For nine years John Cena has been the face of the WWE. Ever since the Doctor of Thuganomics defeated JBL at WrestleMania 21 to win his first WWE Championship, he has been positioned as the company's number one babyface, the figurehead of the main event scene. The role that was once filled by Hulk Hogan in the 80s and Stone Cold Steve Austin in the 90s now belongs to John Cena. Over the last decade we have seen him headline WrestleManias, star in movies, represent the company in everything from media events, to various charity work, to visiting the troops overseas. He is the most famous active wrestler working today and will be remembered as such many years after he dies. And yet everybody wants this man to turn heel? Despite Cena's enduring popularity with WWEs younger audience, fans above the age of twelve find John Cena frustrating. Though claiming to "never back down and never quit" he lacks the genuine toughness of Steve Austin. He dresses like a ten year old with his jean shorts and bright colorful T-shirts. Where the Rock was renowned for his sense of humor, Cena tends to rely on toilet jokes, and juvenile humor that would make Adam Sandler blush. The living personification of the PG Era, Cena is a positive role model for children, no one can deny that. But teenage and adult fans who were raised on the hardcore edginess of the Attitude Era simply cannot relate to this child friendly clown. His squeaky clean, good guy character is just too "boring" for most fans, and after nine years, it's more than outstayed it's welcome. The simplest reason why WWE has never turned Cena heel is money. Cena is the number one merchandise seller in the company. Were he to turn heel, all those kids in the crowd would stop asking their parents to buy them John Cena T-shirts, hats, wrist bands, action figures, etc. WWE would lose thousands in sales and so they keep Cena as their number one good guy. However I believe a John Cena heel-turn would also be detrimental to the fans. Not just the precious younger demographic, but the adult fans who continuously boo John Cena. Should Cena turn heel, it would be monumental, it would be the riskiest and most ground breaking story in years, but only in the short term. Long term, I believe certain cracks would appear and yet fans are so desperate for an evil Cena, that nobody ever stops to consider the potential problems. That's not to say that heel Cena would be a bad idea. But it won't be the supposed "miracle cure" that will silence all the negativity and quell the appetites of the frustrated and disillusioned adult fans. Here's five reason why a heel John Cena could potentially suck.
As a wrestling fan I've flown across the Atlantic for the last five years specifically to attend WrestleMania (28 and 30) as well as TNA, ROH, Evolve, Chikara and most recently PWG.
I may have a problem!
But if you're reading my work then you probably love wrestling too, so lets focus on that!
