John Cena Heel Turn- Would it work in a PG environment?

[Planty]

Okay folks. I know there's a million posts about how John Cena should or should not turn heel. As a Smackdown! fan who has been bored stiff with the rotating RAW main event scene recently, I haven't really gave much of a damn either way. Though a certain WrestleZone article interested me recently...

John Cena threw out the first pitch at the L.A. Dodgers game this past Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. Prior the pitch, Cena was interviewed for Sporting News Radio.

Cena talked a lot of baseball and then discussed some WWE related topics. He claims he was personally very outspoken to Vince McMahon and others within WWE about the company gearing their programming more towards the PG-rating. He said he has strong feelings about the product being family friendly.

So as you can see, John Cena is a huge supporter of the PG rating. Now as the top face in the company, no WWE staff would want to upset him and therefore (with all the other reasons such as strong sales in a young market considered aswell), the PG rating won't change.

Now lets look back at some of Cen'a heel material:

[Youtube]mrUdn5KWPoM[/youtube]

^ Nowadays, you would expect some mothers to be like: "I can't hear my child hear the word Midget as its an offensive term to some, and Dominatrix? Hmph."
As for spanking and breast feeding? I suppose its disciplanary for some children so maybe that line could be gotten away with.
And then there's the crowd chanting Dick to finish off that rap.

Some of the jokes WOULD work, like the Big Show cheerio one. But how long will it be until the IWC start complaining that Cena's material isn't hard hitting enough?

Granted, this is the rapper gimmick, and I'm not sure if he would return to it when he's heel. But with Cena as heel no matter what, with the PG rating I only see him reaching the heel levels of Team Rocket. Yeah, I made an old-school pokemon reference, but lets be fair, I thought I'd mention something which these little kids might relate to.

I'm sure you can tell I'm not a fan of the PG rating one bit but on a corporate scale do see why its been put in place.

Now, lets take a look at one of the greatest heel turns of all time. Cena is being called a modern day Hogan. Hulk as we know, told everybody to take their vitamins, say their prayers etc. Well, his heel turn came very out of the blue...

[youtube]Zwr1dTrLbY0[/youtube]

Hogan later went on to be such a badass heel, but here's where we look on the other hand. His material wasn't always so un-PG if you look at it really. What made this heel turn major was the fact it was a guy who had been such an over face for his career, such a role-model, then turns. Rather than wrestlers like Big Show and Jericho who turn frequently. So if Cena was to turn in this PG environment (if its to continue in years to come), it cannot be for a long while in my opinion to be successful.

Though one last parting note...

[Youtube]g-b5TiYwziQ[/youtube]

Even slight sex references, like in this awesome Flair promo, would be frowned upon by some of this PG public.

Cena might be able to turn into a ruthless chain hitting badass who has similar characteristics to Orton... and talks slowly. But both are on RAW and he'd have to move brands at least for this to work.

So in my opinion, I don't think heel Cena would work well unless its done in quite a few years for the sheer shock value. Cena wouldn't have some really Attitude cutting-edge material and might not revert back to the rapper gimmick. Futhermore, he cares strongly about the PG rating so he'd make sure it was all relatively toned down anyway.

What do you think though?

 

[Billie Jean]

I think it could work in a PG enviroment. I mean it couln't be anything racial, dirty or over offencive that would hurt someone emotionaly, but it could be liek you said, a guy loved for years, making a huse heel turn. I think if WWE were going to go this path through, they would have to wait another year or 2 at least. There is no need for it right away as at the moment the Cena character is fine.

If i were going to turn him heel, iw ould do it at one of the big four Pay Per Views, but not Wrestlemania. Maybe SummerSlam. Have him turn on his tag partner like a hugley over face, could be Triple H, or Kofi Kingston. Unkile Hogan in the NWO however, iw ouldn't put him in a stable. I would just have him come out a serious Cena. He wouldnt need a major character change. Just blame evreyone who has ever booed him idea and say he through.

I would let him have just as much mic time as usual just to dis the fans and opponents. Like Hogans , he will have been a face for so long so they would have to give him as much time as possible on the mic and stuff just to clarify that he has changed.

 

[BananaHeel]

As mush as I like the idea of Cena turning heel, I don't think it will really work in the PG standpoint. I mean, not without looking too cheesy. He could transend to heel in an Orton fashion, but I don't believe it will go over too well. Cena is the major draw to children and they (sadly) look up to him. And most say the PG Rating was all Cena's idea in the first place. To have your symbol of the "Children's Century" turn heel especially at this time would be a mistake.

 

[MoxViolence]

I would love to see cena turn heel. Unfortunately that leaves hhh as the top face on raw and thats just sad for us all. honestly as much as i would like to see it happen cena going heel wouldnt make much sense to raw right now. and the pg rating crap goes out the window because violence is violence and i love wrestling but it is wat it is..divas are still having fluff matches and midgets are running around fighting grown people and wrestlers getting cracked in the skull by ortons boot. pg my ass...anywho about cena turning heel he has the most star power and there really isnt anyone else that can be the top face like he can. mvp is coming up but imo he has a long way to go to be at the top. evan bourne is a great wrestler but its foolish to think he'll be a TOP face. maybe when batista comes back he can be the top guy although i hate him on the mic..but aside from him who else can fill cena's shoes? unless they bring someone over smackdown or maybe christian, i dunno if it'll work.

 

[GBALLA]

I think it will work with the PG rating. I think anyone over the age of 12 wants to see Cena turn heel. Its the same boring stuff and he needs a change. The only thing is he makes Vince stupid amounts of money, and he doesn't want to see that go.

 

[Slam Master]

It could definitely work. Look at CM Punk, I really like the stuff he's doing now with his character in the PG environment and he's saying some risky stuff about drugs and alcohol; I wonder if it pisses Jeff off? If Cena is all into the PG thing, than he should be creative enough to come up with an angle where he's not too offensive. He could be good at using metaphors and double meanings to get his point across to the older audience that is watching. I remember when I was a kid and my parents would be watching stand-up comedians that talked dirty, but I didn't have a clue what was so funny; that could be Cena. He needs to do something cus his routine is getting old. He could turn into a "cool" heel that some of the fans like.

 

[drobs85]

I dont see why turning CENA heel wouldnt work for wwe. Its not like they'll lose their fan base. People will still watch wwe regardless. People will still by ppvs and merchandise faithfully. If you notice some of the most controversial stars have been heel in their careers at some point. Hogan, jericho, edge, triple h, undertaker, hbk, the rock, brock lesnar, kane, big show, psycho sid, owen hart, andre the giant, currently randy orton, the names are endless. BESIDES, CENA HAS AN INCONSISTENT FAN BASE ANYWAY! ONE WEEK THERE CHEERING HIM, THE NEXT WEEK THERE BOOING HIM. SO WHATS THE BIG DEAL. IF HE'S GETTING BOOED ANYWAY, HE MAY AS WELL TURN HEEL.

 

[Klown_Karnage]

First of all...let us not go into Cena's rapping phase. Let us just...forget that ever happened. As has been mentioned, that wouldn't work with the PG era, and besides, his gimmick is frankly a helluva lot better now, especially since he's at least learned how to wrestle and work the crowd (I thank Kurt Angle for that.)

Anyways, his current gimmick wouldn't be impossible to turn into a heel, or at least a self-serving tweener. He'd just need the right motivation and it looks as if he might be getting it given the several times McMahon re-started his match with Orton at Summerslam. As we've seen recently, Cena's been very on the edge and this could be the thing that makes him snap.

What we need for a Cena heel is to take his sheer intensity and power and push that to a boiling point. Give him rage, unbridled fury, and the willingness to use this at any time. Anything's a weapon, anybody's a target, and anytime is time to fight. He's had enough with this loyalty and respect crap. Nobody's been loyal to him, nobody's given him the respect he deserves, screw them, "I'm taking what I want and nobody's gonna stop me. I've whupped their asses in clean matches and now I'm gonna start fighting dirty." This is the kind of Cena that could go over well as a heel...or at least as a tweener.

 

[Paradox]

I think a cena heel turn could work in a pg arena. I really don't see a problem with it. Hogan was one of the most hated men in wrestling when he turned. And when he did he was on a show that was pg. So i really don't think that it would effect him that much.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

Although a Cena heel turn could definitely work in the PG era as John Cena has molded into his own & is continuing to develop a better in ring performace every week with the edition of new moves here & there, it would completely screw over the current scene. JC is viewed as just that, Jesue Christ of the WWE. He is the man right now, the face of the company. He is over with the kids & sells/draws like crazy. A heel turn would only turn into bad fortunes for the company but would make many IWC marks happy.

A John Cena heel turn in the PG era is as about as logical as a Mickie James heel turn back into her psycho state in the PG era. It would not make sense at all & would be a step backwards for the divison & the business at this point in time. So basically, no... it isn't realistically possible but hypothetically plausible.

 

[King Patrick Star]

I’ve said this before. I believe the only way Cena could be Heel again would be way later down the line in the far and distant future (in the Wrestling World, that means 10 years). I think Vince would hold off on this idea till TNA has a show on Spike on Mondays at 9 and another 2 hour show on Fridays at 8, and a 1 hour show on Tuesdays at 10. I think, by that time, Vince will get desperate and look through the history of Pro Wrestling and think, what could I do to stop this?? Turn this era’s Hulk Hogan into Hollywood. By that time, the kids today will be grown up and the Attitude Era will be back. I’m salivating just thinking of what the future holds for all of us.

As of right now, no!! There is just too much money involved. Later, when the Cena fans grow up, YES!!

 

[Suneeboy]

Although a Cena heel turn could definitely work in the PG era as John Cena has molded into his own & is continuing to develop a better in ring performace every week with the edition of new moves here & there, it would completely screw over the current scene. JC is viewed as just that, Jesue Christ of the WWE. He is the man right now, the face of the company. He is over with the kids & sells/draws like crazy. A heel turn would only turn into bad fortunes for the company but would make many IWC marks happy.

A John Cena heel turn in the PG era is as about as logical as a Mickie James heel turn back into her psycho state in the PG era. It would not make sense at all & would be a step backwards for the divison & the business at this point in time. So basically, no... it isn't realistically possible but hypothetically plausible.

You know, I don't understand what the fuss is about when a Cena heel turn is discussed. Mentioning it for whatever reason seems to annoy people, but I don't get it? Is it a sin to say turn Cena heel? Calling his Jesus is a damn over exaggeration if I ever heard one. The character Jesus is a savior, is Cena the savior of the WWE? Hell no. Saviors don't get booed.

Cena has 1 item in the top 10 sellers on WWE shop.com. You know what #1 is? The DX T-shirt. Cena is at #6 behind a current face named HHH who is at #3. I would also like to mention that Hardy has two items at #4 and #5 but we can't count those anymore can we?

Listen, please stop with the Cena heel turn being illogical or unrealistic because that's bullshit. This is wrestling and anyone can do whatever they want. Vince is a smart man, a genius in his own right, and a heel Cena won't be the death of his fucking company or the constant cash flow. The guy has a great roster with big stars who can draw.

After watching SummerSlam how can you say a heel turn is unrealistic...or have you seen SummerSlam? The guy got booed against Randy Orton, the company's top heel! There is enough support for a Cena heel turn, and if there wasn't support so what? Vince can do whatever he wants and make it work.

Also, this is pro wrestling and its scripted. Turn him heel, if it doesn't work and the roof caves in like so many people on these boards seem to think would happen to merchandise sales, turn him back to face...how difficult would it be? Enough with the IWC only 10% comments, enough with the crap, a Cena heel turn would be a good thing for pro wrestling right now and it would work in the PG era. Very well.

 

[jackpeyton]

All a heel turn would do for Cena is maybe make people who dont like his gimmick like him.

It wouldnt benefit him, it wouldnt benefit the company, IMHO.

Furthermore, what are his options as a heel turn? Randy is a very good heel. Would he turn good to take on Cena? I just feel the WWE needs to send Cena to smackdown where he can fued with a heel like CM Punk (and the undertaker), that way a newer wrestler can come up to ME against Orton.

 

[ZigglerArmy]

It would be similar to Hogan turning heel. Hogan told kids to "get lots of sleep and eat your veggies" then he turned. CEna inspires kids so yeah Cena's turn would be parallel to Hogan's if it were to happen.