You have an extremely outdated look and your always using examples from the past but the WWE isn't like that anymore. The fact that you really think Punk couldn't be the main guy against Cena just because he isn't huge with muscles is ludicrous. They have already feuded and his size was never even a thought. They never booked it like Cena was some huge monster that Punk couldn't take down. The matches were extremely even the whole way through with Punk coming out on top.The reason Punk can't be the man is because if you turn Cena heel, it has to be epic. It has to be a complete betrayal, one so unpopular and so egregious, it doesn't leave fans upset, it leaves fans incredibly pissed off. Think LeBron James leaving Cleveland, and how Cavalier fans saw LeBron going to Miami a complete betrayal, to the point they were burning his jerseys in the street. John Cena's heel turn needs to be the equivalent of that, it HAS to be extraordinary.
So, with Cena fostering such strong hatred, you need a guy you can see going in and just whipping his ass from pillar to post. Not someone who is going to walk to the ring, sit down for a second, put on some hammerlocks, maybe throw a shoulder kick, etc. Fans need the good ole American bar room brawler, the Steve Austin who is going to stomp to the ring and proceed to stomp a mudhole in Cena's ass. They need the guy like Hulk Hogan, with his 24 inch pythons, coming to the ring, and using that big right hand and right foot to dole out justice. They need someone like Sting, who comes into the ring and is so badass he can completely wipe out an entire nWo army, using nothing more than his hands and feet.
That's what fans want. That's what they need. And that's what the WWE needs to have to turn Cena heel. They need the badass figure, with electric striking and high impact moves. Not your local 7-11 clerk who has to wear his opponents down in a multitude of ways to get a victory.
If you see Austin in his prime coming down the ramp or Punk in his prime (which is right now) coming down the ramp, who do you think would seem more intimidating?
He was playing a different role though. His style and image were perfect for that. He was the often overlooked guy, the underdog, the every man, who had finally had enough and shouted at his bosses until they decided to give him his chance at the big show.
That's not the role a face would play to Cena's heel. Because Cena's heel turn needs to be bigger than that. It can't match Hogan's turn (I don't know if anything could) but Cena's heel turn needs to have that same sense of "screw you" mentality that Hogan fostered with his turn. Cena needs to turn heel, and then have to run out of the arena to avoid getting concession snacks thrown on him. It HAS to be that big, and you HAVE to have a face who can stand up to it. Otherwise, you're just wasting the great phenomenon you currently have with Cena.
To win? Yes. But that's not what I'm talking about.
It's just not the same. First of all, submissions are completely the opposite of what fans want. They want badasses who knock people out. Look at UFC and the popularity Chuck Liddell once had. Liddell is arguably the biggest reason the UFC is today where it is. Look at how popular the NFL has become, now that we have these behemoths running around drilling people.
Fans want bone crunching action, and submissions simply don't fit. And Punk's strikes are simply not intimidating strikes which can be believed to fell the mighty Goliath. Which, again, is not a mark against his quality, just like it wouldn't be if I said the same about HBK.
You don't turn Cena heel to maintain the business you are already, you turn Cena heel to make your business explode. That's why you HAVE to wait until the proper time and place.
No, but it does mean he's not going to be a guy the fans can fully rally behind. It's no different than most of your popular superheroes, who are always much stronger than their bad guy counterparts. The bad guys have to rely on fiendish plots, henchman, other-wordly objects, etc. to take out the good guy, because everyone knows the good guy could kick the bad guys ass if it came down to it.
That's what you need for a Cena turn. You need a strong John Cena, but an even stronger face to oppose him. A guy like Orton would be perfect...if Orton could say more than 5 words a minute on the mic. Triple H would be perfect...except he's in his 40s, and there would be no point in giving Triple H the rub. Punk would be perfect...if he was bigger and had a different style.
I don't doubt the WWE will turn Cena heel at some point, regardless if they have the right protagonist, but the heel turn will be SO much more effective if they do. Sting was the hottest wrestler, and the biggest draw, in wrestling back in 1997, and he didn't even wrestle a match until the very end of the year. That's the power of a strong heel, but a much stronger face.
Lesnar would whip both of those guys. MMA has come such a long way since those guys were around, and there are fighters who are now far superior to someone like Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee's appeal was not just in his martial arts, but also in the fact his fighting styles were still secrets. The knowledge was not nearly as prevalent or advanced as it has become today. Lesnar would whip either of those guys, simply because he is so much bigger and stronger than them.
But I get the point you're trying to make, that smaller guys can be intimidating. However, my point remains true, especially when you consider MY favorite picture of Bruce Lee:
That guy looks like someone who would mess you up. Punk doesn't.
Punk is seen as one of the most dangerous wrestlers at the moment and his striking is one of those reasons. He can take anyone down with a kick or knee to the head as he did constantly in his matches with Cena and others bigger than him so how is his striking not intimidating enough that's absurd.
So Punk needs to be able to come down and whoop Cena's butt from time to time, well fine that's called booking and they can do that anytime. CM Punk has full support from the fans so you think if he comes down and starts whooping Cena the crowd isn't going to buy it because he doesn't have huge muscles? Give me a break. You keep saying the fans won't completely rally behind him even though they already are completely behind him now. That's where you loose all validation in your post. The fans aren't going to suddenly stop cheering Punk because he is smaller than Cena if they feud, if you truly believe that you are completely out of touch.
