Is John Cena Wrestling's Last Real Superstar?

 

Tonight, after 25 years in the wrestling business John Cena will wrestle his last match. Love him or hate him, whether for his grit, his kind of goofy persona, or his wrestling style. There is no denying he is a legend within the business, and carried WWE on his back from the mid-2000s to the late 2010's.

Which brings up a point for this article. Is he the last true superstar of professional wrestling? Now when I say "superstar" I mean someone who transcends the business of pro wrestling. A Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Stone Cold, The Rock, and Batista type. The general population knows where they got their start, but know them for more than squared circle battles.

In today's wrestling landscape and pro sports in general, there is a push that no person is bigger than the brand of the organization. It happens in the NBA, the NFL, baseball, boxing, sister company UFC. While it was trending that way under Vince McMahon, it definitely is the standard under the TKO regime.

While fans reflect on his career and mourn its coming to an end. I think its also a realization of a end of multiple eras. With Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton the two holdovers from the Ruthless Aggression era, thats over with. The PG era which Cena led, in the ground. The reality era which is the last he was a major part of, morphed into the current more sports oriented era. That nostalgia kicks in and fans can't help but think about the joy Cena bought them in those eras.

Guys like Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns have and are continuing to dip their feet in outside waters. I dont think if they are successful they would be allowed to get too big. Which means for all his accomplishments inside the ring, and now outside. Cena just maybe the last big crossover star from the confines of a ring. 

In many aspects it truly is the end of an era.