Have WWE found the perfect villain for Cena?

I don't think it's a secret that Cena's 2 greatest feuds- Edge and CM Punk, have come from heels that were "cool heels." Let's face it- 50% of WWE fans hate John Cena. If you're a heel and you feud with Cena, you're either getting over or you suck.

Ryback didn't get over because he isn't cool- it has nothing to do with his PPV losing streak or Cena being booked as Superman. Super Cena is actually a great character IMO because if you can beat John Cena you stand out as better than the rest of the roster. Edge and Punk were, so they were booked to beat him.

What I'm trying to say is the perfect villain for John Cena is just a great talent that needs that feud to take it to the next level. Cena launched the careers of Edge and Punk, but that was because Edge and Punk DESERVED the Super Cena push whereas most of Cena's opponents do not.

So this means the only superstars that can be a truly great villain to Cena are "cool" characters that can get over, but need that win over Cena to become one of the top 2 or 3 guys in the company. I feel like Mark Henry is too late to the party to earn that push, so he won't be beating Cena at MITB. They'll have Cena beat Henry clean to FURTHER BUILD CENA SO THAT WHEN HE DOES LOSE, THE GUY WHO BEATS HIM LOOKS EVEN BETTER.

The guy who beats Cena can become the next Edge or Punk, as long as he has that cool factor. In today's WWE, the obvious choice is Daniel Bryan. D-Bry is cool. He didn't have the bad-girl everyone wanted like Edge, he didn't have the pipebomb "I want WWE ice cream bars" promo like Punk, but D-Bry does make grown men and woman do a modified hokey-pokey and scream YES! over and over again. He's the most over guy in the company besides Cena, but he isn't perceived as Top Guy A or B because he hasn't beaten him yet.

Bray Wyatt isn't really that cool (yet). He isn't over yet. When I think of getting the Wyatt's a fair chance to be pushed to the moon, I think that they should be paired with the guys who need someone to follow. They should be booked to become faces and have the WWE Universe go apeshit once the lights go out and their hero (Wyatt) arrives. I think if any character can replace the Undertaker as the dark hero of the roster, it's Bray Wyatt. Undertaker and John Cena couldn't really have a logical feud without a title or something for them to fight over.

So Daniel Bryan needs to be the Cena villain. Cena should tap out to D-Bry at Sumerslam, in the final match of the night, and shake Bryan's hand after the match. The rest of their feud should consist of Super Cena "respecting" Bryan but saying he'll never make him tap out again blah blah blah, and Bryan can become a cocky champion again like his WHC reign, becoming a "coool" heel that fans will cheer even though he'll cheat if he needs to to win a match.

He should hold onto the title until Wrestlemania, where the WWE can pick a face for the big feud with the future of the company in mind. Maybe Bryan (cool heel) vs. Ziggler (face) w/ AJ (heel, rejected by both) as the referee? Potentially your top young heel, face, and woman in the ring for the final match?

I'm getting ahead of myself here. A little bit of a tangent. Continue on.
 
I really like the idea of a feud down the line somewhere, but they need to play this character really smart. Less really is more with this type of persona.

I like the idea of a feud with Cena in which Wyatt begins to add more members to his group, but slowly. I like the idea of Cena being unable to trust anyone around him, not sure who is friend and who is enemy. Then when all is said and done, Cena is scared, for the first time in his career he is truly unsettled and begins to lash out, doing un-cena like things. He walks out on a match or two, he stars doing double takes here and there. I just think the build could be really epic.

Anyway, I think intellectual heels or fear inspired heels are the best foils to Cena like babyfaces. With the Rock, I felt that the two parties were similar in their delivery and personality, so I felt like I was getting a double dose. That aint a bad thing when both parties are so talented, but I liked the Edge-Cena promos because both sides were different.

Just My Opinion
 
It's already been said by Zrise and others, but there's only one man on the roster, who's the perfect foil for Cena:

RAW_999_Photo_005.jpg

CM Punk is the tattooed rebel, who steps outside the box. Cena on the other hand, is the clean cut face of the company, who plays by the rules. Punk and Cena are perfect polar opposites of each other, and when it comes to in-ring performances, mic skills, and popularity, CM Punk is the only guy, who truly fits the mold for the role of Cena's ideal choice for a villain.

And yeah, it's too early to consider Bray Wyatt as a choice to go up against Cena. I mean, we don't even know the agenda of the Wyatt Family, or what their overall goal is in WWE yet. Bray speaks in tongues and we've seen a handful of cryptic videos from the Wyatts. That's all we know right now, and that's not enough to start up a feud with the WWE Champion and face of the company.
 
I really like the idea of a feud down the line somewhere, but they need to play this character really smart. Less really is more with this type of persona.

I like the idea of a feud with Cena in which Wyatt begins to add more members to his group, but slowly. I like the idea of Cena being unable to trust anyone around him, not sure who is friend and who is enemy. Then when all is said and done, Cena is scared, for the first time in his career he is truly unsettled and begins to lash out, doing un-cena like things. He walks out on a match or two, he stars doing double takes here and there. I just think the build could be really epic.

Anyway, I think intellectual heels or fear inspired heels are the best foils to Cena like babyfaces. With the Rock, I felt that the two parties were similar in their delivery and personality, so I felt like I was getting a double dose. That aint a bad thing when both parties are so talented, but I liked the Edge-Cena promos because both sides were different.

Just My Opinion

The bolded part would be fucking awesome. The creepy cryptic promos that Wyatt could cut in that type of angle would be sweet. I like the idea of "who side is this guy on? whos gonna be the next member of the Wyatt family?". Could really be some interesting shit. Unfortunately, I dont think WWE has it in them, nor do the writers that they hire from soap opera shows and reality tv, to have a nice long angle like that without shitting themselves and blowing their wad too early.
 
It's already been said by Zrise and others, but there's only one man on the roster, who's the perfect foil for Cena:

RAW_999_Photo_005.jpg

CM Punk is the tattooed rebel, who steps outside the box. Cena on the other hand, is the clean cut face of the company, who plays by the rules. Punk and Cena are perfect polar opposites of each other, and when it comes to in-ring performances, mic skills, and popularity, CM Punk is the only guy, who truly fits the mold for the role of Cena's ideal choice for a villain.

And yeah, it's too early to consider Bray Wyatt as a choice to go up against Cena. I mean, we don't even know the agenda of the Wyatt Family, or what their overall goal is in WWE yet. Bray speaks in tongues and we've seen a handful of cryptic videos from the Wyatts. That's all we know right now, and that's not enough to start up a feud with the WWE Champion and face of the company.

CM Punk as a main villain is almost laughable as The Great Khali being considered a wrestler.

There are a lot of guys who can play a BELIEVABLE villain than CM "Cliche" Punk.
 
CM Punk as a main villain is almost laughable as The Great Khali being considered a wrestler.

There are a lot of guys who can play a BELIEVABLE villain than CM "Cliche" Punk.

I partly agree with this. I don't think CM Punk is clichè at all, but I do think him as the top heel makes no sense, because to me CM Punk just doesn't work as a heel. CM Punk needs to be a babyface. I've never been able to get into CM Punk as a heel and never will be able to. CM Punk as a face is the way to go.
 
CM Punk as a main villain is almost laughable as The Great Khali being considered a wrestler.

There are a lot of guys who can play a BELIEVABLE villain than CM "Cliche" Punk.

So you're just going to ignore Punk and Cena having four five star worthy matches together (Summerslam '11, MITB '11, Night Of Champions from last year, and Raw this year)? Yeah, there's no one else on the roster, who can have great matches with Cena, and dueling promos, while playing the ideal adversary for Cena being the "corporate guy." If you don't like CM Punk (which is obvious going by your sig) that's one thing. But calling his character cliche? Just no.

Oh, and The Great Khali is 7' 1", weighing close to four hundred pounds with a history of knee problems. What else can you expect from him inside the ring? He's a giant. He can't fly around the ring, or do a cross-body from the top rope, and he doesn't have forty submission moves in his arsenal. I'm guessing that's your definition of a "wrestler".
 
So you're just going to ignore Punk and Cena having four five star worthy matches together (Summerslam '11, MITB '11, Night Of Champions from last year, and Raw this year)? Yeah, there's no one else on the roster, who can have great matches with Cena, and dueling promos, while playing the ideal adversary for Cena being the "corporate guy." If you don't like CM Punk (which is obvious going by your sig) that's one thing. But calling his character cliche? Just no.

Oh, and The Great Khali is 7' 1", weighing close to four hundred pounds with a history of knee problems. What else can you expect from him inside the ring? He's a giant. He can't fly around the ring, or do a cross-body from the top rope, and he doesn't have forty submission moves in his arsenal. I'm guessing that's your definition of a "wrestler".

Cliche as a heel, definitely. What's the first thing he did when he turned heel again? Oh, right. Demand respect from the fans like every heel has done. Watching him try so hard to be a villain was just awkward to watch.

And about my sig, nah, I'm just trying to get under Cmpunker's skin, kid was an easy troll bait. I think Punk's a decent face, to be fair.

But about your Great Khali comment... uhhh.. yeah I'm just going to pretend I didn't read that.

I partly agree with this. I don't think CM Punk is clichè at all, but I do think him as the top heel makes no sense, because to me CM Punk just doesn't work as a heel. CM Punk needs to be a babyface. I've never been able to get into CM Punk as a heel and never will be able to. CM Punk as a face is the way to go.

I agree, friend. Face Punk > Heel Punk
 
First off have a look at the debut and pay attention to the pop 1:43
Strange, I thought I heard smarky, disrespectful Husky Harris chants in there. Further, pops for supposed top heels, despite what most seem to think these days, isn't a good thing.

I do love his entrance theme, however. :)

Granted all this depends on Bray Wyatt making the most of his chance and Cena allowing Wyatt to appear as an equal but I think they have a real shot at making a lot of money.
Your idea is fine, and Wyatt, if developed properly, and is in ring shape to have longer matches like Cena can, is a good one. However, one debut, without even wrestling a match, however evil he appeared, is not enough to evaluate whether or not he can be a good foil for John Cena. But what irks me more then anything is when people make such comments as I bolded.

John Cena, despite being the face of the company, is not on the writing, producing, or booking team. I'd bet he has creative control over his character, but making others look his equal is the job of the writers, booking, and ultimately, Vince McMahon, not to mention those characters' performances as well. There's a reason the Jack Swagger's and Cody Rhodes, despite their phenomenal backgrounds, haven't truly advanced far. They wrestle just fine, but they don't have the ability to make you care about them because of their lack of charisma.

Daniel Bryan, if turned heel, could be the perfect "villian" to face Cena. We've seen him be borderline verbally abusive and blatantly misogynistic, and flat out delusional. All are the direct opposite of Cena's character, and we know what he can do. It's too soon to label Wyatt the "perfect villian" for Cena when we've yet to see him wrestle and have only seen one segment. But so far, really darn good.
And there have been several "perfect" villians for John Cena over the years. Edge was one, as he was everything Cena isn't. CM Punk has been another, as even though he was cheered as a face come MITB, he was a heel coming into that match, through and through. Does a face threaten to win the WWE Championship and hold it hostage by taking it with him on his way out the door? Me thinks not. And Punk proved his equl, beating him in both the main events of MITB 2011, Summerslam 2011, Summerslam 2012, and Survivor Series 2012. At any time, they could turn Punk into the vile villian, the "bad man" he's claimed to be, and there isn't a doubt you have the right villian for Cena.

Edge, to a lesser extent, from 2006-2009, was the same, and even moreso, he won their final match as foes at Backlash 2009, when he took the World Title from Cena in their excellent Last Man Standing match. Mark Henry, right now, a day from the PPV, appears to be the perfect villian, as he essentially has Cena quaking in fear of him. Cena will likely beat him, but right now, he looks like the first person since Batista or Brock Lesnar to actually cause Cena self-doubt.

Here's the other thing about the face of the company: If everyone looked equal to him, he wouldn't be the face any of the company, would he? He'ld be just another champion, always looking vulnerable, like the Honky Tonk Man. Granted, he was a heel and people paid to see him lose a title he held for a very long time, but it wasn't expected he retain.

There are some people who need to be booked strongly, and more credibly, then others. When you're the face of the company, like John Cena, you're one of them.
 
I think that the only way to find a perfect villain for Cena is to find a superstar that can make you feel that they either: a) Have a strong hatred for Cena (Edge, Batista, Lesnar and don't hate me but The Miz) or b) Want the title more than they want to breathe (HBK, Punk, Orton)

I can't see the Wyatt character having a hatred for Cena right now seeing as he hasn't even had a match on Raw yet, let alone come across Cena and I can't see him going for the title as soon as he comes to the WWE unless creative want to bury his career befpre its even started. I'd rather see the Wyatt Family feud with the shield first with Bray eventually feuding with Cena come Survivor Series or HIAC.

Personally I don't think Cena will ever have a feud as good as the one he had with Edge. That feud is easily the best of Cena's career, the way they worked off each other in the ring both physically and on the mic was amazing. You truly felt Edge hated Cena' guts. Another feud I thought was pretty good was with The Miz starting off with The Miz's Cena hating gimmick and culminating in a title match at wrestelmania.

Right now, unless Wade Barrett gets a huge push and even then he wouldn't be a "perfect villain", I don't think there is a perfect villain for Cena. He could feud with Punk again which although has already been seen would still produce stellar matches but like I said has been done, in a few months time Big E Langston could be a great villain for him but I just don't think anything will be able to top the Edge Vs Cena feud.
 
Cliche as a heel, definitely. What's the first thing he did when he turned heel again? Oh, right. Demand respect from the fans like every heel has done. Watching him try so hard to be a villain was just awkward to watch.

I agree, friend. Face Punk > Heel Punk

No. Just no.

If its so cliche, who else has been doing it, much less as well as he has been. You don't like him, your sig makes it pretty obvious, but don't let your judgment be blinded by your poor taste.

Fuck no, face Punk is infinitely more cliche than heel, he's an average face. A passionate, articulate heel is far more interesting than a docile face who like everyone else totally panders to the crowd and spouts off his own catchphrase in the most uncool way possible.
 
No. Just no.

If its so cliche, who else has been doing it, much less as well as he has been. You don't like him, your sig makes it pretty obvious, but don't let your judgment be blinded by your poor taste.

Fuck no, face Punk is infinitely more cliche than heel, he's an average face. A passionate, articulate heel is far more interesting than a docile face who like everyone else totally panders to the crowd and spouts off his own catchphrase in the most uncool way possible.

Oh, I'm sorry sir. Forgive me for not being a fan who's blinded by favoritism.

Punk's heel run was definitely the definition of the word "cliche"

His run was just so bad that I was actually forced to watch TNA for once. And when I said awkward I really meant it. It was like watching some awkward guy on an audition trying to play the role of the villain.

Generic, dull, non-entertaining.

PS: Are you by any chance related to Cmpunker? LOL!
 
The perfect villain for Cena is Randy Orton. Cena is the second coming of Hulk Hogan and Hogan, like many of the WWE's past top faces, was a superhero like Cena is today. Orton is the only guy that's been able to come off as a supervillain for Cena. For as good of a foil for Cena as Edge was, he was just douchebag that made the most out of every opportunity. The Rock was just competition. CM Punk is just something to keep the guys that think they know more about how the business works than the actual people in the business watching. You could've plugged anyone other Cena in and it wouldn't have mattered with any of those three. Orton, on the other hand, felt like he was an evil entity that could only be stopped by Cena while Cena was the force for good that Orton would stop at nothing to destroy. I dare say that, if Orton were to make a face heel turn, he'd likely head directly for Cena.
 
Oh, I'm sorry sir. Forgive me for not being a fan who's blinded by favoritism.

Punk's heel run was definitely the definition of the word "cliche"

His run was just so bad that I was actually forced to watch TNA for once. And when I said awkward I really meant it. It was like watching some awkward guy on an audition trying to play the role of the villain.

Generic, dull, non-entertaining.

PS: Are you by any chance related to Cmpunker? LOL!

Punk's face character IS cliche. The previous time he was face he turned without any reason. Two weeks ago he was blasting fans for stuffing his face for autographs and buying shows without his face on it, then two weeks after he was "suspended" he came back and suddenly talked about how he was the "voice of the voiceless". His face run now? He was a major heel for almost a year and he returns from time away, no explanations whatsoever besides wanting Paul Heyman away from him and suddenly he's a face? Now those two screams cliche.

Punk's heel characters on the other hand, are extremely believable and portrays him to some regards. His SES character was 100% him just exaggerated. His recent heel character was great too, the line that stands out to me the most was during January where he said: "I created this persona, this rebel that you people love to cheer for" and that, was what make his recent run so great. He tells the truth and everything he said was can be related.
 
Seeing this thread get bumped got me thinking. If I could just add my two cents... I think that the OP meant that the idea of Bray Wyatt is the perfect foil for Cena. While Cena's "controversial", Wyatt's current gimmick is one of pure evil. No tweenery here, people.

The people saying that Husky's a little untested have a good point. Wyatt Family ran absolutely rampant in NXT, yes, but it's not quite the big leagues yet.

Yeah, maybe the actual man hasn't proven himself yet and maybe this is just the typical internet-new-heel flavour of the month (just like Jinder Mahal was, remember?), but on paper this possible feud looks like money.

It saddens me to see how CM Punk hijacked this thread, he must have like 50 WZ-accounts or something.
 
They have a real shot at making some money like Kane had a real shot of his head being hit on Raw. Oh wait.. he didn't.

Nothing against the Wyatts. But they won't succeed in PG WWE, their first attack looked weak as hell, anyone has ever put an elementary puzzle together knows that Kane felt nothing but ear ringing on Monday Night. Your going to have to do a whole lot more than walk down to the ring to creepy music in the dark with a lantern.

How long til WWE drops the ball with these guys and deems them no longer a buzz like Brodus Clay or Fandango? The risk, reward ratio won't be there.. because they won't take a big enough risk with them.
 
To answer the question: Have WWE found the perfect heel for Cena?

It's not about finding it. It's about creating it. It's entertainment first and foremost. Wrestling's on the banner but it comes down to the story. When WWE wants "the perfect heel" for Cena, they'll give it to us. They have before in his programs with Edge, Orton, Punk, hell even Batista to a degree. They just chose to create something different with those stars eventually.

They have a real shot at making some money like Kane had a real shot of his head being hit on Raw. Oh wait.. he didn't.

Nothing against the Wyatts. But they won't succeed in PG WWE, their first attack looked weak as hell, anyone has ever put an elementary puzzle together knows that Kane felt nothing but ear ringing on Monday Night. Your going to have to do a whole lot more than walk down to the ring to creepy music in the dark with a lantern.

How long til WWE drops the ball with these guys and deems them no longer a buzz like Brodus Clay or Fandango? The risk, reward ratio won't be there.. because they won't take a big enough risk with them.

I do agree that while the spot had a nice sound to it, and the camera angle was captured to the best of their ability, it was obvious that the angles of the stairs didn't line up. WWE was for sure hoping their audience would "suspend belief."

I will challenge the statement on a couple levels, though.

First, I believe the Wyatt's have the potential of getting over in this era. While I understand what you mean by saying it requires a great deal of risk, I could also see this supernatural gimmick flourishing in ways that stay directly on course with the "PG" era.

Members of the roster begin to disappear, especially those closest to Cena. A WWE reporter finds them tied together in a house in the woods, etc., etc., etc. That kind of shit will freak the kids out.

Secondly, and I know I'll take heat for this, but have WWE decided that Brodus Clay and Fandango are no longer a buzz? Or are they completely aware of where they are on the roster, with their spot actually being the exact spot the company visioned them in? Clay works a tag team that still gets television time. He may act like a dinosaur, but the man reads to lots of kids and participates in charitable functions as an ambassador and gets air time on Raw, Smackdown! and Main Event.

As for Fandango. He wrestled Chris Jericho at back to back pay per views starting with a victory at Wrestlemania, then placed in a match that pointed to his sure fire Intercontinental Championship win before suffering a concussion and returns to a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match. I wouldn't say he's being buried by any means. I also wouldn't be surprised if Vince handed him the briefcase. Would I put my money on it? No. But I sure as hell wouldn't be surprised.
 
This is a good question, i mean, they did a few years ago in Edge, Punk, Sheamus and Orton like many people said, but at this moment the WWE can`t go back to the past, they have to look into the future and try to put guys like Barret, Sandow or Cesaro into a feud with Cena,in Barret`s case, they can pick up where they left off, at this moment, the WWE has the oportunity to make the next big Heel, and they have the candidates to do it, is just a matter of creating a good storyline, and also i agree with a lot of people that it is way too early to throw Bray Wyatt into the mix.......
 
Punk's face character IS cliche. The previous time he was face he turned without any reason. Two weeks ago he was blasting fans for stuffing his face for autographs and buying shows without his face on it, then two weeks after he was "suspended" he came back and suddenly talked about how he was the "voice of the voiceless". His face run now? He was a major heel for almost a year and he returns from time away, no explanations whatsoever besides wanting Paul Heyman away from him and suddenly he's a face? Now those two screams cliche.

Punk's heel characters on the other hand, are extremely believable and portrays him to some regards. His SES character was 100% him just exaggerated. His recent heel character was great too, the line that stands out to me the most was during January where he said: "I created this persona, this rebel that you people love to cheer for" and that, was what make his recent run so great. He tells the truth and everything he said was can be related.

No. His SES character was golden compared to his last one.

His last one was very cliche and very horrid, forced. Like mocking Paul Bearer's death and Lawler's heart attack in despereration to incite heat from the crowd.

It's no wonder WWE turned him face again.
 
I always maintained the thought that Edge was the greatest possible adversary for Cena. Edge was everything Cena was not. He had the inflated ego, the dark side, the opportunism. Edge made foiling Cena look effortless. The two could stand toe to toe and one could not outshine the other. Seeing Cena and Edge face off was magical. Their rivalry was unpredictable. There might be others like you said: Batista was essentially just like Edge only he had a slight size advantage and a heel Orton could definitely give Cena a run for his money.
 
Seeing this thread get bumped got me thinking. If I could just add my two cents... I think that the OP meant that the idea of Bray Wyatt is the perfect foil for Cena. While Cena's "controversial", Wyatt's current gimmick is one of pure evil. No tweenery here, people.

Thank you.

I wasn't saying push a Wyatt vs Cena match for Summerslam, I was more saying that if they push the Wyatt character correctly, and if Bray Wyatt takes his chance, that they could have found a perfect heel to go against Cena.

Wyatt looks to be the personification of evil that Kane in his initial run was, only this time he's allowed talk and gather a cult around him to make him even stronger. If they keep him as demonic as they have shown him in the promos I think pairing him against Cena eventually is the perfect option. Lot of Ifs in there, but this is wrestling after all.

As for the point of the Wyatt Family not being able to get over in PG WWE I'd honestly argue that their act is more reminiscent of New Generation WWF than Attitude Era WWF and not having that tweener element to them will serve them well in getting over with the audience as heels, something the majority of heels in the wrestling business seem to have forgotten is their job.
 
Thank you.

I wasn't saying push a Wyatt vs Cena match for Summerslam, I was more saying that if they push the Wyatt character correctly, and if Bray Wyatt takes his chance, that they could have found a perfect heel to go against Cena.

Wyatt looks to be the personification of evil that Kane in his initial run was, only this time he's allowed talk and gather a cult around him to make him even stronger. If they keep him as demonic as they have shown him in the promos I think pairing him against Cena eventually is the perfect option. Lot of Ifs in there, but this is wrestling after all.

As for the point of the Wyatt Family not being able to get over in PG WWE I'd honestly argue that their act is more reminiscent of New Generation WWF than Attitude Era WWF and not having that tweener element to them will serve them well in getting over with the audience as heels, something the majority of heels in the wrestling business seem to have forgotten is their job.

Cena vs a personification of evil, we seen that last year. The Kane vs Cena storyline where Kane was fresh having his mask back. What happened? Kane was promptly fed to Cena and it ruined his character as soon as he got brought back. I have no doubt the same will happen to the Wyatts which is why I said the best thing for them now is to stay the hell away from Cena.
 
There will never be a "perfect" villain for Cena.

Cena is the type of character who has an affect on the other characters in the game where they suddenly turn heel if they already weren't heels.

Ryback abruptly decided that he would use his awesome strength to attack Cena instead of mount an offense against The Shield.

No heel will ever beat Cena clean, when they're out of heels they'll just have a prominent face become jealous and attack Cena in some despicable manner. It's the same old story every fucking week.

Up until the day of the PPV, every one of Cena's opponents are his "perfect" villain to demolish.


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