John Cena G.O.A.T Promo Has An Insane Amount Of Views In Just 8 Hours

John Cena is the greatest of all time. I kind of knew this before he set the proverbial wrestling world on fire during his appearance on Raw in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday.

I was sure of it after Cena ended an “abusive relationship” with the WWE Universe in what I believe is the greatest promo ever. Apparently, the rest of the wrestling world was interested too.

After the first few hours on YouTube, Cena’s iconic segment had already been viewed 1.5 million times. In case you missed it, here is the 26-minute, 19-second piece of wrestling brilliance.

Why was Cena’s promo the best ever? Let me break down the five most jaw-dropping comments and take a look at the depth.

He set the tone. Everyone expected a new look and maybe even a new song (more on that in a minute). Nope. He came out with the same look and said, “When someone is properly grounded in life, they shouldn’t have to look outside themselves for approval.”

That line is very similar to many of the quotes Cena posts on social media. It told us before he even started: I’m still going to be John Cena, but a different version of the guy you’ve come to expect.

To say the Brussels crowd was raucous is a massive understatement. Despite the deafening jeers and crowd reaction, Cena showed how you handle fans hell-bent on silencing your promo. After this, no WWE Superstar has a valid excuse for being swallowed up by the fans.

Cena literally delivered the blueprint for navigating the situation.

“You are making this so easy for me,” Cena said. “You see, for 25 years, I’ve been the victim, okay? I have been the victim of an abusive relationship.”

With that line, Cena essentially named this masterpiece. It should forever be known as the “Abusive Relationship” promo. He told us the direction he was heading in, and even at this point, I had no idea how brilliant his work would be.

The next line that should have sent diehards and connoisseurs of the art of professional wrestling into a frenzy was:

“Look, I am not a babyface. I am not a heel. I’m a human being. And each and every one of you has been awful to me. You’ve been awful. And it’s been the same damn noise for 25 years.”

Cena is telling us: I’m not here to play by your rules—not even the ones that traditionally govern the concepts of the business.

This part of the promo suggests—or at the very least gives credence to the thought—that the years of boos during his prime made a mark on him. Cena discussed his winning history and how fans hated on him all the while.

“When I first got here in WWE, you let me know really loud that you hated me. Yeah, yeah. Moments of embarrassment, moments of shame—just like this. You let me know that I wasn’t worthy of your attention. So what did I do? I went and I changed myself, hoping that you would like me a little bit. And it worked—for a second. But then it wasn’t enough. So what did I do? I worked hard like I always do. And I started to win. And win. And win. And win. And win. And win. And win. And win. And I won a lot. And you hated it.”

If I’m being honest, the next section is probably the moment I’ll remember the most. It shows how smart Cena is and how well he truly understands the business and the fans. He knows what makes them tick; this next section is a perfect manipulation of that rhythm and a nod to the culture he helped define.

“I put my values on the line to make a very important choice in my life. And all you could think was, ‘What do we get?’ My story changed, and all you asked was, ‘What do we get?’ John Cena is coming to my town—’What do we get?’ This is trending—’What do we get?’ Not one of you sons of bitches asked me how I feel. It’s just, ‘What do we get? What do we get? What do we get? What do we get?’ You get nothing. You get what you have earned. And what you have earned is nothing. You don’t get a new look because you dress like me? I don’t dress like you idiots. You don’t get new music. That is my voice on that song. And your time is finally up. And my time is finally now.”

I’m a hardcore hip-hop fan, and there is a face you make when you hear an MC deliver a dope bar. I made that face after this part of Cena’s promo.

To put the final, nasty touches on the ether he spewed at the fans, Cena made sure he stomped out anyone else in the crowd who was offering him any traditional, storyline-driven support.

“You claim to support me. What have you ever done? You—what have you? You, you—what have you ever done to support me? What have you ever done for me? All you ever do is steal from me. You steal. You steal my personal moments. You steal my time. You have made me your freaking toy. I am an object to you. You have made me the butt of a stupid invisible joke for 15 years, and you still think it’s funny. It is not funny. It is pathetic. You are pathetic.”

Cena is literally pointing at horrified kids in the audience while saying these things. I’m not going to lie—it was a little uncomfortable. But not in the sense of, ‘Oh, I wish he would stop,’ but more in the way of appropriate discomfort for the sake of artistic expression.

Then, in closing, before Cody Rhodes interrupts and attempts to accomplish the impossible task of following unprecedented greatness, Cena delivers his finisher.

“Well, listen to this: I’m breaking up with you. I’m done. I’m breaking up with every single person. Whether you like me or you don’t—you’re dumped. I don’t need you anymore. I don’t care about you. And you don’t matter to me. And here’s the thing—there’s no noise you can make. There is nothing you can do. Because you know I’m right. And you know—you are wrong.”

I’ve never written an article quite like this, and that’s because I’ve never watched a promo quite this good. I appreciate Cena’s brilliance, but at the same time, I cringed for my 19-year-old son, who grew up with the GOAT as his superhero.

Thankfully, I taught him to appreciate the art of an outstanding promo and how to keep wrestling in the proper perspective. On Monday, Cena was so good, I had to remember that lesson for myself.