Give me Liberty, Or give me John Cena as a Heel

Really since the dawn of the PG WWE programming, John Cena seems inevitably stuck as the premier good guy for the company. We have the fruity pebble t-shirts, all ages of girls (myself included) screaming at octaves that hurt  the surrounding peoples ears when his entrance hits, not to mention the bland promo’s he’s been cutting for what feels like this side of forever. I’ve been a fan of Cena since the beginning so I remember the good old days. When Cena was really allowed to speak how he felt and get a little creative in the ring. Back when he was a bad guy. I feel like he is over-due for a heel turn.

The problem:  I do not know if the WWE will ever let him change directions in his character again.

Cena is the most controversial talent in all of wrestling, in my personal opinion. Notice I did not say wrestler, entertainer, or “superstar” to describe him. Use any of those three words when referring to Cena and you will immediately spark a debate. I choose to use the word talent because that is exactly what he is. Cena is talented. He can lift 500lbs onto his shoulders, talk publicly in front of thousands of people, nah millions of people, and be personable at the same time. However, you either love him or you hate him. No one is on the fence when it comes to Cena. He invokes either hate or love in wrestling fans.

People will argue this is great for business. The crowd is split down the middle. Fans have an emotion to Cena being in the ring. This of course is true. However, it’s not how the WWE likes to run. Ever notice how they tried to stomp out Daniel Bryan’s face reactions immediately after Wrestlemania? They screwed Bryan at Mania 28 and the crowd at Monday Night Raw let them know it. I was there and it was by far the hottest crowd I have ever been a part of. Television doesn’t do it justice. The point though, is the WWE wants its faces and its heels with no tweaners in between.

It’s simply not good business for the WWE to turn Cena heel. It will cut into merchandise sales. Besides The Rock, there really isn’t a #1 marketed good guy. Sheamus? Perhaps, but he just doesn’t have the look to get the girls screaming for him. That is a demographic the WWE of course wants to try and target. So there is Randy Orton. But he also has a full count in WWE wellness suspensions. One more strike and he is rrrrreleased. (You better have said that like an umpire calling a strikeout. If not go back and do it.) Rey Mysterio is going to most likely retire because he can no longer stand; Sin Cara will probably follow him out the door. If not because of health issue, then because of his constant botching.

Although it might not be good business to turn Cena heel, it would be great for his character not to mention his entire wrestling image. Because when Cena was a bad guy, no one was criticizing him for being a sub-par wrestler. No one noticed that he blatantly calls out spots when he is in the ring. I have friends who work for the company and have told me that they watch the live shows just to see when Cena is calling a spot so they can cut to a different camera angle. Perhaps as a heel, Cena wouldn’t be shackled to his 5 moves of doom. Creativity in Cena’s move set? Isn’t that something you want to see?

On the flip-side, Cena is so much better on the microphone as a heel. His feuds with the Undertaker and Brock Lesnar were that much more fantastic because of the promos he was allowed to do. One of my favorite Cena heel moments came after he had knee surgery. They used a Lesnar F-5 to write him off TV. But Cena didn’t just disappear, he made sure Lesnar knew he would be back and he would be looking for redemption. His series of raps that followed are Cena Classics.

Granted I think we all are much happier that Cena has stopped rapping, but that does not mean he should drop the intensity now. His finisher was originally called the F-U!!! He was so much more intimidating as a bad guy. His character had an edge and an intrigue about it. As a face, he gets completely watered down. Of course, the PG content limitation doesn’t help.  

Going into Wrestlemania 29, which by the way has not gotten much better as far as hype, the WWE has put themselves into the perfect position to let Cena make a turn. Whether this is on purpose or not we will have to wait to see. But I want to propose 2 scenarios that could get people talking.

Scenario #1: The Rock defeats Cena at Wrestlemania

This is by far the most obvious direction the WWE can go when it comes to a Cena heel turn. After trying and failing twice to defeat The Rock, Cena finally has enough and snaps. No one can talk Cena off the cliff and he eventually starts to turn on the wrestlers that supported him.  The list of good guy wrestlers I named before can be the first feuds to get Cena involved with. If the WWE won’t turn Mr. RKO back to the dark side (which by the way they should) then at least give him a few matches with Cena. We have not seen a feud between these two in ages. After all, the ladies have to be presented by some hot body to cheer for. If last year’s Wrestlemania defeat sent Cena into a tailspin, then a second could certainly turn him back into a bad guy.

Scenario #2: Cena defeats The Rock at Wrestlemania

Finally, after nearly two years Cena is WWE champion again, all is right in his world. Or is it? After all, shouldn’t Cena hold a little resentment that the Rock got a WWE title match, just because he said he wanted to be champion again? I want to be WWE champion; does that mean I can get a title shot?

The special treatment that the Rock received the past 2 years is all the fire Cena needs to make a fantastic heel turn. Have Cena win the belt, let there be a ceremony the next night on Monday Night Raw, then have him turn his back on his company and his fans. The Rock never should have received special treatment, about 75% of Cena’s fans defected to cheer for his opponent for Wrestlemania 28 and they will for 29, not to mention they have made fun of his wrestling abilities and merchandise ruthlessly. Have Cena disown everyone, the company, the fans, make him an outcast, a man on a mission. I am WWE champion, I am going to stop catering to YOU people and concentrate on myself. Because as soon as the Rock showed up, no one gave a shit about John Cena.  

The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, the list goes on and on. Wrestlers can be at the peak of a huge good guy run and then make an abrupt heel turn. It’s happened before, why not now? Why not with the current face of the franchise? It will make the little kiddies cry. As evidenced by the little boy sitting in front of me at Raw this past week. His brother, a Rock fan, said right to his little brother’s face that Cena was going to lose at Wrestlemania. The little brother’s face immediately went to a horrific frown and he started balling his eyes out. There will be many others crying, signs will read “Say It Ain’t So John” through arenas. It will be completely worth it.

Cena needs a heel run to solidify his position in the company. Otherwise, all he is going to be seen as is the good looking, charismatic guy, who can sell a lot of merchandise, and makes all the little kids happy.  He will never be taken seriously as a wrestler or performer. Take Cena off his pedestal as the top good guy of the WWE and let people see why Cena is as good as he is and rose to the level he is currently at. John Cena is a damn good heel and it’s time for the world to be reminded.