Why wasn't there a boom period during his career?

He delayed the inevitable downfall of televised wrestling as much as he could. Others are carrying on with his job now.

Because the internet was just starting to come around as Austin was doing his thing. It's too hard to be invested today with other distractions and knowing what happens is inconsequential.

>>1929626

Pretty much this. He was one of the worse guys in the company when he was still surrounded by the best older talent, but as they gradually retired or left he became pretty much the only guy who can carry the company. WWE would have been fucked in the aftermath of the Benoit thing if they didn't have a guy like Cena to carry the company. I don't think Cena being around made the television any better but how badly it's dropping off since he went on a reduced schedule can't be a coincidence.

>>1929626
>>1929646
This narrative is bullshit. Him being pushed too hard for too long is what lead to the current demise. Same thing happened when they went with Hogan for too long and when he left in 93, everything went to shit because people didn't view Bret, Lex, Shawn and Undertaker as stars like Hogan. I like Cena but his booking going all the way back to 2005 is to blame for this, which is the company's fault.

>>1929626
this

>>1931463
RAW from when Cena was drafted to up to about 2008 or 09 was getting better ratings than when Gaytch was the main guy on RAW. Triple H did terribly as "the guy" both with his failed comeback babyface push in 2002 and his boring heel run in Evolution. It's a testament to Cena that he brought it back up again. Of course it went down again like you said, but still

There was one. 2005-2007

Sage

>>1931481
That's nonsense. Cena never carried ratings for RAW at any point before 2011. The biggest ratings turn around happened under Batista in 05 on SPIKE. After 2005, RAW moved back to USA, and ratings sustained even before Cena made it to the brand. Its only after most top names either went part time or retired that Cena became truly valuable, and that was in 05.

As for Haitch's run, he drew the biggest Rumble buyrate in history indicating that there was plenty of interest there but WWE couldn't sustain it. Austin refused to work with him, and WWE gave him a unover forced hack like Jericho who had no clean wins as heel to feud with. It didnt help that the storyline was atrocious(it hurt them both, not just Y2J). Past that point, it was all Steiner, Booker, Nash and Goldberg aka washed up WCW hacks as opponents for Haitch. How was he suppose to sustain AE momentum(which btw was already falling before haitch's return in 02) working with these hacks?

>>1931500
>and that was in 05.

Sorry typo. I meant that was in 2011.

File: 1475535484654.png (244KB, 650x393px) Image search: [Google]

244KB, 650x393px

>>1929617
Is wrestling dying?

>>1931500
>>1931503
Cena was clearly the man on RAW seeing as he main evented two Manias in a row and won both of them when he got drafted, not sure why you're saying he wasn't valuable. Cena & Batista were both close to equal level draws but it's easier to see who was bigger seeing as they moved Cena to the A-show. If you compare the numbers from the latter half of 05-07 to mid 02-04 RAW, 05/07 was doing better on average and Cena had far less potential draws on the roster.

Triple H deserves all credit for that 2002 buyrate but after that it was just failure after failure. A month after he came back he got completely overshadowed by Hogan and it was just downhill from there. Funny you're complaining about Nash being washed up, I wonder whose idea it was to keep him around and try to make him a top singles star? Probably his buddy. I'm not giving HHH any sympathy for working with washed up opponents when Cena had to work with no draws such as Umaga & Khali

Are people forgetting when the ratings took such a major dive? 2008 and 2009 where Cena was fucking around in the midcard with Big Show and Haitch and Orton were the top guys

>>1931519
>If you compare the numbers from the latter half of 05-07 to mid 02-04 RAW

Which is the point, RAW was on SPIKE during that period, the RA era 02 - 04, and RAW moved to USA in late 05. You can't compare ratings of two different networks, the exposure and viewer base varies big time. If RAW went back to Spike now, they'd draw less than what TNA was drawing there in its prime.

Hogan is fucking Hogan. He is literally the GOAT. Everyone gets overshadowed against him, especially in that period(WM 18 match with the Rock proves it). So that's not a negative on Triple h, its just unfortunate it ruined his momentum. As for washed up WCW hacks, its just what it is. You can't change reality, it happened, Triple H worked with the worst of names and numbers didn't hold up except for a few PPVs. And the Cena PPV argument really doesn't hold because Triple H's numbers against these guys drew better Cena's PPVs in those years, especially domestic buys. The only PPVs that outdrew RA era was the top 3 PPVs namely Wrestlemania, Summerslam and Rumble which weren't due to Cena.

>>1931536

2008 Triple H was injured most of the year last I remember. 2009 ratings was up big and one of the few years where ratings actually went up. Go check the numbers. Orton/Haitch road to wrestlemania 25 saw some of the best rated RAWs of the decade. The angle where Haitch broke the house down of orton still holds record numbers.

>>1931541
Before and after ratings were in the shitter

>>1931500
>unover forced hack
Don't have sex. Please just go die. Also 18+.

>>1931537
You're making excuse after excuse for Triple H and blaming everyone except him. He 100% was the reason for the Rumble 2002 buyrate but then for years did absolutely nothing except the Batista feud. You can't point to anything during the period where he was the top guy on RAW and say "that was because of Triple H" while you can with Cena.

And the three biggest PPVs when Cena was on top outdrew the biggest PPVs when HHH was on top? That tells me that there was more interest in the product then and you can only point to the faces of the company which were Cena and Batista. Summerslam 2006 and 2007 for example with Cena in the main event and either as the champ or in the title match outdrew Summerslam 2003 each by nearly 100k buys with HHH who was in the main event as champ. And that match had Goldberg who even in 2003 was a far bigger draw than Cena's opponents (Edge & Randy Orton).

You can make excuse after excuse for HHH having to work with poor opponents but then it just gives more ammo to the notion that "Triple H is the guy who works with the guy who makes the money"

>>1931545
Jericho was absolutely an unover forced hack in late 01/early 02. No doubt about it. He was horrible in all aspects and worst of all he had no credibility.

>>1931537
>>1931558
also Wrestlemania 23 was the record buyrate until 28 and is still #2 all time and Cena was in the main event as champion and the main angle while Triple H wasn't even on the card

Don't give me "it was because of Trump" because while he definitely drew some people in, the main angle for RAW during that period was always Cena/Michaels.

>>1931562
I was at 23 and didn't give a single fuck about that match or Trump besides Austin. I went because I knew the two heavyweight title matches would be amazing which they were

>>1931562
The main main main angle was definitely Batista vs taker. They just didn't go last cause lolsmackdown

>>1931558
I am not making excuses for Triple H. I do admit it didn't do well but I want you understand the reason for it, the circumstances during those years. Triple H was really dealt a bad hand.

Let me ask you the question, Compare Brock's heel run in SD and Triple H's run in RAW and honestly tell me it was similar? Triple h never won clean, always beat guys with help of flair, and he was running scared off guys like Bubba ray dudley. He was also putting over chumps like Shelton Benjamin, fucking Eugene, Hurricane etc.. Triple H's heel run during that period was so weak that its even arguable if he was the guy. Some people do actually consider Lesnar the defacto guy of the era.

Summerslam 2006 top angle was DX vs Mcmahons, Summerslam 2007 top angle was big return of Triple h himself(remember those "we can fix him" promos?). Dave Meltzer also credited those events to these.

Goldberg was not a big draw during the RA era, that's a myth. Goldberg's first PPV against the Rock of all people at Backlash 03 actually dropped in buys from the year ago. The only time Goldberg ever made a difference in PPV was against Triple H at Unforgiven with that "career on the line" stipulation. He never before or after.

Triple h is one of the top 5 biggest stars of the post attitude era, If such a name is that guy as you claim then almost no one that ever wrestled in the main events of WWE post-AE qualifies as a star/draw.

>>1931562

Wrestlemania 23 - see: Donald Trump. Trump drew all of it, WM 23 set a all time record, that no way Cena who couldn't draw shit a year before or after at Manias could suddenly achieve.

>>1931559
Cheers and signs. Hot well before that. You're just spreading flat-out lies.

>>1931574
You are making excuses for him, in fact you just did right there saying he was dealt a bad hand. Bad opponents, wrong TV network, too many losses, etc. During those three years when he was the guy you have to at some point look to Triple H and say "wow, this guy didn't draw for shit back then"

Some people look at Lesnar as the guy and why is that? Because Smackdown was a much better product at that point and guess who was in all the main angles and feuds for RAW? Triple H, the ratings "war" between the two shows were never as close as they were before or after until this year.

For example, let's go back to your point about Jericho. You said he wasn't over and why is that? The feud was Triple H vs Stephanie, Jericho was the fourth wheel on the go home show. A dog was more relevant than him at that point, it was all about Triple H, and it stayed that way for the majority of his run.

Cena vs Edge as a bigger deal than DX vs the McMahons as the Cena/Edge angle took place later during the go home show as you can see here: http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/results/raw/060814.html, Orton/Hogan actually closed the show. DX just got done feuding with the Spirit Squad at a PPV that lost nearly 100k buys from the previous year (Vengeance), they were dead in the water at that point. Because of this I highly doubt Triple H as the reason for the Summerslam 2007 buyrate. His supposed "big return" didn't have any big impact on the buyrate, it stayed mostly stagnant losing 4000 buys

I didn't say Goldberg was a big draw, I said he was a bigger draw at that point than Edge or Orton.

He's one of the top 5 stars of the post attitude era by longevity rather than drawing power, he stuck around the longest while actual draws left.

You saying Cena couldn't draw at Mania is funny when four of the top 5 bought WMs (23, 27, 28, 29) include him in the main event. His opponent the year before 23 was Triple H, not a surprise it didn't do as well

>>1931463
Parrot thinks he knows anything lmao

I'd just like to point out that, irrespective of whether or not HHH could draw, next time you blame this gen's talent for not drawing:

>look at the 2002 roster
>look at the ratings compared to previous years

Vince is literally the WOAT booker.