10 Reasons Why John Cena Heel Turn Would Be ‘Best For Business’
3. If Done Right, A Heel Turn Could Make A LOT Of Money...
In the old days of professional wrestling, heels rarely, if ever, got to be champions. However, these days, a company is actually more likely to put a heel on top over the long term than a face. Traditionally, a heel was used as a transitional champion in order to pass the belt between babyfaces (for example, Sgt. Slaughter beating Ultimate warrior in 1991 and then losing to Hogan, or Harley Race defeating Dory Funk, Jr in 1973 and subsequently losing to Jack Brisco). However, these days a long-term heel champ can mean big business (and bigger buy rates). The history of the long-term heel kingpin can be traced back to Wild Bill Longson, a master audience manipulator and genuinely tough guy who actually once came back from a broken spine in less than a year(!). Longson was maybe the biggest drawing card throughout the WWII years. In 1943, Wild Bill began his second reign as world champ, it lasted for four years and he sold out literally everywhere he went. Longson is rightly remembered for being the first true heel champion; the one who proved that having a bad guy on top could actually draw money. In fact, when last I checked my stats, Wild Bill was 15 2 against the mighty Lou Thesz - now thats a bad guy! Superstar Billy Graham is another long-term heel champ, this time setting a precedent in the old WW(W)F and carving out a niche that is still visible today in the WWE. Graham (I told you wed get around to him!) was one of the first guys to use steroids (back before it was seen as a bad thing) and his ripped, chiselled physique was an instant heat magnet. People hated him. Sauntering down to the ring in tie-dye outfits and smirking with smug self-satisfaction all the while, The self-appointed Superstar was THE performer that fans loved to hate. Graham ended the run of the legendary Bruno Sammartino in 1977, winning the WWWF Championship from him under controversial circumstances; it was a title that he held for a full year before dropping the belt to Bob Backlund in 1978. A heel holding a title for that length of time was almost inconceivable in the WWWF of the 1970s, but it drew big money and todays WWE still repeats the formula (the most successful example from the modern era being Kurt Angles 11-month Championship run from 2000-2001). Cena, with his gaudy sweat bands, Fresh Prince-approved ring attire and 80s-style t-shirts, reminds me of Graham from time to time, hes considerably bigger than most of his opponents and appears to be in great shape, just like Graham always did (although, in my opinion, Cena is probably not on steroids). In addition, Graham was heavily criticised for his limited ring work, just as Cena is today. The difference is that Grahams job was to draw heat, so the more people hated him, the more money he ultimately made. Could the same formula work for Cena? Why not?
I am a professional author and lifelong comic books/pro wrestling fan. I also work as a journalist as well as writing comic books (I also draw), screenplays, stage plays, songs and prose fiction.
I don't generally read or reply to comments here on What Culture (too many trolls!), but if you follow my Twitter (@heyquicksilver), I'll talk to you all day long!
If you are interested in reading more of my stuff, you can find it on http://quicksilverstories.weebly.com/ (my personal site, which has other wrestling/comics/pop culture stuff on it).
I also write for FLiCK http://www.flickonline.co.uk/flicktion, which is the best place to read my fiction work.
Oh yeah - I'm about to become a Dad for the first time, so if my stuff seems more sentimental than usual - blame it on that!
Finally, I sincerely appreciate every single read I get. So if you're reading this, thank you, you've made me feel like Shakespeare for a day! (see what I mean?)
Latcho Drom,
- CQ
