LogFAQs > #941722931

32. Kevin Owens
Score: 67
# of Lists: 6

Kevin Owens/Steen is one of the all around most entertaining wrestlers in modern history. There is an elite tier of performer who can blend comedy with an aura of toughness with the obvious example being Steve Austin. For my money, Owens has everything necessary to get to the same level as Austin did, but unfortunately things have never quite broke that way in WWE. Still, I think its clear his WWE run has done him favours in this list in fact, he is the highest-ranking NXT graduate on the list.

His career will always be indelibly linked with that of El Generico/Sami Zayn, with both breaking into the business together in the Canadian independents, before beginning to be booked as both a team and as opponents in the likes of CZW and PWG. Its PWG where Kevin would begin to break out as not just a worker but a character, entertaining not just on promos but also in interactions during his matches, and commentary during everyone elses. Steen on commentary produces some of PWGs most memorable moments
Steen would reach new heights as his team with Generico began to get booked in ROH, leading to a feud with the Briscoes that gave us the first Ladder War in ROH, my personal favourite ladder match or ROH match. A few years later Steen would win the ROH title, and around this time would feud with Generico in the best executed version of that feud to date, resulting in a feud of the year award in the Observer.

While Generico was signed some time before Steen, their WWE careers would quickly become intertwined again when Steen showed up the night Sami Zayn would win the title, powerbombing him on the stage in a memorable angle that signified that these two would never break apart from each other. Owens had a short run as NXT champion before moving on to probably his most significant WWE program his Raw debut against John Cena. Delivering some of WWEs best matches of 2015 with the top guy in the business (and one of his last programs as that) should have been the arrival of a certified Superstar

Of course, its WWE, and it never quite materialized like that but hes still one of the biggest success stories of NXT or the recent WWE. And while maybe hes rarely delivering in ring at the level he did in the independents, hes still consistently one of the most entertaining, compelling and convincing characters in wrestling and well always have great moments like the Festival of Friendship to take from his WWE run.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1036033213107651; Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. The Briscoes (November 30 2007)

31. John Cena
Score: 68
# of Lists: 4

(Guest writeup: Eddv)

I imagine seeing John Cena this high on a list like this would send the circa 2009 APWT that existed when I first came back to wrestling a series of shocks but having missed the rough transitional years of 2006 and 2007, it has always been plain for me to see that John Cena is and always has been the star of our generation.

He goes out and turns a horse "dookie" promo idea into something fun and memorable. He got a PPV feud with Johnny Ace to become something we still laugh about and have fun with in the 2010s. He served as the catalyst for every single good story WWE has told since 2004 save maybe Bryan at mania 30. He had classic matches with Umaga, Edge, Michaels, Hunter, Angle, Punk, Bryan, Lesnar, Rusev. Theres no one he crossed paths with who didn't at least temporarily feel like a big effing deal as a result. I was temporarily fooled into thinking Cryme Tyme was gonna be huge just because they were associated with Cena. He is the man who singlehandedly delayed the current dog dookie WWE from being totally exposed for an extra decade.

He does all this while working a style that, if you weren't too busy whining about it, was noticeably identical to how Bret worked, just less crisp. He's not a ring general yet unlike a Triple H he holds his own with every talent he crosses paths with and made the matches the dramatic affairs they tended to be. He is the entire genesis of my belief that you don't need to be a greater ring technician to be a good worker. Despite how sloppy he is he brings so much emotion and psychology to the table. He gets you to maybe temporarily believe The Miz is a bad ass. He can work a crowd better than anyone ever has, even when a large portion of the crowd was demanding and insisting that Cena was terrible and I don't say that lightly. I know the split crowd stuff mars his legacy to some respected voices but in the end I believe they weren't rejecting Cena, they were rejecting WWE and just didn't know it yet.

And whats crazy he has done all of this with just horrendous booking. He had the talent to be an all around great. There is a fairly basic debate in wrestling, the Vince Jr vs Vince Sr debate, where you think the best quality a star can have is to be relatable or to be larger than life. Cena was booked exclusively as a larger than life superhero for much of his career to his extreme detriment. How much better could Cena have been if he had ever been allowed to show vulnerability. Cena is a great relatable guy. He's got the immature sense of humor that Triple H wishes he had, he genuinely loves people and kids. In the wake of so much of wrestling being filled with grifters and sex pests, John Cena stands a league apart as what you would want wrestlers to be like - big goofy frat boys with a heart of gold.

Steiner note: It's interesting that Cena ranks so highly while only being on 4 lists. This lines up with my thoughts that a large portion of the fanbase does not give Cena his just due.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x17af0f; John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam (June 11, 2006)

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Maniac64