Should John Cena Turn Heel?

[pol]

Even without turning heel it would be nice for him to show some animosity towards the people that don't like him rather than doing this lame ass "if you boo me that's your choice and I respect that" thing. I guess that wouldn't fit with the whole "Rise Above Hate" thing though...

[Loss]

That's the perfect heel response. They want him to tear into them (even chanting for it on the RAW the night after WM 28) and he just won't do it.

[Shining Wiz]

That's the perfect heel response. They want him to tear into them (even chanting for it on the RAW the night after WM 28) and he just won't do it.

 

Exactly.

[funkdoc]

Even without turning heel it would be nice for him to show some animosity towards the people that don't like him rather than doing this lame ass "if you boo me that's your choice and I respect that" thing. I guess that wouldn't fit with the whole "Rise Above Hate" thing though...

 

yea i don't get why WWE still hasn't realized that goody-two-shoes guys smiling all the time will get shit on by adults, unless we believe the idea that it's intentional with cena

 

that shit killed diesel's run as champ from the get-go, it hurt steamboat a bunch in his '89 main event run, and so on

 

maybe vince still worries about ever having another warrior on his hands (i.e. face champ who doesn't connect with fans because he doesn't act much like a face) and just plays it extra safe

[pol]

That's the perfect heel response. They want him to tear into them (even chanting for it on the RAW the night after WM 28) and he just won't do it.

 

Right, but since he's not a heel why does he do it? Just seems weird.

[Shining Wiz]

 

That's the perfect heel response. They want him to tear into them (even chanting for it on the RAW the night after WM 28) and he just won't do it.

 

Right, but since he's not a heel why does he do it? Just seems weird.

 

 

 

Ummm.....because he IS a heel.

[Loss]

Because he is a heel ... to half the audience.

[JazeUSA]

there is NO money to be made on a Cena heel turn, none at all, he is the face of the company & the #1 merch guy, why in the world would anyone change that?

[Badlittlekitten]

It might work. With a great angle, inspired promotion and a nice new t-shirt (think nwo) it could take off. Even as a heel they could make money of his merch if they played it right. The tricky part is babyface opposition.

 

I'd imagine that Cena would crush Reigns like a grape in a microphone duel. Bryan has in ring ability on his side but we don't know if he'll ever be back. As much as I love Sheamus he just isn't a top guy. Ambrose is ma boy, but I just don't see WWE pushing him to that level, at least as a face. As good as he is I can't help feeling that his true calling is as a heel/anti-hero.

 

Actually, Ambrose the anti-hero is a good option.

 

But Ryback is my plan A.

 

Will people still buy into re-push of The Big Guy?

 

Ryback rules.

[Matt D]

It might work. With a great angle, inspired promotion and a nice new t-shirt (think nwo) it could take off. Even as a heel they could make money of his merch if they played it right. The tricky part is babyface opposition.

 

 

Hell, just have him reform the NWO. I bet that'd sell merch. It's a goofy enough idea it'd work.

[goc]

I feel like the only motivation that Cena can have for turning heel is the company moving on from him. Not the fans because he has had haters since 2006. He can't turn heel and say it's because "the fans turned their back on me." Well what is new? The only thing I could see making Cena turn bitter is if WWE starts using someone else as the face of their company.

 

I think there is a lot more mileage out of angry Cena wanting to ruin the New Ace to get revenge on the company that used him up and spit him out than him coming out and just heeling on the fans.

[flyonthewall2983]

The concept exists best as a "what-if". Partly because there's no competing company that can lure him away, and mostly because creatively and financially it's a bad idea. Also, and as much as people will hate to hear it, there's no going back to the Attitude Era, a time when such a heel turn was possible because that was the norm at the time of turning faces to heels. That was lightning in a bottle, a time when they could produce something that matched up with the pop culture that produced American Pie, South Park and crappy rock bands that used F-bombs in nearly every verse or chorus and still got radio play. It was playing to the lowest-common denominator, at a time when everything else was. They still do, but it just looks desperate now.

[elbrujo138]

I feel like the only motivation that Cena can have for turning heel is the company moving on from him. Not the fans because he has had haters since 2006. He can't turn heel and say it's because "the fans turned their back on me." Well what is new? The only thing I could see making Cena turn bitter is if WWE starts using someone else as the face of their company.

 

I think there is a lot more mileage out of angry Cena wanting to ruin the New Ace to get revenge on the company that used him up and spit him out than him coming out and just heeling on the fans.

 

Wouldn't that make Cena a sympathetic figure? The company that has promoted him, bragged about Cena's charity work, a company that Cena has rushed back from injuries for sends Cena to the glue factory when a new stud comes along. That seems like a storyline that would evoke sympathy for Cena and turn the new ace heel.

[Johnny Sorrow]

The concept exists best as a "what-if". Partly because there's no competing company that can lure him away, and mostly because creatively and financially it's a bad idea. Also, and as much as people will hate to hear it, there's no going back to the Attitude Era, a time when such a heel turn was possible because that was the norm at the time of turning faces to heels. That was lightning in a bottle, a time when they could produce something that matched up with the pop culture that produced American Pie, South Park and crappy rock bands that used F-bombs in nearly every verse or chorus and still got radio play. It was playing to the lowest-common denominator, at a time when everything else was. They still do, but it just looks desperate now.

Not for nothing , but American Pie was great and South Park was and still is brilliant. You're right about the late 90's vibe in pop culture.

[Johnny Sorrow]

 

I think there is a lot more mileage out of angry Cena wanting to ruin the New Ace to get revenge on the company that used him up and spit him out than him coming out and just heeling on the fans.

That's perfect but it can only work if Cena is ready to call it quits. You run that angle, then do a redemption angle for him and then retirement.

[flyonthewall2983]

 

The concept exists best as a "what-if". Partly because there's no competing company that can lure him away, and mostly because creatively and financially it's a bad idea. Also, and as much as people will hate to hear it, there's no going back to the Attitude Era, a time when such a heel turn was possible because that was the norm at the time of turning faces to heels. That was lightning in a bottle, a time when they could produce something that matched up with the pop culture that produced American Pie, South Park and crappy rock bands that used F-bombs in nearly every verse or chorus and still got radio play. It was playing to the lowest-common denominator, at a time when everything else was. They still do, but it just looks desperate now.

Not for nothing , but American Pie was great and South Park was and still is brilliant. You're right about the late 90's vibe in pop culture.

 

 

Yeah, my comment wasn't meant to lump the first two with the latter in terms of quality, it's just that more raunchy material was cool and WWE attached itself to it for the sake of piggy-backing that vibe to beat WCW in the ratings. And it worked.

[Sidebottom]

there is NO money to be made on a Cena heel turn, none at all, he is the face of the company & the #1 merch guy, why in the world would anyone change that?

 

Because not even Vince McMahon can stop it!!!!

[goc]

 

 

I think there is a lot more mileage out of angry Cena wanting to ruin the New Ace to get revenge on the company that used him up and spit him out than him coming out and just heeling on the fans.

That's perfect but it can only work if Cena is ready to call it quits. You run that angle, then do a redemption angle for him and then retirement.

 

That's true. I would say it would have to come in his last year/year and a half of being full time. Which doesn't seem like any time soon based on Cena's comments about how long he wants to keep going.

[Fantastic]

 

 

 

I think there is a lot more mileage out of angry Cena wanting to ruin the New Ace to get revenge on the company that used him up and spit him out than him coming out and just heeling on the fans.

That's perfect but it can only work if Cena is ready to call it quits. You run that angle, then do a redemption angle for him and then retirement.

 

That's true. I would say it would have to come in his last year/year and a half of being full time. Which doesn't seem like any time soon based on Cena's comments about how long he wants to keep going.

 

 

The intention may be there, but the body might not.

[goc]

I honestly have no idea what Cena's physical condition is. There have been reports for some time about how he's banged up and it's worse than people know but those reports have been going on for like 2 or 3 years now. I know that he seems to have either incredible pain tolerance, incredible recuperative abilities or both. Because he has a harder schedule than anyone in WWE but he never seems beat up or down when he's on a public appearance. And he comes back from injuries very quickly.

 

I don't know if just has some lucky genes like Jerry Lawler or Ric Flair where he can wrestle all the time, have relatively few major injuries and still keep going well into his 40s.

[Hollinger.]

I started to piece something together this morning involving cenobytes, but decided it's better off going in my booking notebook for when I'm running Very Adult Chikara.

[Grimmas]

there is NO money to be made on a Cena heel turn, none at all, he is the face of the company & the #1 merch guy, why in the world would anyone change that?

 

Like there was no money in turning Hogan heel?

[WingedEagle]

People were becoming apathetic to and rejecting babyface WCW Hogan. I also don't believe he was generating anything remotely approaching Cena's merchandise numbers. Would heel Cena sell a boatload of tshirts to adults without turning away too many kids? Maybe, I don't know. But I think there's a big difference between rejecting Cena and enjoying the act of booing him. The latter is part of the show at this point.

[Johnny Sorrow]

 

 

there is NO money to be made on a Cena heel turn, none at all, he is the face of the company & the #1 merch guy, why in the world would anyone change that?

Like there was no money in turning Hogan heel?

Yeah, Hogan was on the verge of being washed up for good when he turned. And it's a completely different dynamic.

[Russellmania]

honestly I think Cena would benefit more from a run like Sting had when he first turned into the Crow. Sting was another white meat babyface whose act was kind of stale. I think some kind of dark anti-hero turn for Cena would breathe new life into him and the company. The problem is you need something for him to rally against and there's not really a legitimate opportunity for an 'invasion' like we saw with the NWO because there aren't really any outsiders that would be perceived as a big enough threat to give it the weight it would need.

 

The closest thing you could get to that 'invasion' feel of the early NWO would be a stable of MMA guys coming in and running roughshod over everyone, but there are a lot of reasons that wouldn't happen/couldn't work.