Is John Cena's AA overrated?

May 2024 ยท 2 minute read
When you get down to it, I suppose any move that starts off with a Fireman's Carry is going to come with an 'overrated' label, because from there you're basically just dropping your opponent onto the canvas and relying on your physique to sell the devastating velocity of the drop. It's probably why Brock Lesnar's 'F-5' is easily the most beloved of Wrestling Finishers involving the Fireman's Carry, simply because he's built like a brick shithouse.

Anyway, some specific observations:

-Cena's AA sounded a LOT better before the PG Era, when it was named the FU and personified as a literal 'FU' to the competition. Now, in the grand tradition of PC names, it comes with too many syllables and announcers have to say the WHOLE. DAMN. NAME. Dammit, where's the 'Double A' nicknames and the like? It's almost always 'Attitude Adjustment', and even the name alone is enough to take the piss out of the move.

-The AA looks considerably better when it's done in a genuine test of strength. Big Show? Mark Henry? Great Khali? Any monster at or above 300 pounds? Very nice move to see. Big Show AND Edge at once? The fuckin' Ladder holding Dolph Ziggler? That's when you get into 'AWESOME' territory. It even sells better as a finisher when it's with the big guys.

-It doesn't have the bona-fide range and versatility of DDT-Based moves (Diamond Cutter, RKO, Stone Cold Stunner, etc.) simply because those moves allowed the opponent to stay stationary, which in turn limited potential accidents by landing on the ropes or other obstacles outside the ring. The AA can in fact be executed at the drop of the hat but the distance traveled by the opponent reduces the range of safety that the move can be executed in.

-As a finisher, I'm not against it. There have been worse moves to end matches. But the AA does get downgraded when the Finishing Sequence is done (personally, I find the 'U Can't See Me' and Five-Knuckle Shuffle to be the momentum killer of the sequence and that another fast power move would make the Five Moves of Doom look more like a Street Fighter Combo than a bore fest) mostly because like the Atomic Leg Drop, it's a set-in-stone move by the end there, waiting for the opponent to stagger up from the knuckle sandwich and stumble right to where Cena is waiting. It's almost a throwback move from the 80's in terms of freshness, even back in the days when Cena was universally cheered.

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