WWE should pull the trigger on a John Cena heel turn
John Cena has become one of the biggest cash cows the WWE has had, and with that they have tried to milk ever dollar out of the popularity that Cena has. So much so that Cena has almost become the Krusty The Clown of Wrestling Merchandise, anything that could bare the face of Cena or the mottos of Cena has featured it.
John Cena has a strong fanbase of children that have requested him as a Make-A-Wish, wish, and with that Cena has risen in the popularity stakes and have remained the same hero character for well over a decade. You could say that Cena is a modern Hulk Hogan, whatever Cena says the children respond. Remember the says of taking your vitamins and saying your prayers? Well nowadays it’s you can’t see me, and every other different phrase in the Cena arsenal.
While families latch onto the love of Cena, wrestling fans have become sick and tired of the John Cena character, the hero, the antics and the way he can go from getting beaten down, to as Hulk would say “hulking up” much like Hogan before him, and even Bret Hart who was a fan favourite but not in the atmosphere of Cena or Hogan they grew stale and Cena has grown stale.
John Cena like Hogan has the same routine, the same moves, the same setup to a finish everything though Cena has tried to throw in different moves from time to time to show he can wrestle. It seems to a point even John Cena has reached a point where he too is sick of the same routine.
This is why before Cena returns next he needs to begun a heel turn, it is time for the WWE to cash in on the declining popularity of John Cena merchandise even though it’s not a massive decline it’s just time to go a different direction.
The fear with a heel turn for Cena is what if it really damages the John Cena brand and the WWE cannot make anymore money from it? Bret Hart upon turning heel in the WWE had concerns about what it would be like being a heel.
His fear was the inability to turn face again and damage his relationship with his younger fans, this would no longer be an issue for Hart as he left for WCW after Vince went back on their 20 year contract.
The WWE needs to take the risk, when Hogan went to WCW he grew stale himself, when Hall and Nash came to WCW and there was buzz around the third guy apart of the nWo Hogan became that third guy. It took some time to convince Hogan to be apart of it, there was a decline in the Hulkser’s drawing power as a face, then came the fresh faced “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan apart of the newly formed nWo.
With the creation of the New World Order came a new battle, a change in the world of wrestling, and launched WCW into the lead in the Monday Night Wars. For Cena though there are no Monday Night Wars, but there is a chance to take an ailing character and breath new life into it.
The chorus of boos, the “John Cena sucks” chants during his entrance and the sighing of many fans cannot be ignored for too much long, even though the WWE has managed to ignore the hate for Roman Reigns and still try to ram him down the fans’ throats.
It’s either time for a new heel Cena, time for Cena to retire and create a global brand away from the WWE, or we persist with a tired character that even Cena doesn’t like doing the same old song and dance every week while growing ever more stale.
It won’t be too much longer before the well runs dry and there is no more milking the John Cena name, among the kids by then it could be too late for the WWE to rectify this and create a new John Cena. The persistence with the same olds from the WWE have also caused them to not be able to create new fan favourites and lose some others.
Fans have been wanting the WWE to make John Cena a heel, and bring a new character into the fold, it has been some time since Cena has been heel. It was the start of the hip hop gimmick, he would rap on his way to the ring, and for some fans they cheered that John Cena. But over the time it has become a gimmick that has staled.
Cena has prior to the WWE stint shown he can wrestle, despite the fans suggesting the contrary, those that have seen Cena work as ‘The Prototype’ in UPW would have seen him display wrestling ability. Also prior to switching to the hip hop gimmick Cena had shown some wrestling ability.
Since when there have been a few instances where Cena has thrown in some new moves, some wrestling moves along the way. In Cena’s gimmick he has been given a limited moveset to go along with the gimmick, it’s time for the WWE to begin the changes to make him new again.
A fresh Cena is what most fans want to see, but will the WWE pull the trigger? Or will they keep the same old Cena going? Time will tell.
