Is WWE grooming Orton to be face of the company a sign that Cena is turning heel?

[minionofdarkness]

I see HHH as the leader of the Nexus, or even a Batista return as leader of the Nexus that would make more sense. I can see WWE putting the title on Orton, and the Nexus comes out to attack him, but then they all smile and it is revealed that he is the leader, since they missed on Legacy. My wishful thinking is that Orton become the face of the company and Cena be gone. But the latter will not happen. A Cena heel turn may improve ratings, only because he has not been a heel for 7 years or so. Cena being the leader does not make as much sense as HHH or Batista, but it does not seem as if WWE is missing Batista, and HHH being gone is not as bad as everyone thought.

 

[goldbergiswrestling]

To be frank, who knows. But with lotsa speculation and the storyline laid out, it could happen. Sure, we're thinking he'll finally turn heel. Sure, he won't cuz he sells merchandise. Whatever. People might be thinking he is teasing a heel turn (like he did last Monday -- to me he did) but not follow through with it cuz, well, IT'S FREAKIN' YAWN CENA. And then come Summerslam, WHAM! He DOES turn heel. Who knows, really, except for McMahon, John, the roster, and the creative team.

Do I think he'll turn heel? Maybe...

As for Orton being the face, then obviously yeah. They promote him on the commercials on USA. Fans love him, you can see the signs if you want proof. Do you hear the chants? We all do. As for THE face of the company, I'll know for sure when he tries to convince me to buy a fancy shaving razor thingamabob.

I hate how everybody bitches about Cena turning heel saying he sells more merchandise than anybody so they wont. cause compare it to other big stars turning heel. when Austin Teamed up with Vince he was selling more merchandise than anybody except maybe the rock and they were pretty much equally big stars. when WCW turned hogan heel he was selling the most merchandise as well, maybe adults didnt buy it any more but kids did. what makes John Cena so different?

 

[ctln4rko]

idk. the building erupts whenever orton enters. cena, while i liked him saving other main babyfaces from attacks in 2008-2009, i am tired of his attitude. I want orton to be the top face

 

[Carpathian Florist]

1) "Cena has been getting his ass kicked on a weekly basis by Nexus and it doesnt make sense for him to join Nexus" Remember when the nWo formed, Macho Man got his ass handed to him for 8 months, until he joined the nWo in March 1997.

Wasn't Randy forced into this somehow, rather than willingly joining though? I'm sure they got him fired from WCW or something, so in the storyline the only way he could come back was as part of the nWo.... something like that..

 

[Morpheus101]

...it seems like this to me. Orton is getting a twitter, he's getting movie roles, and to top it off, he is actually getting bigger pops than anyone else in the business. Cena has been rumored to be revealed as the leader of Nexus and I personally think its a FACT that someone on the 7man team is joining Nexus at Summerslam. With Orton getting all this attention and the Nexus storyline in full motion, is Cena's inevitable heel turn closer than ever?

I don't see a Cena heel turn in the near future. That's not to say that it'll never happen, but Cena is a HUGE cash cow for merchandise, especially as far as the kiddies are concerned. Orton is a completely different kind of face, if you'd really call him a face at all (I still call him a tweener). The fans like him and he is more for the grown ups, while Cena is for the younger fans, hence the fact that there is actually room for both guys to be at the top. WWE wins either way with 2 dominant popular guys. If one gets injured, it's not so much of a disaster. You can also split them up in the future and have Orton on Smackdown as the top face and Cena on Raw as the top face (or vice-versa).

 

[Bobloblaw]

I wouldn't be surprised if they never turn Cena Heel. They keep selling those ugly god awful orange T-Shirts and the kids still pop for him he'll still be a face. They would really have to pull something extraordinary for those who for years hated on Cena to make them cheer for him. I doubt they can do a Rocky to Rock thing again. I think the idea to turn Orton face or tweener was a good idea. It gives the over 15 crowd someone to pop for, and it was time since the crowd was already forcing them to do it anyways.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

While I have many problems with this idea, Cena joining NEXUS has to be the biggest. Why on God's green earth, would John Cena join with NEXUS? And even worse, why would WWE reveal him as having been the leader all along? Either way is shit. NEXUS has beaten the holy hell out of Cena since this whole thing started, and cost him the WWE championship. He has been their #1 target, no question. He already "faked" us out by pretending that he might join NEXUS, and instead went after them even harder.

If it turns out he has been their leader, all along, it will go down as the worst angle in pro wrestling history. They have beaten this man within an inch of his life. It's not like we haven't seen it first-hand either. There is no question, we've watched it actually happen week after week. He isn't the leader of NEXUS. But, if by some far and away chance he does turn out to be their leader, I might stop watching WWE. That would be the biggest sham in WWE history.

With all that being said, I'm led to believe he isn't turning heel anytime soon. Orton is on the rise with the fans, and may already be ahead of Cena in live-audience pops. But until he sells the merchandise Cena does, or Raw gets more of an edge to it, Cena is on top.

I'm not a fan of John Cena, never have been, and I doubt a heel turn would change my mind. Would I rather see Randy Orton as the face of Raw? Absolutely. But I think it's a ways off. I share IC25's hope that sooner rather than later Orton becomes the face of Raw and Cena the face of Smackdown. I think that is a far more realistic option than turning Cena heel at this point.

 

[tRKOj]

I am a huge Randy Orton fan but i was dissapointed when he started this tweener role cuz i was lookin forward 2 his fued with Ted Dibiase he was supposed 2 hav but i've warmed up 2 it however Randy Orton does NOT need 2 be the face of the WWE that type of character wont make it as the face of PG WWE if this was 1999 then maybe but not 2010 Orton is a better heel anyway so my oppinion is he shouldnt be the face of the company with the viper gimmick

As for Cena turnin heel i dont really like Cena but i dont hate Cena i tolerate him because of wat he does for the company so i really dont care either way if he's a heel or a face

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

Those are saying Cena won't turn heel because the kids love him and he sells merchandise should remember one thing ... Cena broke to the main event scene back in 2005. If his fanbase were composed of 8 to 12 year olds by now they would be between 13 or 17. At this point its possible his core fan base are starting to get sick of him.

Of course I do not have any hard evidence to support this. But if it's not happening now then it will happen soon. Maybe a year or two from now.

With that in mind, given Orton as the next available option would be a good move. Firstly Orton has found his niche as a face. This is not "forced down our throats" baby face Orton of 2004 this is the badass heelish face similar to that of The Rock or Austin. They had this vibe that a lot of attitude (no pun intended) and this cunning edge as opposed to Cena's squeaky clean baby face persona.

With this in mind with Cena's core fan base being a lot older ... it makes more sense to put Orton as a top face. At that age who would fans embrace more "A Cena" or an "Orton"? I feel it would be the latter.

Plus Cena turning heel and, lets say, he pulls a Hogan and creates a Nexus faction happens. It creates a lot buzz and will make fans tune in to the product more. Also regarding Merchadise and how Cena turning heel could kill Merchandise sales. I ask you this how many nWo T-Shirts did you see back in 1996 to 1997? I would say a lot so I'm thinking merchandise sales wouldn't take too much of a dip if Cena does an nWo.