"All Right Stop…."
In terms of significant events in John Cena's career, his Smackdown debut was important, but pretty low on the list (if we were going in ascending order, rather than chronologically). After his loss to Kurt Angle, Cena spent several months searching for relevance, often failing to leave a lasting impact on the WWE Universe with his brash but basic character. That all changed in October of 2002.
On a special Halloween edition of Smackdown – then broadcast on Thursday nights – Cena appeared backstage as American hip-hop and rap star, Vanilla Ice. Somebody within WWE liked the gimmick so much, it became a huge part of the John Cena character. His appearance changed drastically, transitioning from tiny wrestling trunks to baggy shorts, basketball jerseys and chains around his neck. To put the icing on the proverbial cake, Cena began rapping his way to the ring, cutting disrespectful free-style promos on all of his opponents.
It is impossible to over-state how important the rapper gimmick was to John Cena's original success on Thursday nights. The persona not only reflected more of John's actual interests, but it gave the fans something to remember, which gives them something to invest in.
Compare that initial success to the current phenomenon that is Daniel Bryan. When he debuted, Bryan was a great wrestler, but wasn't intimidating, and had very little mainstream fan support. Once the "YES!" chant caught on following WrestleMania 28, Daniel Bryan become more than a great wrestler – he gave the fans something to invest in. This is what John Cena capture when he debuted the rapper gimmick.
