8 Wrestling Heels Who Took Real Hatred And Turned It Into Heat

2. John Cena

In terms of vocality, John Cena is one of the biggest heels in the WWE today. He is also supposed to be their biggest babyface. Wherever he goes he divides audiences straight down the middle, with family and children chanting 'Let's Go Cena' and everyone else chanting 'Cena Sucks'. The real-life hatred of John Cena is so strong that one of his most enduring slogans is 'Rise Above Hate'. And if you think that the hatred of John Cena is simply part of his gimmick and not real, check any message board. There's a lot of CAPS LOCK messages out there and Cena dominates most of them. The truth is though, the constant frustration of the hardcore fans who see the purveyor of fruity pebbles as everything that's wrong with the WWE today are equally as responsible for the John Cena Phenomenon as his supporters. Cena and the WWE have incorporated the boos into Cena's character so skilfully that when hardcore audiences take relish in 'sticking it to the man' all they do is end up contributing to status quo. If the fans really wanted to bring down Cena, they could simply stop reacting, or turn their backs, or stop attending the shows, but their once-raw hatred has been assimilated into the product so much that it's as much ingrained in their minds as Yes-ing.