How Good Of A Heel Would John Cena Be?

[Hem]

During Monday Night Raw when John Cena opened the show with his promo I got a feeling that this dude is cutting a more aggressive promo then usual but it made me feel like John Cena was riding the edge of being a face and a heel. He had that egotistical side of him show, he wanted the John Cena brand to be the #1 in the whole industry.

So when people imagine John Cena turning heel they usually think that he'll become aggressive or something and completely just change his mic style or something but what if he didn't?

What if John Cena became the loud mouthed ego driven veteran heel? He knows he is the best and the new kids are nothing compared to him? He could really help guys like Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami by playing the heel in the story because I think the end plan is for both Sami and Hideo to be babyfaces and fighting a much bigger heel, especially John Cena could do wonders for them.

I'm not saying John Cena attacks his foes or pulls cheap tricks or anything of that matter. In fact let him still worship his Hustle, Loyalty and Respect but with a sense of "Screw them...I'm John Cena" type of feeling.

How good do you think this character could be? I think this should come to life when Cena knows he has only a year or two left so that he can finally get the heel run out of his way. Would this character interest you?

 

[OldSchoolWrestlingFan]

I think this is one of the best ways for him to be a Heel - because he could walk in that grey area that it won't mess with his merchandising but it would allow him to tweek his character some to add a little life to an old character.

He could become sort of like Ali - he runs his mouth about how great he is, about all of his accomplishments, plays up to his fans but spits in the face of those that don't like him - that is a lot the way they turned "Psycho" Sid "face" - he was still a merciless bad ass that bragged about what he was going to do and how but then would fist bump his supports and trash talk those that couldn't stand him.

P.S. Cena was a great Heel on Smackdown when he first came on the scene - I was a huge fan of him then

 

[Mustang Sally]

I think he'd make a great heel. First, it would take all the booing he's gotten from fans as a good guy and toss it back in their faces ("You want to boo me? Fine, I'll give you something to boo about!")

Second, he's already portrayed a heel recently; against Sami Zayn who was performing in his home town. Cena showed a heel doesn't have to gouge his opponent's eyes to show as a bad guy....just the set of his body, expression on his face and timing of his repertoire got the job done against Sami.

Third, there are many people on this forum who say turning him bad would hurt merchandise sales. Personally, I think it would be just the opposite; they could come out with a whole new line of Cena stuff to sell.....and the 'badder' he is, the faster it would sell, imo.

Yes, there are still a lot more fans at the arena cheering him than booing. Still, the fact so many have turned against the man indicates it's time for a heel turn. If the kiddies are going to be sad and disillusioned that such a thing could happen to their hero, Mom & Dad could explain that's it's all an act.

 

[enviousdominous]

John Cena is every bit of what a heel represents to the people that boo him, and every bit of what a face represents to the people that cheer him.

In the opinion of this Cena hater; John Cena needs to do exactly what he's doing for as long as humanly possible. Love him or hate him, he's the top draw.

I realize that the only possible transition that John can make is to turn full blown heel, in that his haters (like me) will likely never get in on the positive aspect of his hype. If he goes full blown heel, then parents are less likely to raid Titansports' stock of Cena merchandise to fill their kid's Christmas wish list. John Cena is a marketing machine in his current role, and to his credit he lives every bit of the mantra that he preaches to kids.

Think about it; John Cena has maintained this goody two shoes role for over ten years. He hasn't had a single eye-brow raising incident outside of a kayfabe tryst with AJ. I think that he's more than earned the right to perform as the character that he plays, and I also think that alienating his younger fans would be career betrayal.

John Cena is going to earn every bit of heel heat that smarks like me can throw at him during his feud with Kevin Owens. We stomp our feet with rage when we see him win, while fans young and old scream with delight. Making him go full heel would be like deliberately causing Titansports' stock value to drop 50%.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that he shouldn't go full heel. Did I make that clear?

 

[enviousdominous]

I think he'd make a great heel. First, it would take all the booing he's gotten from fans as a good guy and toss it back in their faces ("You want to boo me? Fine, I'll give you something to boo about!")

Wouldn't that make him look like a moron though? The way I see it; smarks break the crowd silence by starting the trendsetting chants. Smarks who hate John for reasons that go beyond his role on tv. As a smark it pains me to admit that we can be assholes at times, and the worst thing you can do for an asshole is validate their garbage. I think that if John tried to out-perform their negative perception of him, it would be letting them win bigger than they'd hoped. I think that he'd give his all to be an amazing heel, but I think his reputation can't possibly be overwritten with a character transition.

Second, he's already portrayed a heel recently; against Sami Zayn who was performing in his home town. Cena showed a heel doesn't have to gouge his opponent's eyes to show as a bad guy....just the set of his body, expression on his face and timing of his repertoire got the job done against Sami.

John Cena has played this kind of heel for the better part of his entire career, and like you said his portrayal of this kind of heat magnet while competing against Sami was top notch. I don't see why he should have to be any other kind of heel than one who still maintains a good guy persona.

Third, there are many people on this forum who say turning him bad would hurt merchandise sales. Personally, I think it would be just the opposite; they could come out with a whole new line of Cena stuff to sell.....and the 'badder' he is, the faster it would sell, imo.

Here's where we really butt heads. I remember when I went to an air show back in 2009, I was looking into the cockpit of a fighter jet while standing on one of those tall moveable stairways. I happened to look around and I could see what looked like an ocean of bright blues and greens. Kids ranging in age from 6 to 16 were proudly wearing every bit of John Cena merchandise they could, for an air show. Shirts, headbands, wrist bands and medallions.

My point is this; the inspired kid market is much more lucrative than the anti-hero fanatic market. For the record; Stone Cold played both sides of that coin. I don't see anyone filling John Cena's shoes if he leaves his current role as an incarnation of Superman, and for that matter I don't see anyone taking John seriously as a bad guy given that he'd likely still be vying to grant over 1,000 wishes for the make a wish foundation during that time. In the reality era, I really don't see John being able to become anything different than what he already is.

Yes, there are still a lot more fans at the arena cheering him than booing. Still, the fact so many have turned against the man indicates it's time for a heel turn. If the kiddies are going to be sad and disillusioned that such a thing could happen to their hero, Mom & Dad could explain that's it's all an act.

It's about making money. You know this. You need people to be emotionally invested in the presentation, and if they think that it's all genuine then they're more likely to devote half of their net worth to it. I guarantee that John has more fans than he does haters, haters (like myself) are usually a little louder and more influential when it comes to influencing a crowd chant. I really don't think that it would do anything different for his haters if John was playing by their whims, I honestly think they'd become bored of him if he did that.

 

[Woodstuff]

If the kiddies are going to be sad and disillusioned that such a thing could happen to their hero, Mom & Dad could explain that's it's all an act.

Then the 'kiddies' would stop watching the show and WWE's majority fan base would decrease over time. Awful idea.

 

[Un-Bo-Lievable Jeff]

Ah, a John Cena Heel thread. Must have been almost 45 minutes since the last one.

There could be a number of ways for Cena to turn heel, and I bet a few very good ones. This idea has some merit but where I think it falls down is that there needs to be a change to signify the heel turn. Everything you have said about him as a heel, he kinda does anyway. If people boo him his attitude at the moment is 'Hell, i'm John Cena, and this is how I am, 'Boo' me if you want but i'm not changing' so something in his persona/attitude/in ring work/promos needs to change to show the heel turn

 

[MartialHorror]

Cena would make a great heel and honestly...it would be the easiest transition ever. All he has to do is snap in response to the fans.

Even better, I've always felt Cena was written as a two faced face. It's not intentional, but he occasionally does some messed up stuff, like when he let his Survivor Series comrades get their asses kicked by the Authority while he tried to recruit Ryback. Seriously, his team gets pwned and the next scene is of him approaching Ryback in the back. Furthermore, Cena's promos tend to be all the same. He repeats them so much that one must wonder who he's trying to convince.

People might hate Cena, but he is easily the best talker in the WWE and I can see him nailing a heel promo. Contrast him to fan favorite Ziggler, who totally bombed that stupid 'tool' joke on the last RAW. In fact, I can't remember a good Ziggler promo and Ziggler isn't a bad talker himself. Cena just happens to be exceptional.

 

[Harlem Hungover]

I feel like the money aspect of Cena turning heel is greatly over stated. One man isn't going to make an enormous dent in the WWE bottom line. Three or four years ago Punk out sold Cena. Daniel Bryan was on the same path until his body turned on him. The WWE markets very well and any repercussion from a Cena heel turn would be temporary.

How would you turn Cena heel? It doesn't have to be rocket science. He could basically replicate Hogans heel turn in 1996 and then run with it. People thought turning Hulk into a heel would be a poor business decision and look how that turned out.

Ultimately the problem with turning Cena heel is that he doesn't seem interested in doing it and its an idea that requires what us fans call "testicular fortitude". Its too outside the box for the WWE to consider.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Then the 'kiddies' would stop watching the show and WWE's majority fan base would decrease over time. Awful idea.

Understandable, but remember he would eventually go back to being a hero. That's what got him to where he is, and where he should surely finish up. There will be plenty of time to re-cultivate the fans of tomorrow.

Consider the parallel with Hulk Hogan's career. No one ever thought he'd go bad. Yet once WCW saw his popularity was waning, at least partially because he had been good so long (reference: John Cena) he turned positively evil and totally rejuvenated interest in himself. Yes, the WCW hierarchy and Hogan himself wound up screwing up the whole thing, but while it was in it's heyday, 'evil' Hogan was immense, remember?

Yet, once it was over, he went back to the good side. He again wore the stupid yellow feather boa and spouted all the "Say your prayers, take your vitamins, eat your vegetables" crap and the result is that the kids love him once more, even at age 114. You can go home again.

I can appreciate the sentiments of folks who are against Cena's turning bad, but I think the negative audience reaction for a guy who's been everything to WWE is a clear indication WWE should go with the flow and turn him bad.

But not forever.

 

[King Patrick Star]

John Cena as a Heel is what made me a fan of his in the first place. His battle raps against his opponents and being in cities wearing the opposing teams’ throwback jerseys is what I really liked about his gimmick. Once I had a son, he was all about the kids, and that didn’t bother me as much as it did others. He just changed with the times and respective era the WWE was in.

Now, if John Cena were to turn Heel today, I would probably mark out similar to when Hulk Hogan became Hollywood Hogan. The only way this would work though, is if there is a Face out there who can stand up to him. I’d like to see CM Punk take the Crow Sting role and be the one to topple him in the end. At this point in time, it just can’t be an NXT rookie.

 

[sikkbones]

John Cena as a Heel is what made me a fan of his in the first place. His battle raps against his opponents and being in cities wearing the opposing teams’ throwback jerseys is what I really liked about his gimmick. Once I had a son, he was all about the kids, and that didn’t bother me as much as it did others. He just changed with the times and respective era the WWE was in.

Now, if John Cena were to turn Heel today, I would probably mark out similar to when Hulk Hogan became Hollywood Hogan. The only way this would work though, is if there is a Face out there who can stand up to him. I’d like to see CM Punk take the Crow Sting role and be the one to topple him in the end. At this point in time, it just can’t be an NXT rookie.

You want to see do this right and keep the merchandise train for cena rolling? you do exactly whats done in the pic... Change Cena into NWo cena and sell the same silly cena merch... the fact thats my CAW in wwe2k15 proves it could be done...

just reform the nwo with NASh and hogan as management...

 

[Messiah]

Punk is not good enough to take that role.. Cena would be a good heel, but he's also a great babyface right now. Turning him heel would be pointless.