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WWE News
WWE News: John Cena's finishing move to be re-named; made more corporate and kid-friendly Jan 10, 2009 - 5:30:37 PM
Rapper gimmick. Chain Gang. Now, the FU? The evolution of John Cena's corporate-and-kid-friendly character away from the rapper gimmick that pushed him into a main event slot on Smackdown in the mid-2000s will soon lead to another aspect of Cena's original character being done away with.
Cena's "FU" finisher will undergo a name-change to "The Throwback," reports Jim Ross. No word on whether the STFU submission hold will be re-named to The Holdback. Nevermind.
Ross says it "works for me and is certainly easier for me to communicate to my 5-year-old granddaughter who's a Cena fan of sorts."
Caldwell's Analysis: I'm just picturing (or audibly previewing) Michael Cole shouting "The Throwback" in the same sentence as "WWE Universe" repeatedly on Raw broadcasts and I'm starting to feel a little queasy. The name-change is fine to appeal to that kids audience that Vince McMahon claimed to Congress is such a teenie-weenie small portion of their viewing audience.
Wasn't "The Throwback" already used as the name for Cena's Curt-Hennig
style neck snap?
Jere
10 Jan 2009, 14:07
What's wrong Caldwell? The Throwback is vintage Cena! You can only get this
stuff in the WWE Universe! Anything can happen!
chris
10 Jan 2009, 14:52
eric is right, THE THROWBACKis the name of Cenas neck snap move, so if the
FU now uses this name, then what will that move be called?
Brock
10 Jan 2009, 15:02
This might not be a bad thing if they decide to turn Cena heel and make him
a corporate lackey, like The Rock when he was the Corporate Champ.
However, Cena is too over with the kids and sells too much merchandise for
this to happen though.
h
10 Jan 2009, 15:12
I really don't see why you hacks have a problem with the WWE Universe term.
It's a great marketing gimmick that has brought together many fans from
different age groups, socio-economic backgrounds and different levels of
fandom.
Jingo
10 Jan 2009, 15:23
He's not using the old throwback any more, he's going to modify it to a
sort of gentle tug on the neck incase kids copy it and rename it the gentle
tugback.
Cleavy
10 Jan 2009, 15:36
the old throwback will probably be renamed a modified neckbreaker or
innovative offense by Cole.
Matt
10 Jan 2009, 15:53
'Inovative offense' Lol
D
10 Jan 2009, 17:23
"Devin" sounds like the name of an ignorant jackass who doesn't know how to
watch his mouth. Just for the record, there is nothing "dumb" about this
Ph.D student. It's real easy to insult people from the comfort of a
computer. You are a coward. You probably still live in your mothers
basement watching Star Wars movies and running up her cable bill ordering
midget porn. You give wrestling fans a bad name. You are the reason why
they think that we all are stupid, ignorant and low brow. You are the
lowest of the low. You are a certifiable piece of garbage and you belong
among the lowest lifeforms imaginable. You are a sad, pitiful excuse for a
human being and every breath you take is an insult to God. You are a
spineless, gutless, coward who lacks the intelligence necessary to have a
civilized conversation. I'm surprised that you can even take the time to
respond to this. I would think that you would still be at your Klan
meeting, you racist piece of trailer park trash. Don't insult people that
are smarter than you. You can holler all of the racial insults you want.
You aren't intelligent enough to come up with anything else. You have to
overcompensate and give your worthless life some enjoyment by hurling
insults at people you don't know. Here is a newsflash Devin: it doesn't
make you a man. At the end of the day, when the computer goes off and I go
back to my normal every day life, you are still a loser. I'd rather be a
n_____ in your eyes than a "Devin" in anyone else's eyes. You have to look
in the mirror everyday and realize that no matter what you do, no matter
how many people you insult, you still are a waste of space with a pitiful
life.
curtis setter
10 Jan 2009, 17:38
I guess if wwe wants to re-name cena's finisher fine. But don't use the
term kid friendly when vince McMahon on record said that kids are a small
percentage of their viewing audience.
Randy
10 Jan 2009, 17:54
Don't mess with D! I love how people say the worst things when they're
protected by a computer; imagine if every computer had a camera that showed
everyone's face whenever people write something on the internet, bet things
would be different...Anyways, "the throwback" huh? How did Cena become
popular with kids in the first place? Because he was cool. Just like Austin
and The Rock (people forget how popular those two were with kids). Don't be
surprised if Cena's popularity dips next year once kids start growing up
and realizing what a lame ass character he has become.
J
10 Jan 2009, 17:57
who cares what its called, its still a terrible finisher, its just a
firemans carry
B.H.Z.
10 Jan 2009, 18:01
Grr, now saying "No, F YOU, Cena!" makes less sense. What are they gonna
call the STFU? Powerful Menacing Stretch - PMS?
D
10 Jan 2009, 18:02
Randy, thanks for the shout-out. lol. And on to more important matters at
hand, I agree with you about the Cena thing. The problem is that Vince
really isn't targeting kids. He's targeting their parents. What I mean by
that is that kids like rebellion. It's in our nature. They liked the Rock,
Stone Cold, and originally John Cena for that reason. Hollywood Hogan
became almost as popular as he was in his "Hulk" days even in his 40s
because he was rebellious. Vince wants their parents. He wants middle
American parents to be comfortable with their product. He wants it to be on
the level of NBA, NFL, etc. He's always wanted that. The only reason the
Attitude era existed was because of the competition with WCW. If it wasn't
for that, he not have ever done the Attitude era. It's a shame because John
Cena really is a good guy but they make him look like a sucker with all of
these cheesy things that they make him do. He's lost his edge and the sad
part about it is that it's not even his fault.
D
10 Jan 2009, 18:03
correction: if it wasn't for that he may not have ever done the Attitude
era.
Travis
10 Jan 2009, 18:39
Where is the "attitude"? Wrestling is good when there is an edge to it
(ie, Attitude Era, NWO, Pillman in ECW). Everything wrestling is really
feeling tired and dated.
Jon
10 Jan 2009, 20:23
Love how u guys are ripping on WWE for renaming moves and pushing guys who
are over with kids, well guess what, When did u all start watching it? AHHH
WHEN U WERE KIDS... so whats the probleM? hypocrites abit? and if u started
watching when u were older... how u say.. LOSER.
Alex
10 Jan 2009, 20:24
So the answer to wrestling being tired and dated is to revert back to a
formula that was popular a decade ago in the Attitude Era? Oh sweet irony.
I hate this wrestling needs an ‘edge’ theory - its never needed to be
edgy, what it needs is quality writing. You tuned in every week back in the
90’s because you were invested in the characters and their stories
because (for the most part) time, energy and effort went into establishing
and pushing them. Personally I think the WWE has shown surprising signs of
long term view booking recently and actually started thinking about
establishing wrestlers and letting them grow rather than just pushing them.
If they can keep that up they’ll find their feet again and wrestling will
hit the peaks it did during the Attitude Era. But that’s another topic
completely.
On the subject at hand I can’t really see any problem with The Throwback
name change - beyond the obvious we must anything associated with Cena
thread. To be honest I’m surprised FU lasted as long as it did and not
just for the PG audience but because it lost relevance after Lesnar left
and when Cena turned face and phased out the rapping gimmick. Plus if the
WWE pumps out some more the retro old block logo merchandise with Cena’s
name on it Throwback fits.
Ponch
10 Jan 2009, 20:27
They've taken wrestling out of wrestling entertainment. No blood, no
swearing, no bikini competitions. Where's the entertainment? I've watched
wrestling since I was a kid, and when I found out what it really was, I
became more passionate about the business. I got it, and I've stuck by it
for awhile. Does WWE think that the kids are going to forget that the move
was called the FU? Most kids are smarter than that. WWE wants to make their
product more kid-friendly, but they forget kids don't have money to buy the
product. This is wrestling not Sesame Street on ice. Vince, remember where
the money comes from.
h
10 Jan 2009, 20:35
Kids may not have money, but their parents, the same people that will fork
over 70 bucks for a video game, are probably going to dish 40 buck for PPVs
each month. And I love how people are complaining that WWE is becoming
kid-friendly, apart from the the years of the Attitude Era and a few years
after, it had always been a family oriented show.
TheGuy
10 Jan 2009, 21:32
I'd say that this is probably the worst period in the WWE since the
mid-nineties. Hell, they're even going back to the old cartoon-character
gimmicks with The Boogeyman, Kizarny, Kung Fu Naki....I'm half expecting to
see Repo Man make his glorious return.
As far as Cena. I'm not a Cena fan at all. No "D", I don't dislike Cena
because I think I'm "cool". On quite the contrast, most people seem to like
Cena because it makes them "cool". I dislike Cena because he is too kid
friendly. He has a limited move-set and he's honestly just not that
entertaining to watch in the ring. He's the modern day Hulk Hogan. When/if
this down period is over, Cena will be one of the main characters that will
be associated with it because he is the current face of the product. The
kids who love him now will eventually grow up, see how lame Cena's
character really is, and move on to liking other wrestlers with actual
talent (MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Randy Orton, etc.) It's just the way it will
work.
bscrib
10 Jan 2009, 22:11
Coming soon to Raw
Kane reverts to his alter ego, Isaac Yankem, and battles the another
repackaged entertainer in the WWE Universe, Ron "The Tooth D.K." Killings.
Yankem beats his opponent with his Tombstone Piledriver- renamed "The
Drill".
I think the most amusing thing about the current WWE direction is that one
minute they seem to be marketing to younger kids, then the next match is a
Diva tag team match with Divas wearing some non-kid-friendly wardrobes.
It's like watching Sesame Street one minute, and soft-core porn the next -
all on the same show.
Pick a direction and go with it....
As Cena would say " WWE is Poopy"
Moderator
10 Jan 2009, 22:18
offensive language removed ... thanks for bringing to our attention...
Jeremy Hegg
11 Jan 2009, 00:59
I really don't see how this makes much sense. I think the FU is a pretty
stupid name which was just a play on the F5 when Cena was feuding with
Lesnar way back when. But people have been used to calling it the FU for
the past 6 years, you can't just change it now. The Throwback is the name
of another move Cena does, though not very often. The reverse neckbreaker,
hence the name Throw back. The FU doesn't throw you back, it throws you
down. The Pedigree was named when Hunter Hearst-Helmsley was a blue blood,
yet they never changed it when he became Triple H. Remember how they were
supposed to be called Entertainers now instead of Superstars? That is until
they got a deal with WGN to bring back the show 'Superstars' that is. Vince
McMahon hates the term 'fans' so he changed it to 'WWE Universe'. We'll see
if this lasts, or is never mentioned again. In related news, the Batista
Bomb will be renamed the Drop Down (we can't very well use the term Bomb
with kids now can we?) And Edge will be renamed the Rated PG Superstar.
Twitter
11 Jan 2009, 03:09
Yeah, Vince McMahon make that statement over a year ago about six months
before WWE decided to reclassify itself as a PG product.
I mean really, get the dates right, there's enough to whinge about without
resorting to embellishing facts and distorting dates.
abdul
11 Jan 2009, 07:13
John Cena Will get booed now WWE Is turning him into a childs toy like hes
a baby he isnt
Dialing 'h' for hick, the reason why WWE Universe is a stupid idea is
because a: it's meant to draw in kids, thus ISOLATE, not UNITE fans, and b,
if you really want to unite fans, call them FANS. WWE is ashamed of the
words fan and wrestling, hence the Sports Entertainment we get in the WWE
Universe. Socio Economic? Are you KIDDING me? the old Fan Nation and RAW
Zones were just fine.
Alex
12 Jan 2009, 13:58
People have become far too worked up over something that is ultimately
insignificant - seriously whether or not the WWE uses the WWE Universe
branding or not is really completely irrelevant, no is demanding you
introduce yourself in conversation as being of the WWE Universe. The whole
thing is no more or less annoying to me than the Fan Nation tag or just
'WWE Fans'. I will however point out that the reason the WWE has done it is
incredibly simple - branding is king.
The WWE Universe concept isn't about attracting fans, kids or otherwise, do
you honestly believe that kids are more or less likely to join a WWE
branded website/message board/community based on whether its called WWE
Universe or Fan Nation or any other name you care to attach to it? Of
course not, they could care less what its called as long as its WWE
branded. The WWE Universe concept is born of the desire to entice
advertisers. The WWE wants to brand their fanbase as unique so it becomes a
more focused and mutli-layered product for advertisers to work with, my
guess is they want with universe because its bigger and more expansive than
nation.
A,A, Norman
13 Jan 2009, 03:26
Oh gaaaaahhh, WWE! The Throwback?! At least buy it off with a plausible
change, like telling us what F-U stands for, then just use that as it's
proper name. No, it doesn't stand for "that." It stands for Fireman's...
something. Seriously, the F-U looks like a fireman's carry, so the "F" can
stand for fireman's. Plus, every kid loves a firefighter, right? Then, the
"U" can stand for... Underarmour, as in UNDERARMOUR ENDORESEMENT!!!!! No...
under-something. Fireman's Underarm, or something. The Throwback...
somebody kill me now.
Jeff Spicoli
13 Jan 2009, 21:04
I can't wait till John Cena introduces the reacharound or the Cleveland
Steamer.
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Rapper gimmick. Chain Gang. Now, the FU? The evolution of John Cena's corporate-and-kid-friendly character away from the rapper gimmick that pushed him into a main event slot on Smackdown in the mid-2000s will soon lead to another aspect of Cena's original character being done away with.
