wwe events [WWE]: RAW, NXT, Superstars & SmackDown (S & R Thread 118) - Page 18

quote Lazzara

welcome to the club. finally in cenation

Pft.. never. I just know how to show props both ways. Not a hater like most of ya'll.

That was a great segment, horrible feeling Cena will win Sunday.

Glad the King is getting better, great news to end RAW!

Probably one of the best ways they could have ended RAW. By the end I almost forgot about Lawler, and now we get this positive news about Lawler. Hopefully when I wake up tomorrow I'll be able to read that he survived.

Props to Cole for sticking it out through this show, and all the Superstars that continued.

doesnt suprise me that cena did a epic promo,cant wait to see it,guy gets way too much hate sometimes but hey he busts his A** for the business,been a cena fan for years now, hope he takes the title sunday from punk.

i dont think cena's character is flat,actully really enjoyed the promo they pulled off and cena had done it great,really really hope he wins on sunday,and it will be a good match,great ending to hart decking punk in the head then punk crawling away grasping the title he will lose on sunday to the Doctor of Thuganomics!

quote HilaryDuffGta

i dont think cena's character is flat,actully really enjoyed the promo they pulled off and cena had done it great,really really hope he wins on sunday,and it will be a good match,great ending to hart decking punk in the head then punk crawling away grasping the title he will lose on sunday to the Doctor of Thuganomics!

A flat character is one who does not grow or develop, which Cena sung as a virtue last night. He, as a character, has repeatedly refused to grow whatsoever in the face of any experiences. An admittedly good promos here and there alongside his many pros does not change the fact of this con for me, especially because 1 good promo is a short thing in time while his character is long term thing will have to deal with.

Personally, I just find flat characters in what is essentially the main character role (that's what being The Face of WWE pretty much means, he is the top protagonist) dull unless the character is REALLY interesting, easy to get attached to, or story doesn't drag on for too long.

I don't mean one has to make drastic changes to personality and who one is, it's just about natural progression through things and how one reacts to things aka a dynamic character.

Let's take an example of The Rock. The Rock, while at his core the same character, is more dynamic as he showed evolution over his career and switched in eras. There is when he started out, The Nation of Domination time of development, when he started hitting more to a face, Corporate Champion time, face alongside Rock/Sock Connection with how his character developed with Mick Foley interactions a bit while staying true to self, Hollywood Rock, etc. He evolves over time as a character.

Cena lacks any character growth ever since he went from Doctor of Thuganomics day to his current persona. Sure, he's thrown opportunities for it to happen, but it always ends up with the same determinator who stands for popular virtues and loves the people personality aka what I consider a generic hero. The traits can work when the right wrapping and all sorts of other things with it, but there are factors. Also toss in fact I think Cena suffers from overexposure at points. Also I'd take the above, but I actually don't see it as a dual edged sword. I rather have someone who can deliver a stellar performance all the time instead of when the other side puts in all the work of giving you something to work with. I mean, all of Cena's points are things Punk is acting out to make himself into the villain. It really just comes back to Punk doing the core action and Cena just reacting off of what others give him to work with.

Anyway, I personally don't see why being a self-admitted flat character is a major Take That, which is one of reasons promo personally falls flat from an emotional level. That's just how it registers to me. Of course, I know me telling you this won't change your emotions on it, nor should it. You and others got joy out of it, which I actually envy since emotional satisfaction is what's most important and I recognize the delivery as being stellar. It's just that glorifying being a flat character falls flat to me.

I never said promo was bad I acknowledge it was great promo, even if it doesn't do it for me emotionally. It doesn't do it for me emotionally because of literary analysis reasons. But arguing Cena not being a flat or static character and Punk not being a dynamic character is outright wrong.

His criticism spells out 100% why Punk wouldn't be flat. In specific, he noted Punk's past things he's done and how he's changed himself progressively throughout his career aka character development. And pretty much said that because he keeps changing, because he's not the same guy he was when he came in, he has not found himself yet.

Now, from a philosophical standpoint, that can raise various things which work in Cena's favor and I can see what it's going for. I'm not arguing that, it's a great argument that has tons of impact. It doesn't mean Cena's character any more dynamic for saying it, which is why I'm kind of eh in it. Really, with storytelling, two major things people look at are plot and/or character. More people are likely to favor character than anything else, since fiction is people. So I look at the people, how they act certain roles, and so forth.

For me, I stop caring when his criticism about Punk having no character because he grows in different ways while Cena sings about his virtue being fact that he hasn't changed one bit despite things thrown at him. Because I remember the lack of satisfaction gained from Cena's lack of growth from storylines like Nexus, Kane's Embrace the Hate stuff, losing to The Rock, Edge's whole "Wake Up!" speech, etc. all of that connects in here when he pretty much says that's a good thing about him and makes me go "Yeah, I can't emotionally get behind this because I don't agree with it in this instance."

Now, over the course of Cena's story since he became his current persona, how has he grown aside from the acknowledged Thugamonics to Present? Punk at least changes in many ways, from original entry personality to Straight Edge Savior & creating Straight Edge Society, the Nexus leader persona followed up the Voice of the Voiceless to Best in the World Champion and now transforming it into a villainous, insecure variation who is tired of being unrecognized and compensating by attacking everyone and everything else that refuses to acknowledge him

Main reason why it just doesn't work for me is because it's Cena's usual stuff of "I'm me, love me or hate me." Which, while a great aesop and all that, lacks much storytelling oomph, especially when it's been done over and over and over. Ultimately, the promo's very root was "Same old shit + This is the reason why the villain sucks!"

Everything was great about it for reasons intended and I can recognize why others enjoyed it, I just didn't receive same emotional satisfaction because of fact I can't turn off my literary mind. I'm still rooting for the bad guy on this one just because he's more interesting of the two at present and I think his reign as champion, especially if he wins against Cena, is going to be even more insufferable. Which I will enjoy witnessing far more than I will seeing the hero triumph yet again. Not that it will matter in it's own way. Even when Cena fails, he shrugs it off so there is no drama to be found in Cena's failures.

To simplify:
Dynamic characters = changes and grow over course of story
Static characters = Doesn't change or grow over course of story
Recognition of promo = Stellar performance, Cena himself is a talented individual
Personal emotional satisfaction = Low, because Cena being a static character who has passed on opportunity to evolve being highlighted as a virtue (yet again) makes it hard for me to personally take joy in what he's saying because it reminds me of every disappointment which has come before and the many likely to come.

All I really see Cena's character as is the hero who delivers tons of (admittedly good) aesops and has determination.

OH! And final note, Cena attacking others is nothing new. It's just a part of the show. Hell, his entire storyline with The Rock was a year long take of him doing that, so it doesn't feel like he's stepping out of character to me. He's always criticized the villain for what he considers their failings, as a hero often should.