Imagine instead of hardworking milquetoast babyface John Cena we were instead treated to conniving heel John Cena out to prove a point doing the US Championship open challenges. Know an easy way to keep fans of Cena as a babyface still buying shirts as a heel? Printing shirts that say "Cena Sucks" on them. Think that wouldn't be a big seller? You're crazy if you do. Cena's open to a switch, and to be honest he needs a character refresh. If Vince McMahon weren't around, we could've had plucky underdog babyface Sami Zayn fighting determined heel John Cena. The heat for the near falls in not just that match, but in EVERY Match of the US Championship open challenge (especially versus Kevin Owens) would've been off the charts.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
