No matter how good Seth Rollins is or how beloved he becomes as a babyface, it won't necessarily increase Raw's ratings and WWE's business. All of the people who already watch the product may support him, but lapsed viewers and non-fans who don't even know who he is won't become fans all of a sudden. For that to happen, WWE needs to do something major. Steve Austin led the company to new heights in 1998 and 1999, but as he rose to prominence, there were already more eyes on wrestling than there had been in previous years - the nWo angle in WCW kicked off the industry boom, and Austin himself became a star while feuding with The Hart Foundation. In both cases, the tipping point was that a longtime babyface turned heel and fans simply had to see what would happen next. A Cena heel turn could bring back fans who have abandoned WWE over the past decade, and could maybe even bring in adolescent TV viewers who have previously dismissed the company's product as too childish. They'll come for Cena, but they'll stay for Rollins, who - along with a reformed, babyface Shield - would soon become the hottest act in the company and the top star of the future. The company would gain momentum en route to breaking records - but for it to start, there has to be an inciting incident. John Cena must turn heel.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
