside the wrestling business as it was to fans. WWE flipped a generational babyface into a bitter, angry villain heading into what may be his final WrestleMania main event next weekend against Cody Rhodes in Las Vegas.
I love Cena’s darker take on the character he’s played for two decades. Some fans question the logic, but as somebody who has been part of booking thousands of hours of professional wrestling, I think it tracks perfectly.
When Cena became the face of WWE two decades ago, a chunk of the Attitude Era fanbase rejected him as if the move from the edgier product it loved to more family-friendly fare was John’s idea. Some fans booed him relentlessly — despite the great matches, the entertaining mic work and the Make-A-Wish record.
But now, at the end of his legendary career, in-character Cena has remembered those years of never being able to do enough. He’s rich, he’s a Hollywood star and now he wants the record-breaking 17th world title — not for the fans, but for all himself.
I love this story … and the next chapter should be John Cena beating Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41.
WWE’s chief creative officer, Paul Levesque, tells long-form stories better than anyone in the biz, and the best money story coming out of Las Vegas would be Cody chasing a heel Cena for the title.
“The Nature Boy” Ric Flair should be involved next weekend too, although he is under a legends-type deal with AEW. WWE recognizes Flair as a 16-time world champion — the same number as Cena — even though in truth, Ric held world titles on at least 21 occasions. Cena has already gleefully promised to “ruin wrestling” for the generations of fans who idolize Ric. I’ll talk more about the AEW vs. WWE relationship in a future column, but, for the fans, it would be great to have Ric be there for this match.
Just like Wayne Gretzky was there for Alex Ovechkin breaking his NHL goal scoring record, Flair’s presence at WrestleMania 41 adds to the historic nature of Cena’s chase for No. 17.
Obviously, for Cena to win, Cody must lose. Some people have a real issue with that, arguing Cody “needs” to successfully defend the WWE title at WrestleMania in the same way Hulk Hogan and Roman Reigns did.
Well, those examples skip two other massive stars who never successfully defended at the Granddaddy of the All: The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Like those two, Cody doesn’t “need” to win any one specific match. That was made clear two years ago, when he lost to a heel Roman Reigns in the WrestleMania 39 main event.
“They ruined the story,” according to a lot of Monday morning booking committees (including Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani, who hated the WrestleMania 39 main event result at the time).
But they didn’t ruin it — they told a longer, deeper, more satisfying story.
That’s exactly what I think WWE will do again, starting at WrestleMania 41.
Speaking of WrestleMania headliners, I know for a fact that NXT newcomer Jordynne Grace turned down more lucrative offers elsewhere because she wanted to bet on herself. Grace believes she can become a massive star in NXT, a bigger superstar in WWE and go on to headline WrestleMania. I, for one, have learned to never doubt “The Juggernaut.”
Jordynne made me a believer during our time together in TNA from 2018-24. I knew Jordynne was a generational talent from the moment I saw her, and after bringing her to TNA, she continued to level up over and over again.
Mark my words: Jordynne Grace will headline WrestleMania in the next few years.
I was excited to see Kevin Knight signed to AEW and immediately get a huge pay-per-view match with mega-talent Will Ospreay at AEW Dynasty last Sunday.
Ospreay often has the match of the night, but Knight matched him in what was a fantastic debut in AEW.
My former protege and NJPW Junior Heavyweight legend Kushida mentored Knight, and first put Kevin on my radar. While we couldn’t sign Kevin to TNA because he was already contracted to NJPW, I made sure to book him as often as we could. Then when I started Maple Leaf Pro last year, Knight was one of the first talents I contacted to be part the launch.
AEW boss Tony Khan has another great talent on a roster loaded with five-star performers.
You can check out Knight and Kushida’s Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling main-event match from February against The Kingdom here.
Read more from Scott D’Amore’s “The D’Amore Drop” every Thursday on Uncrowned.
The D’Amore Drop is a recurring guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D’Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D’Amore is the current owner of indie promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling.
John Cena’s heel turn was just as shocking to some inside the wrestling business as it was to fans. WWE flipped a generational babyface into a bitter, angry villain heading into what may be his final WrestleMania main event next weekend against Cody Rhodes in Las Vegas.
Advertisement
I love Cena’s darker take on the character he’s played for two decades. Some fans question the logic, but as somebody who has been part of booking thousands of hours of professional wrestling, I think it tracks perfectly.
When Cena became the face of WWE two decades ago, a chunk of the Attitude Era fanbase rejected him as if the move from the edgier product it loved to more family-friendly fare was John’s idea. Some fans booed him relentlessly — despite the great matches, the entertaining mic work and the Make-A-Wish record.
But now, at the end of his legendary career, in-character Cena has remembered those years of never being able to do enough. He’s rich, he’s a Hollywood star and now he wants the record-breaking 17th world title — not for the fans, but for all himself.
I love this story … and the next chapter should be John Cena beating Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41.
Advertisement
WWE’s chief creative officer, Paul Levesque, tells long-form stories better than anyone in the biz, and the best money story coming out of Las Vegas would be Cody chasing a heel Cena for the title.
“The Nature Boy” Ric Flair should be involved next weekend too, although he is under a legends-type deal with AEW. WWE recognizes Flair as a 16-time world champion — the same number as Cena — even though in truth, Ric held world titles on at least 21 occasions. Cena has already gleefully promised to “ruin wrestling” for the generations of fans who idolize Ric. I’ll talk more about the AEW vs. WWE relationship in a future column, but, for the fans, it would be great to have Ric be there for this match.
Advertisement
Just like Wayne Gretzky was there for Alex Ovechkin breaking his NHL goal scoring record, Flair’s presence at WrestleMania 41 adds to the historic nature of Cena’s chase for No. 17.
Obviously, for Cena to win, Cody must lose. Some people have a real issue with that, arguing Cody “needs” to successfully defend the WWE title at WrestleMania in the same way Hulk Hogan and Roman Reigns did.
Well, those examples skip two other massive stars who never successfully defended at the Granddaddy of the All: The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Like those two, Cody doesn’t “need” to win any one specific match. That was made clear two years ago, when he lost to a heel Roman Reigns in the WrestleMania 39 main event.
Advertisement
“They ruined the story,” according to a lot of Monday morning booking committees (including Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani, who hated the WrestleMania 39 main event result at the time).
But they didn’t ruin it — they told a longer, deeper, more satisfying story.
That’s exactly what I think WWE will do again, starting at WrestleMania 41.
Speaking of WrestleMania headliners, I know for a fact that NXT newcomer Jordynne Grace turned down more lucrative offers elsewhere because she wanted to bet on herself. Grace believes she can become a massive star in NXT, a bigger superstar in WWE and go on to headline WrestleMania. I, for one, have learned to never doubt “The Juggernaut.”
Advertisement
Jordynne made me a believer during our time together in TNA from 2018-24. I knew Jordynne was a generational talent from the moment I saw her, and after bringing her to TNA, she continued to level up over and over again.
Mark my words: Jordynne Grace will headline WrestleMania in the next few years.
I was excited to see Kevin Knight signed to AEW and immediately get a huge pay-per-view match with mega-talent Will Ospreay at AEW Dynasty last Sunday.
Ospreay often has the match of the night, but Knight matched him in what was a fantastic debut in AEW.
My former protege and NJPW Junior Heavyweight legend Kushida mentored Knight, and first put Kevin on my radar. While we couldn’t sign Kevin to TNA because he was already contracted to NJPW, I made sure to book him as often as we could. Then when I started Maple Leaf Pro last year, Knight was one of the first talents I contacted to be part the launch.
Advertisement
AEW boss Tony Khan has another great talent on a roster loaded with five-star performers.
You can check out Knight and Kushida’s Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling main-event match from February against The Kingdom here.
Read more from Scott D’Amore’s “The D’Amore Drop” every Thursday on Uncrowned.
