John Cena Loves It When A Plan Comes Together On ‘Bad, Bad Man’
With the recent news of WWE Superstar John Cena finally turning heel and becoming a bad guy after almost 25 years of being in the WWE (then WWF) system, that’s all the excuse I need to pull the trigger on looking back at Cena’s ‘Bad, Bad Man’ music video off his lone rap album from 2005.
What makes the context here so different from a normal music video rollout? Vince McMahon.
While the album, You Can’t See Me, was commercially released by Columbia Records and featured some legit production heat from guys like Jake One and Todd Spadafore, it did feel at the time as if they could have maximized their moment a little more. The album itself did debut at a respectable 15 on the Billboard Top 100 chart and has sold just around 400,000 units up to present day. But the majority of the promotional muscle was kept strictly kayfabe and in-house. As was the style at the time under Vince McMahon.
Why send Cena on any of the late night shows or over to 106 & Park to impress everyone with some freestyle bars when he’s already got a showcase built in every week on both Monday Night RAW & SmackDown?
The logic is solid if you completely ignore the fact that wrestling is a bubble and that you lose out on reaching people outside of that bubble by foregoing a more traditional press tour.
So instead of debuting on MTV or being sent out to the various Hip-Hop programs of the time, ‘Bad, Bad Man’ debuted on a random Monday Night RAW in 2005 and was subsequently shuffled off onto a DVD of Judgement Day 2005 as a bonus feature.
Which is a damn shame. Because you know what? ‘Bad, Bad Man’ is actually a really fun video.
Taking a page from the Beastie Boys’ ‘Sabotage’ video, ‘Bad, Bad Man’ is a straight up parody of 80s action capers. Specifically, The A Team. Complete with requisite 80s sitcom star cameo in Diff’rent Strokes’ Gary Coleman.
John Cena plays the “Hannibal” send up with a level of relish that sells the whole thing. Seeing Bumpy Knuckles as Mr. T & Tha Trademarc (Cena’s real life first cousin) as Murdock only sweetens this already absurd affair. It helps a lot that the camp factor is dialed in at 11. With Gary Coleman running scared about someone trying to hold the 80s hostage and some fabulous use of car chase B-roll.
Cena is even able to hold his own on the mic for his lone verse. Wisely being frontloaded onto the track with Bumpy & Trademarc filling out the latter two-thirds (including the hook).
But a good hook is a good hook and hearing John Cena casually talk about himself being a bad, bad man sure would sound great as he struts out to a crowd of 20,000 on Monday Night RAW. Throwing it on in the car? Your mileage on that one may vary.
‘Bad, Bad Man’ is a great glimpse at the affable & eccentric John Cena that would be introduced to Hollywood at a later date as someone more than game to make himself look like an absolute fool (in the best ways). But back in 2005, caught between being the Doctor of Thuganomics & the guy on the Fruity Pebbles box, we were treated to a small glimpse of the type of energy that would help Cena break out of the wrestling bubble.
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