For a long time, WWE has played it safe, watching ratings and fan interest slowly fall while adhering to a relatively unchanging way of handling business. For a real payoff, the company might need to take a gamble - and storyline-wise, there's no greater gamble than turning John Cena heel. To many lapsed fans, Cena (unfairly) represents the post-Attitude slump of WWE. He's thought of as not as entertaining as The Rock, not as cool as Steve Austin, and not as talented in the ring as Triple H (the irony of it all). These fans think of Cena as a champion "for the kids," and emblematic of the fact that they've outgrown wrestling. A shocking heel turn by Cena could signal to former fans that WWE has "grown up," all while providing new, compelling stories for WWE loyalists. The mainstream attention that it would get would be sure to put new (and old) eyes on the product. Given the current state of the company, this wouldn't be like turning Steve Austin in 2001... more like turning Bret Hart in 1997. In the long run, that worked out pretty well. A Cena heel turn wouldn't inaugurate a second Attitude Era-esque boom period - far from it. It might, however, help the company transition to a desperately-needed new phase filled with stories fans haven't already seen.
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
