3. Merchandise
Arguably the biggest reason why Cena is still at the top of the WWE is because he sells more merchandise than any other WWE Superstar. He comes out dressed in his unique gear, which can be purchased at WWEshop.com, and then his fans, mainly the aforementioned children, buy all of it. Then, a few months later, he comes out with slightly newer or different-colored merchandise and his fans buy that. Hell, Cena might as well walk out one day with a black-and-white shirt that reads CASH COW, and more than likely his fans will buy that too. John Cenas character has translated into millions of dollars for the WWE. From ticket sales, PPV buys and especially their merchandise, John Cena has been bringing in the money for Vince McMahon for years now. The WWE have created an entire merchandise industry around Cena, and the success of that plan depends on Cena remaining popular with his fans. The loyal fans keep buying his action figures and his T-shirts, thus making everyone happy, including Mattel and other third-party stakeholders who have vested interested in keeping Cena in that top spot. For them to turn Cena heel would shake that business plan to its very core. While Stone Cold Steve Austin was WWEs most profitable Superstar of all time that was during a period when being an anti-authority beer-drinking surly redneck that flipped off the law was popular with their core audiences, which, again, were adult males. Cena is marketed towards children, and the merchandise manufacturers want to keep children hooked on their products. So turning Cena heel would be disastrous to that plan, even if the heel turn was only temporary. WWE cannot afford to lose that kind of merchandising money by turning their cash cow into something else, and neither can the other stakeholders. So maybe the solution would be to increase the merchandising for other Superstars. The problem, however, is that