Petey Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 While I absolutely see the logic in keeping him a babyface, I'm also not sure about Make-A-Wish. I think we are long past the point where Cena would have to live his gimmick and wouldn't be able to do charity because he's a heel and supposed to be a bad person in real life. Why doesn't that logic apply to HHH and Stephanie? The merchandise argument is a strong one in favor of keeping him babyface, but I dispute the idea that he can't do charity. Even Hogan did charity and public appearances from 1996-1998. He made kids' movies during that time and even was part of some activist group against companies testing their products on animals. I don't think the issue is as much Cena being unable to do charity stuff because he'd be a villain as much as if he were a heel, kids probably wouldn't be asking to meet him as a Make-A-Wish request and thus, it'd be one less charitable thing for WWE to talk about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakeplastictrees Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 WWE should continue efforts in merch and international markets. Attacking digital platforms is difficult as people always find/create gimmicks to go around the system. The Network is is just one hack away from shaking consumer confidence. Remember what happened to UFC's Fight Pass? The Network has shown me that WWE doesn't have the tech specs down fully to fire on all cylinders for The Network to be as big as it can be. The Cena/Superman stuff got me thinking. What is Cena's weakness? His ACTUAL weakness? I don't think WWE has ever defined it. Clark Kent having flaws and weakness makes him a more beloved character than the non-challenging and God-like Superman Prime. Cena isn't Clark Kent, he is Kal-El. This is a problem. WWE having its own 'Justice League' wouldn't hurt either. This would be guys who would NEVER turn, but at times will show elements of darkness and heel behavior in order to secure victory. Cena, Sin Cara, The Usos, and Sami Zayn would be a good WWE JLA. Obviously I don't think they should roll together 100%, but it should be established they are all friends and have each other's back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 There are such small things they could do, like give him a knee injury or something that he works through for a few months. It gives his matches some focus and a different dimension, it builds sympathy on him, and they could actually do an upset or two that would do wonders for a couple of guys without hurting Cena at all. In fact, it would help him because it would give him fresh rivalries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 Hogan's weakness was coveting the wife of another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lust Hogan Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 The Cena/Superman stuff got me thinking. What is Cena's weakness? His ACTUAL weakness? I don't think WWE has ever defined it. Clark Kent having flaws and weakness makes him a more beloved character than the non-challenging and God-like Superman Prime. Cena isn't Clark Kent, he is Kal-El. This is a problem. WWE having its own 'Justice League' wouldn't hurt either. This would be guys who would NEVER turn, but at times will show elements of darkness and heel behavior in order to secure victory. Cena, Sin Cara, The Usos, and Sami Zayn would be a good WWE JLA. Obviously I don't think they should roll together 100%, but it should be established they are all friends and have each other's back. For me I always thought that WWE should make his weakness his need to be the best/top guy/focus of the promotion. I thought an ideal time to capitalize on this was when C.M. Punk beat him for the title at Money in the Bank in Chicago. Rather than shoehorn him into a double title match I thought it would have been interesting to examine the fallout of Cena letting the title leave the promotion and how the locker room would react to that. I imagined Cena cutting a promo after MITB vowing to bring the title back to WWE and someone like The Miz (In my mind at the time) getting in his face reminding Cena that he blew it which would cause Cena to snap. He would show some remorse later but you would pick up hints that he doesn't like to be reminded he's a failure. In my mind that SummerSlam would have had C.M. Punk returning for one night (after holding WWE hostage with the title and driving up his appearance fee) vs. Rey Misterio (Since you're in California) and Cena vs. The Miz (Or whoever you place in that role). I still think this could be done with Daniel Bryan or Roman Reigns starting to get close to his top spot in the promotion and Cena "accidentally" cheating in a match against that person. I could see John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan with Cena winning after grabbing the tights and claiming he was just trying gain leverage but his hands got caught or something along those lines. In his mind he came out on top but it was obviously tainted. Eventually Cena could get more and more desperate as guys gained in on him. I would compare it to Steve Austin facing the Rock at WM X-7 in Texas after cutting the "I NEED to beat you Rock!" promos. WWE didn't get over how desperate Austin was to be the top star but that's where I think they can/should go with John Cena after Lesnar to test a heel run. Test the teases and if something is there discuss futher. If nothing is there or it seems to risky WWE could always say Cena's emotions got the best of him and everything goes back to normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 It's interesting that Heyman on the Austin podcast said that he was so interested in where the John Cena character goes next at NOC because the answer is "no where" or at least not for more than a night. He makes it all into a fun narrative though. "He said he wanted not to beat Brock but to beat his ass." "He has to go the places he refused to go vs Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania." I think a talented wrestling personality has the ability to take all of the hasty bits of bullshit and to make some sort of narrative out of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantastic Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 Cena's weakness could very well be one of his defining characteristics - namely, that he "never gives up". That could very easily be exploited. I always liked the idea of a super heel finally getting the submission or "I Quit" victory by using one of Cena's friends or Nikki Bella against him. Cena's against the heel challenger in a submission match. The challenger locks on their submission hold, Cena can't reach the ropes, he's immobilized, but because he's Cena, he'd rather pass out having not given up than give up and let his fans down. Cue the challenger's associate bringing out a distressed Nikki Bella and threatening harm to her. This is enough to bring Cena around, but he still isn't reaching the ropes or breaking the hold, so he quickly taps out (awarding and rushes the ring to rescue Nikki. Of course this is wrestling, so Nikki promptly reveals she was in cohorts with the heel and his associate all along, they plotted to finally make Cena let his fans down and do the one thing he claimed to never do - give up. Cue a beatdown. This could be the start of the downfall of Cena to the heel path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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