The WWE depicted John Cena as an "old man veteran" to build up his feud with Rusev on Monday Night RAW, but it didn't go over well with everyone.
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According to Wrestlingheadlines.com, there has been a lot of talk backstage about the WWE's portrayal of Cena this past Monday not being a good idea, including one person who allegedly said it was a "shockingly bad idea."
That same anonymous person also reportedly said that it's a bad direction for Cena's character and that they were shocked the "Cenation" leader was going along with it and didn't know what he was thinking.
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The WWE had Rusev and Lana run down Cena's career on Monday Night RAW, showing the highlights and lowlights while Cena came out and said he may have been around for a while, but he'll beat the mighty Russian at Fastlane later this month.
Per the report, the WWE is looking to mold Cena into a storyline that is similar to a Bruno Sammartino arc that occurred in the 1970s.
At that time, Sammartino was the most popular wrestler and the focus was put on another up-and-comer, which at that time was Bob Backlund.
Cena is the top merchandise seller and is very over with the women and children in the WWE audience and at just age 37, he likely has a lot more time in the ring left. This is where some people backstage believe the storyline doesn't have legs.
Cena is set to battle Rusev for the United States Championship at Fastlane on Feb. 22 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.
The match was originally slated for WrestleMania 31 next month, but the WWE moved it up likely to go along with the free promotion of the WWE Network for the month of February to garner more subscriptions.
The WWE is likely to play up the angle of young heel rookie against experienced babyface veteran, despite the many eyebrows it has raised.
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