**MERGED** John Cena Thread - Heel Turn, Matches, Etc. (Keep it in here!!)

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

There are a number of candidates open for this position.

First off: Edge: Edge earned his first WWE Championship after cashing in the MITB briefcase on Cena at NYR in 2006 after Cena had that run from WM into the new year. From then on, Cena and Edge had a series of matches. Cena eventually won the title back at Royal Rumble, but Edge cost him the title to RVD months later. Cena regained the title again and feuded on and off with him over the rest of the year. I remember the feud being a heated one and seemingly the beginning of the every hate on Cena trend we still see continue today.

Randy Orton: We had these characters in just about every era. Macho Man to Hulk Hogan, HBK to Bret Hart, Austin to The Rock, and today, it's definitely Orton to Cena. The two biggest names in the company and arguably will be for the next five years or so. I think we're all waiting for Orton to go full on psycho heel again and take out Cena. Orton and Cena have a long, memorable rivalry that have victories in each direction of the feud. They've taken championships from each other on numerous occasions and have also been forced to join forces several times as well. I'd like to think that Orton vs Cena will be a Wrestlemania main event in the next couple years because this is the rivalry that would define the current era in professional wrestling.

CM Punk- In terms of the latest contender for this title of who/what Cena's weakness is, the memory and storylines are all fresh. CM Punk beat Cena and left a scar on his career because him losing the WWE title belt to Punk almost lost the title forever for the WWE. His character will forever be haunted by the prospect of what could have been if Punk didn't come back. Punk's win over Cena also catapulted him to forever being a main event star.

The Attitude Era- See current television programming, feud with The Rock, and mixed crowd reaction for further details.

I'm hoping when Cena does eventually succumb to a villain on live programming, it's someone of the likes of Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, Miz, or Dean Ambrose (FCW). However, the person who will eventually knock off Cena again and become his next Kryptonite will more than likely be Wade Barrett. Wade has already been "in control" of John Cena in his early years as a full time star and ring leader of Nexus. He's knocked off the likes of Randy Orton and others along the way too. A feud big PPV win over Cena for a title or number one contendership could do wonders for his young career that's already blossoming.

 

[3:16]

I think it should be ziggler. This would be the biggest push for him and his career so he can jump from a mid-carder to the big times. If not him I think they should try to either go back to Wade or Sheamus

 

[BetterThenU!!!]

I would honestly prefer it to be a newcomer from FCW that they would try and push someone like Dean Ambrose. I would have him come out as a face on raw and have Laurinaitis offer Ambrose a contract but he has to beat a certain wrestler have him lose to the likes of Mark Henry,Ziggler,Alberto etc however have him keeping coming back every week similar to Brian Kendrick in 2003 if im not mistaken have Cena watch him over the weeks and have Ambrose tell Cena something along the lines of "your one of my biggest reasons I became a wrestler" and so on have Cena give him advice every week till Laurinaitis screws Ambose out of a win and Cena gets Ambrose 1 more shot but it will be against Cena have a stipulation be if Cena loses he doesn’t get a title shot. Have Ambrose beat him by some miracle have it happen again a couple of weeks later and use this to slowly build Cena into tweener/heel from there on start a little rivalry with Ambrose always winning have Cena attack him brutally and use this to continue Cenas heel turn and have Ambrose return for vengeance changing him from underdog face to some crazy tweener face dude if that makes sense

Also could use Rollins instead of Ambrose...Just my two cents

 

[The12thMan]

I'm sorry but I don't think there is anybody on the current roster that can have a good feud with Cena. Cena is far beyond those feuds right now in my opinion. He reminds me now of guys like HHH, HBK, Taker etc. Besides even if WWE were to do this, they would just feed him guys like Lord Tensai, Dolph Ziggler, Del Rio, Miz and on and on and on. Cena will beat all of them, because thats just what he does.

The only guy they could even somewhat possibly do this with Cena would be Punk...but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Anytime soon!!!

Actually did anybody think of Daniel Bryan??? Just though of that...

 

[Gore Illa]

It should have been Punk, but they quickly made him another generic face.

I think Cena has already passed that part of his career. He's been apart of every era of the past decade, he was apart of that Ruthless Aggression Era, he was the face of the era where WWE was confused with whether it wanted to be edgy or family oriented, and he spearhead the post-Benoit era where the WWE wanted everything to be squeaky clean due to the newfound negative light on the wrestling world.

I think Orton will be "that guy" when WWE starts to give us it's revisionist history with their DVD's and stuff. But really, Cena has never had a set nemesis. They just took Cena and placed him against whatever heel had the most heat at the time.

 

[ropeninja89]

children and women should be his kryptonite becasue he has been a joke since he left the dr behind to become this joke of a wrestler

 

[komotion]

I can't judge him as being a legend or not, time can only do that, but I can say he will be in the hall of fame. Even though I don't like the man (he reminds of hogan in a weird way) and find him appalling when he's on the mic, he did carry the company for a few years and kept it at the state that it's in. Actually, it's gotten better, but you catch my drift. The man pulled in the kids and women, a group that WWE had lost during the attitude era, and he was even able to put over some wrestlers (speaking of, why do people say he holds rookies back?).

 

[The Goonster]

So lets go back in WWE history and try to formulate how the WWE landscape might have been different today, or over the last several years, if WWE had given into the pleas of most fans to turn John Cena into a heel, based upon the boos and poor crowd reaction he received in late 2005, early 2006. What if for example, WWE decided to turn Cena heel at or after Wrestlemania 22, possibly turning HHH face in the process. What direction do you think WWE would have gone in ? Could he have been a successful heel, and could his opponents, such as Edge have pulled of being the babyface of a fued ? How long could you have seen his turn possibly lasting ? Could he have still come to be the character we see today, or as popular ? Would it have influenced the format and direction of the programming away from the current PG standard ? What do you feel are some of the possible scenarios that could have played out, and how would it have affected WWE had they listened and given into to the boos John Cena heard. How might he or the product overall, have been different today ?

 

[cmedge]

I would've booked it during 2007. Despite what all these ******ed Cenation members say he was always booed heavily over the last 7 years. I remember one Raw he was facing Eric Bischoff for the WWE title and people were booing Cena and cheering Eric. Many "Cena Sucks", "You Can't Wrestle" chants. The WWE had a mentality back in the day if a star wasn't getting over they'd change the character to make it more fresh. Like Rocky Mavia to The Rock and The Ringmaster to Stone Cold Steve Austin two of the most polarizing men in Wrestling History. Also small turns like Bob Backlaund to the elitest heel. If he turned heel in 2007 it would've been the freshest thing ever.

 

[Galvatron]

I am about as much anti Cena as you can possibly be but he has been a legend for years now. He has been in so many WWE/World Championship matches at wrestlemania that I would have to google how many. His main feuds in his career have been against other legends (Triple H, Orton, HBK, Jericho, Lesnar, The Rock, Edge and Angle). F1 Racing is about to come on so I think I have made my point.

 

[BigRedMachine88]

I don't get why people think turning Cena heel is the answer to all his problems. Whether he's face or heel, it doesn't alter the fact he can't wrestle, he doesn't sell, he would still be rammed down our throats as the top bad guy, and in truth he would be the same character on the mic only instead of making fun of heels he'd do it to the faces. Vince Mcmahon thought Cena would be the Hulk Hogan of this generation. Problem was "this generation" doesn't want another Hulk Hogan.

 

[Jerichoholic8894]

I think a more advanced version of the Dr. of Thuganomics would of been a good spice up back in 07

By "more advanced version" I'm not sure how to say it, but I mean not just a cheesy rap on his opponite on the way to the ring, but more of a "Main Event Thuganomics"

Maybe even have a stable, slowly have him "Show people the way" of thuganomics and have a mix of DX and Evolution stable simply called Thuganomics.

But to answer your question, I feel that a Cena heel turn wouldn't have alowed us to see some great feuds because a heel Cena isn't worth turning great heels like Edge or Orton face.

I really hope the WWE give's the heel turn a shot, maybe not even a full heel turn, but at least a "I'm only looking out for myself" type of thing

 

[DeathClutch]

The problem with turning him heel in late 2005-06 was the fact WWE was running low on strong, fresh new faces and the fact WWE pushed him HARD between November 04-August 05 with the Marine & CD and the WWE title they couldn't turn him heel so quick.

Plus 2006 Cena had one hot year with feuds with Edge, HHH & RVD and later with Big Show that helped get Lashley over in the long run the problem was 2007 from Jan-August Cena's only meaningful feud was Shawn at WrestleMania/Backlash with the addition of Edge & Orton whom were both starting to feud in their own right.

IMO WWE should have turned Cena heel in early 2007 so rather than face Umaga, Khali and Lashley in rhetoric matches for PPV's he'd of had the opportunity to work with fresh faces. And a heel turn would of been a fresh thing for Cena, he could of played off his thuganomics will throwdown anywhere just insulted the crowd so the fans know he's a bad guy and around the end of 08 they could of had him turn face again and this would have fed the IWC what they wanted Cena's heel run and built him back up for a fresh face run.

 

[vince1990]

The problem is his character? it's blad, boring, not entertaining at least with his Marky Mark gimmick it was something new and refreshing and dat boy can rap too!

 

[stephenjpunk317]

Would it have mattered because I think you'd be right back to where he is now. There's no way he's staying heel for that long of time, so he would have been turned around, and probably the same person he is now stating he doesn't care if you boo him or cheer him.

 

[theworldfamousdoctor]

The best chance the company had was with the Nexus thing, letting Cena turn heel slowly and starting to enjoy the power trip of working with a stable of other wrestlers taking control of the Roster and highlighting other talent like Barrett having a good Nexus run turning them into a stable like NWO, then going full out heel at a big ppv or Raw by taking full control of the faction Like the Rock did with nation of domination.

A heel Cena could of then really allowed a few younger guys to get over as baby faces over the last few years so the WWE wasn't so overloaded with mid card Heels,

Cena is still a bad rassaler but in a stable some of this could be forgotten if other members of his stable were heavily involved in feuds.

Also a turn face back again wouldn't be that hard to stomach if the other members of the stable turn on him or there is some power struggle story line etc

 

[Chrome]

Most fans don't seem to hate John because of his squeaky clean image. We dislike him because he's boring. His character is stale. Hulk Hogan had his big run WWE from approximately 1984-93. That is nine years and even by the last year or so the less jaded fans of that era were growing tired with his act.

Bear in mind that back then RAW wasn't on every week. We got one hour every Saturday where the top guys rarely appeared. There were only four PPVs per year. Most of the time you only saw Hogan on TV once in a while or at a live event in your area. Now? The top guy is on your screen as part of two 2-hour shows along with recaps on Superstars, NXT, monthly PPVs, etc. In other words: overexposure is more rampant.

Cena has now been doing the exact same act for seven years. He isn't much behind Hogan in terms of actual time but he's far ahead in screen time. Guys like Austin and Rock had the benefit of shortened careers either due to injury or pursuing other avenues. Cena doesn't have that. Cena is a tired act. So even if he did turn heel, while the jaded fans would pop for it, they'd still get tired if he was constantly in the main event and constantly spouting the same cookie cutter promos.

It's not heel versus face. It's time. Unless Cena freshens up his act and vacates the title picture for a very long time, everyone will eventually want to move on. Yes, that includes the kids of today who will be the rebellious teenagers of tomorrow.

No reason to change up what he's doing?
How about consistently dwindling PPV buy rates and ratings half of what they were in the Attitude Era???

Not to mention less than impressive attendance numbers. I swear, 2 out of the 3 WWE live events I attended in the last 12 months garnered about 5,000 fans, in a place that seats up to 21,000! Pathetic

There is nothing for Cena to do as a face now though . Him as a heel opens up a whole new dimension for the WWE to explore after all people only started getting behind the Rock when he turned heel

I believe the rea reason he won't turn heel is because, Fact is:
Cena can't turn heel because he can't hold and control a match on his own. What's he gonna do? Do flying shoulder blocks all match long?

 

[itssoeasy123]

Seriously, if anybody think Cena's a bad wrestler, you know nothing about professional wrestling.

Cena won't be turning heel anytime soon, and he will win at Wrestlemania 28. Revenue isn't going down, their not losing money, so why turn Cena heel? John Cena won't be turning heel because of people in the audience and on the internet wanting it to happen. It's much more of a risk to turn Cena heel, then to keep him face. If you keep him face, your still getting the guaranteed money he generates as a face, but as a heel it could fall flat on it's face like the Stone Cold heel turn.

Trust me, if WWE is making enough money, John Cena won't turn heel.

 

[The Big Gunnzbowski]

Seriously, if anybody think Cena's a bad wrestler, you know nothing about professional wrestling.

Cena won't be turning heel anytime soon, and he will win at Wrestlemania 28. Revenue isn't going down, their not losing money, so why turn Cena heel? John Cena won't be turning heel because of people in the audience and on the internet wanting it to happen. It's much more of a risk to turn Cena heel, then to keep him face. If you keep him face, your still getting the guaranteed money he generates as a face, but as a heel it could fall flat on it's face like the Stone Cold heel turn.

Trust me, if WWE is making enough money, John Cena won't turn heel.

Money is not the issue with a Cena Heel Turn... Believe me.

Remember that the current audience and majority of Cena fans are children. Cena is at the top of the Make-A-Wish foundation's request list, and the forefront of their Anti-bullying campaign. It's not that it doesn't make sense financially... it just doesn't make sense period. How confused do you think the younger fans were when Cena cut his rap promo on the Rock a couple weeks ago?

 

[Marv95]

[QUOTE="The Living Legend" Johnny Gunnz;3796842]Money is not the issue with a Cena Heel Turn... Believe me.

Remember that the current audience and majority of Cena fans are children. Cena is at the top of the Make-A-Wish foundation's request list, and the forefront of their Anti-bullying campaign. It's not that it doesn't make sense financially... it just doesn't make sense period. How confused do you think the younger fans were when Cena cut his rap promo on the Rock a couple weeks ago?[/QUOTE]

Really because I thought most of their current audience is 18 and over(go on WWE's corporate site if you don't believe me).

I saw that promo. It seemed to me that it was well-received from the audience and he was cheered by the end of it. It's not about trying to pander week after week towards a small portion of your audience; this isn't a kid-friendly cartoon. If kids could get over the fact that Hogan, Bret, Macho, Rock, Austin, etc.turned heel they can deal with a Cena heel turn. BTW, wasn't Rock near the top of the MAW Foundation before he turned?

 

[Radical]

I think a lot of the reason people want a Cena heel turn is because it would almost gaurantee a character change which is really what people seem to want.

I like Cena for what he does bring to the WWE and hate him for what I think he takes away from it.

I don't think we will see a Cena heel turn for a while, at least until maybe CM Punk or someone else rises up as super face in the company. What I WOULD like to see out of Cena is some element of a change in character. Won't be a full heel turn but at least something that causes him to show more aggression in his matches and a more serious demenor when he talks.

I loved the Kane / Cena storyline when it STARTED because I thought it would be the start of a change for Cena... like when Kane attacked Ryder and Cena got all mad and beat the hell out of Jack Swagger... I thought THAT was where he was going with it. Cena would still be a face because he is sticking up for his friends but he would be doing so with purpose and determination.

And for goodness sakes... pull out some new moves Cena, starting at WrestleMania. We all The Rock and John Cena have moves they both commonly use but c'mon Cena get up on the top rope and do something from there... do a powerbomb or I dunno, jump off the middle rop like a luchador... practice it first... but if you did that it would actually be something interesting.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Isn't turning him heel sort of the cowards way out? Instead of doing the boring, predictable, generic, overdone "TURN HIM TEH HEELZ" why not just evolve the character as a babyface?

I feel like this argument has been picking up a lot of steam. Personally, turning him heel is a dumb idea not just from a business perspective, but creatively too. It's the easy way out and isn't realy that exciting.

To the guy above me, why in God's name would John change his moveset? He has really as many moves as anyone else. Why would a guy build like a brick shithouse do lucha moves? That doesn't make you a better wrestler, it makes you look stupid because it doesn't make sense with your character. Why do a powerbomb? We'll likely see several powerbombs in the show before, the crowd won't pop for it because the move isn't "special" at that point or really at this point at all unless it's a finish. He DOES have a top rope move, he's been doing the diving famasser from the top forever now.

Also, cena's character has changed quite a bit since his feud vs Punk. To touch on a point earlier, I think CM Punk is DEFINATELY the guy to be Cena's foil. They are polar opposites in every way except being awesome. Plus, Punk has beaten Cena in 2 high profile matches.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

You know I see a couple of 3 scenarios here:

1. Rock wins after a hard fought battle with Cena, but shakes his hand out of respect. Too cheesy, too filmy...

Hogan vs Rock X8 muthaf*ckas!

2. Rock wins but they are not done and have a best of 3 series for another year. (Please No)

3. Rock wins, Cena loses it and kills The Rock thus turning heel.

4. Cena wins, stays with his gimmick, people die after a whole night rioting in Miami. Flo Rida is hung by his nipples.



I think a Cena heel turn is very hard because, of the kids. The Make-A-Wish people are gushing over Cena and the Be A Star's ambassdor "is" Cena.

This situation is very different from years ago when Hulk Hogan was getting booed. Bottom line, the Cena fans have shown tremendous loyalty and stuck with their super hero through everything. A heel turn would do WWE a world of harm in PR and everything. To be honest I don't think if Cena can EVER turn into a full fledged heel.


Then again , you never know. If The Rock wins at Mania, I do predict that Cena might lambast him in a fit of rage.



Edit: Ye I know there are 4!

 

[Radical]

Ok so many he shouldn't do lucha moves off the rope but when you are around as long as John Cena, WM is the perfect time to introduce a few NEW moves. I never said change his move set completely... just introduce something new!

 

[The Champ]

I would like to think that this Sunday's match will end the heel turn debate for good, either with the heel turn finally happening or people's acknowledgement that since they passed up the best possible opportunity to do it, it's simply not going to happen.

I know that the internet doesn't reason like that, so I'm sure the debate will irrationally continue no matter what, but honestly... it's now or never.

I still would rather it not happen, because I love Cena as a face and I think there are things in life that are more important (i.e. Make a Wish) than throwing yet another bone to the disgruntled Attitude Era marks.

At the same time, if it's the route they choose to go on Sunday, I can at least look forward to seeing a compelling storyline, even though I'll probably be wanting him to turn face again within a few months.