Frank Sinatra of Wrestling John Cena Sr
- Christopher Annino
- Jun 15, 2016
- 4 min read
John Cena Sr is defiantly someone who represents the sport of professional wrestling in a classy way. I have had the pleasure to witness John in action in the ring several times and just like blue eyes Frank Sinatra he has that ability to control an audience. He can either cause them to be angry or happy with him but no matter what he is one of the few individuals that no matter what the fans respect. He is also someone who puts his name on up and coming talent to help them fine tune their craft. He gives his blood, sweat and tears for this business. “Pro wrestling has always been a big part of my life and I am just honored to have the privilege to share the ring with some of these amazing athletes and talents” said John.
Getting to know John Cena Sr as a person I have found that he is very cultured and enjoys all kinds of music especially classical “I find classical music to be very soothing and calming. I enjoy listening to Mozart, Beethoven and the Boston Symphony. When I was a kid I walked to the Salem YMCA every Sunday they would have a classical music concert. On the way back we would go to the old McDonalds and we would have some burgers and fries” Cena Sr later added “I don’t mind rap or pop music if done the right way and what I mean by that is without the vulgar language.”
Cena Sr reflected on some of his favorite wrestlers that he use to watch “My father would take me to matches I guess that’s where I was bitten by the wrestling bug. And when we got cable TV I bought it so that the kids could watch it. I would also take my sons to the matches when they were old enough. There is only one wrestler that comes to mind when you talk about class professionalism, athleticism and outstanding in ring ability and that is Bruno Sammartino. The best villains were guys like the great Yukon Eric, Ivan Koloff, Walter Killer Kowalski and Iron Sheik. A great villain adds to the fantasy like Star Wars the empire vs. the rebel alliance.”
John Cena Sr is one of the best managers in pro wrestling today he has managed some great athletes in this sport one recently he managed Mega Muerte at a Pro Wrestling Academy Show in Blackstone, Massachusetts. He offered his insight in regards to managing “Paul Bearer, Capt Lou Albano, The Grand Wizard, Precious Paul Elering, Jim Cornette, Paul Ellering, Sherri Martel, Paul Heyman, Freddy Blassie, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and JJ Dillion were some of the best managers in this business. There is one manager that stands out the most when I first started I promoted shows I booked the Grand Wizard. The Grand Wizard exemplifies the role of a great manager, he was amazing on the microphone had perfect timing made the wrestler look good while he looked good. The manager completes the role of the wrestler it’s his job to make the wrestler shine. All Paul Heyman has to do is do a gesture and he gets the crowd to react that is powerful. It’s like making a banana split you can’t make a banana split without a banana and it’s hard to create a great wrestler without a manager. The wrestling world needs managers they need them to help those wrestlers who are outstanding in the ring but who lack microphone skills.”
John Cena Sr is a strong advocate for independent pro wrestling and their talent. “A lot of people over look just how talented these guys are because they are on the independent circuit. It is very similar with the Boston Red Sox too many people have the mindset that going to a Paw Sox game is a grade below going to an actual Boston Red Sox game. When in all actuality it’s not you will see great athletes who maybe need to be polished on a few things, but the only difference is salary and the fact that these athletes are hungrier. And it’s the same with watching an independent pro wrestling match you have a lot of talented athletes who are hungry and are doing this for peanuts” Cena Sr later added “Walter Killer Kowalski once said “shoot to the moon when you go up you may catch a star” what he meant by that was work hard and entertain hard and you may catch your dream. The young wrestlers in the Indy scene are outstanding wrestlers. You have RJ Brewer, The demon Luis Ortiz, Todd Hanson, Tony Roy, Danny Miles, Brickhouse Baker, Cargill Vinton and you have ROH top athletes competing at a high intensity level. Pro Wrestling Academy Connecticut is another I watched them and I was astonished on how great they truly were. Metaphorically the Indy wrestlers are like a rose. With time and work it begins to blossom into something beautiful.”
John Cena Sr is a very strong advocate on women’s professional wrestling. Several female wrestlers that John Cena Sr that get his seal of approval. Victoria, Mistress Belmont, Beth Phoenix, ODB, The Bella Twins, Nikki James, Trish Stratus, and Natalya Niedhart. “Natalya is a true technical wrestler and probably best understands ring psychology better than anyone. The girls can wrestle and I say give them a chance to show everyone they can wrestle. I was doing a show with Johnny Nash first women’s ladders and chairs match. It was an unbelievable performance by women I think if they had the opportunity that they could hold their own with the men. These women are yes beautiful but they are also athletes that given a chance can wrestle.”
Cena Sr ended with some great life advice “There are a lot of young men and women in this business feel that because they haven’t made it to WWE that they should give up. My advice to them is to never give up you might not be able to be in WWE but you can still be a great wrestler. This is what I always told my sons believe in yourself and believe in what you do. Be courteous to yourself and the people around you and you will succeed and that is the key to success in anything” said Cena Sr.
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