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I am currently running a column writing seminar/competition with Super Chrisss and Mr. Tito in the feeder system for our main page column writers - the LOP Columns Forum. As a reward for his #1 ranking among the eight writers involved in Week 2, I present to you a column by Ray Hagan. Be on the look out for other columns from the finest of our up-and-comers in the coming weeks. -Doc I’m not an athlete, I never have been, and perhaps that’s why I admire the often superhuman feats of professional athletes and professional wrestlers. I’m extraordinarily passionate about wrestling, and that passion spills over to professional sports in general. As such, I frequent ESPN.com roughly as often as I frequent Lordsofpain.net. When I was perusing “The Worldwide Leader’s” website last week I stumbled upon an article about Tiger Woods’ comments regarding breaking Jack Nicklaus’ record for most PGA Majors won. Tiger’s pace has slowed, but he remains within striking distance of one of the most astonishing records in all of sport, Jack Nicklaus winning a staggering EIGHTEEN Major Championships. Reading that article got me thinking. There’s another all-time great who has been within striking distance of another Championship record for some time now. For over two years John Cena has been on the cusp of tying Ric Flair’s record for most World Championships. Cena had a run between nearly 28 years old and just over 37 years old where he won all of his World Championships before hitting a drought. Woods had a similar period between 21 and 32 years of age where he captured all of his Major titles. In addition to the duration of those peaks, there are some other intriguing parallels between Tiger Woods and John Cena. Tiger Woods wasn’t “the norm” when it came to the PGA. John Cena surely wasn’t “the norm” when it came to professional wrestling. Woods was different because of his race. In a white dominated sport Woods was far more the exception than the rule. Cena’s race played a role in him being different too. His “Thugonomics” gimmick was very different from what you’d expect from a white male in the world of pro wrestling at the time. Both men caused you to stand up and take notice because they stood out from those around them. From there, both let their performances do the talking. Woods and Cena are both chasing the records of great blonde-haired men that came before them. Woods pursues “The Golden Bear”; Cena chases “The Nature Boy”. Both Tiger and Cena also went through divorce amid accusations of infidelity. Woods’ career, whether because of the fallout or injury, has never been the same while Cena has kept moving on. Strangely, I cheered for Woods. I wanted him to break Nicklaus’ record because he was part of “my generation”. He wasn’t some ghost of the past. The idea that I could be sitting watching greatness on any given Sunday, something that I could tell my children about when he sat atop the mountain was equal parts intriguing and exciting. I still hope that Woods, despite his flaws, manages to break Nicklaus’ record for the same reasons that I always did. I never wanted John Cena to break Flair’s record; did you? I find that odd; if I felt that way about Woods, surely I should have felt the same about Cena, but I didn’t. Perhaps it was because Ric Flair was still much more active in my youth than Nicklaus was (at least when I began paying attention), perhaps it was because I saw Woods fire compared with what I interpreted as Nicklaus stoicism. Ric Flair could never be described as stoic. Perhaps it was because Flair was the consummate entertainer and Cena became the man I just wished would turn heel. Whatever the reason may have been… I’m here now to say that I was wrong. I hope John Cena not only breaks Ric Flair’s record, I hope he wins two, three, four more championships than “Naitch”. Ric’s time is up…Cena’s time is now. I’m older, and I’m wiser than I was even two years ago when I groaned as Cena reached the outskirts of Flairtown with his 15th reign. Cena has had a career renaissance not by giving us the ever-elusive heel turn many have clamored for, but instead by putting on arguably the best matches of his career when it would be easy for him to coast. Like a fine wine Cena appears to be getting better with age. Think about it. Cena could have turned heel, he could have followed the Hulk Hogan pattern. Like Hogan, fans grew tired of the white meat babyface after years. A heel turn could have revitalized what would have already been a Hall of Fame career with an unexpected second act. Instead Cena changed the landscape by doing exactly what he’d done for years prior, just doing it an even higher level. By doing that he did it his way, and he won myself and many others over. He did it without compromise and he did it all while being an incredible spokesperson, humanitarian, entertainer and breaking a far more important record than 16 World Titles in breaking the record for Make-A-Wish wishes granted. Cena can be the guy that I tell my daughter Skylar about when she gets older. If Cena is around for another five years, I hope that he becomes her favorite wrestler. I can’t wait for her and I to watch him go into the Hall of Fame on WWE Network together. I can tell her how I saw his first title win, his last title win, and every title win in between. I can tell her about how John Cena started off as a bad guy, then became a good guy…then became the BEST guy. I can’t do that with Ric Flair. Hell, I probably saw half of his reigns. Ric doesn’t belong to us; he belongs to the prior generation. John Cena is MY guy, John Cena is OUR guy. Cena belongs to us in a way that Ric never will. He came along at the right time and we now have the opportunity to watch his entire career play out in our lifetime. John Cena has the potential to be everything that I wanted Tiger Woods to be. Cena’s accomplishments likely won’t inspire the original “Voice of TNA” Don West to hawk his rookie card for $7,500 at 3AM on the Home Shopping Network like he did with Woods’ card. Still, if he inspires my little girl and countless other kids out there; then isn’t that far more important? I hope that he inspires her to “Never Give Up", to be the best that she can be, and to always believe in herself. These are lessons that all parents try to teach, but sometimes it takes something more to reach them. Sometimes it takes Cena, or Captain America, or some other character that a child idolizes to make a parents' job just a bit easier. This is not to say that Cena is flawless, he’s far from it. He can be extremely corny; he has gotten the better end of far too many feuds when he could afford to absorb a loss. But he’s also been grossly underappreciated by many who want him to be something he’s not instead of appreciating him for what he is. I’m determined now to appreciate him for what he is. John Cena is one of the greatest of all-time. John Cena is what is right with the business of professional wrestling. John Cena is the right man to break Ric Flair’s record. Maybe it’s the parent in me, but I see Cena in a whole new light than I once did. So when Cena finally does take down “The Nature Boy” I hope Ric is there to celebrate with him. I hope that you’ll all join me in cheering the new “leader in the clubhouse” when it comes to World Championship reigns. I hope that Cena continues to achieve and inspire. I hope that Cena helps to make my daughter a fan for life. I hope that she’ll be lucky enough to watch a career that unfolds like Cena’s; to cheer on someone of her own to break Cena’s record. After all…records are meant to be broken.
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