John Cena was at the top of the WWE mountain for the better part of the decade from WrestleMania 20 to WrestleMania 30. In modern history, there is no bigger box office draw than Cena, who was the undisputed face of WWE.
And while WWE has tried to replace Cena as the face of the company with Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Becky Lynch, none of them have attracted fans like Cena. And in Cena's mind, that's an issue in WWE right now.
Speaking on After The Bell, Cena weighed in on WWE not having an undisputed draw at the top of the card, believing now more than ever it's a collective group who help carry the company.
"SmackDown, Raw, NXT, you don't have one person you go to see. If you go to a show, you go to see eight or nine people. I don't think there's ever been more potential under one roof than right now. The Attitude Era was the era of universal popularity. The opening match had a definable storyline into the main event and everyone in-between had some sort of narrative. Now, we have a few loosely crafted narratives and some big storylines and a lot of matches for the sake of action. But I also believe that's on the performers to make something out of that. The best scenario, when they tell you, 'I don't know what we want tonight.' That's when the rap guy was born, that's when the US Title challenge was born. When they don't know what they want, they're giving you the freedom to create. And when they strictly tell you, you still have freedom, but it's defined in what they give you. It takes being brave and doing stupid things and hoping they get over and maybe you can wear wristbands when you're 43 and have it seem comfortable. I do think there's never been more athletic talent under one roof than right now," said Cena.
Cena believes there are characters in WWE who appeal to specific segments of the audience, but there isn't the "frontman" who helps define an era how he and others before him did.
Cena is scheduled to appear on Friday's WWE SmackDown to answer Bray Wyatt's challenge for a Firefly Fun House match at WrestleMania 36.
If you use any of the quotes above, please give a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
