"Of John Cena, Tim Tebow, and Tim Duncan"

[IrishCanadian25]

"Of John Cena, Tim Tebow, and Tim Duncan"
As seen on Wrestlezone.com's main page​

The last 48 hours of professional wrestling have been truly magnificent, from Survivor Series to last night's Raw. It's been packed with intrigue, mystery, plot twists - everything modern wrestling fans crave. Long gone are the days when one champion would suffice for a year without fans crying about having someone "forced down their throats."

John Cena has had to deal with that card being played on him for years. "Super Cena." "He's being forced down our throats." "He only knows 5 moves." Nevermind the fact that he's been the biggest and most consistent draw in pro wrestling since Steve Austin. Nevermind the fact that he's created some of the more interesting moments of the past 7 years. Nevermind how much he's elevated his game of late to really help the Nexus angle get over as one of the best in wrestling. None of that matters, because only little kids and women cheer for him, and any guy over the age of 18 should hate him. In fact, his brilliantly self-aware goodbye promo last night when he asked for the young and female half of the crowd to chant "Let's Go Cena" while the 18+ males chanted "Cena Sucks" may go down as a top 50 RAW moment for me.

We're all smarks, right? We're all internet wrestling fans, no? So we can all pretty much say with a high degree of certainty that John Cena isn't "done" and wasn't "fired." Predicting the next time we see John Cena on WWE programming could be more fun than a pool to guess the due date of the rest of the arm that should have come out of Mae Young years ago. And yet one of the major topics of discussion on the forums centers around a major theme - When will John Cena turn heel? They missed the perfect opportunity to turn Cena heel at Survivor Series. And on Raw last night.

<sigh>

Pop quiz, kiddies, let's see if you've been paying attention to SportsCenter lately. The #1 selling jersey in all of the NFL is _______. If you cannot get this short answer style, I'll make it multiple choice for you. A) Tom Brady B) Peyton Manning C) Aaron Rodgers D) Tim Tebow. If you said the answer is "D" with Tim Tebow, then you are absolutely right. Tim Tebow, with his less-than-stellar NFL career and the very real possibility that he never becomes a star in the National Football League, has sold more jerseys than Donovon McNabb (switching teams from Philly to Washington), Drew Brees (despite being the poster child for NFLShop.com) or Tony Romo.

Why do you think that is?

Here's an opinion - it's because of guys like Ben Roethlisberger, Michael Vick, LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Roger Clemens, Brett Favre, and maybe - MAYBE - Lance Armstrong. The American sports fan feels betrayed by its stars. Whether legal troubles, dog fighting, or performance enhancing drugs, fans are watching the squeaky clean images of their sporting heroes disintegrate on an almost hourly basis. Who can a fan believe in anymore?

Tim Tebow. Tim Duncan. And dammit, John Cena.

This is part of what makes wrestling fans so insanely unique and maddening at the same time. The type of clean-cut hero that sports needs right now is exactly the guy wrestling fans jeer in a post-Austin, post-Rock, post-Attitude era. Hogan went heel long before messy public divorces and reality shows, so it was heartbreaking. You could always count on Hogan. #1 on the Make-a-Wish Foundation request list during the 80's. Incidentally, I googled "Make-a-Wish Foundation Most Requested Celebrities" just now, and guess what came up as the 4th item in my search? http://www.wish.org/news/news_releases/2009_cg_awards. John Cena has granted 147 wishes since 2004. Since this was a stat published in 2005, that means roughly 260 weeks went by during that time frame. Cena averaged better than one wish granted every two weeks.

But when's he going heel?

Smarky internet fan needs to put himself and his greedy needs aside for a moment and realize there's something far greater at work here. Pro Wrestling NEEDS John Cena right now, in a world where despite the falls from grace of superstars at such an alarming rate, pro wrestlers are still looked down upon. Cena is the biggest and best connection wrestling has to the mainstream sports world, and in a way, that sports world NEEDS John Cena right now. And the best part about him is the fact that he is just entering his prime. Tim Duncan is past his. Tim Tebow many not have one.

In a word, John Cena's time is now. But to turn him heel would be to take away something that wrestling fans and sports fans overall desperately need, and that's an actual hero.

 

[Ferbian]

It's obvious that every Cena hater is gonna disagree, and everybody with a bit of sense in their head is gonna agree with you. John Cena is a big merchandise puller for WWE, he's a very requested guy in terms of the fans, and he is one of the most dedicated people in this business in the past 10 years, if not ever.

John Cena is the hands down go to guy in terms of being a good guy. Not only in his work ethic, his general life, his dedication but also the very fact that he proved last night that even the haters he can play like a banjo. People say that John Cena this John Cena that bullshit and hatred all the time, yet they don't realize that John Cena is one of the few ultimate superstars, the ultimate face guy.

I believe some time back we had a thread based on guys who you think was a better face than a heel. There's only two guys I can come up with, and that's Christian and John Cena. It's not exactly saying much, because it's obvious that while John was a fairly great heel, he is hands down one of the greater faces of this generation.

Turning John Cena heel is something a lot of people have tried to come up with sense to. Even Vince McMahon is supposedly open to suggestions now, even if he knows that John is the number 1 merchandise seller in WWE. And I think they're all doing it wrong. Not because of the fact that it cannot be done. Or because it shouldn't be attempted. But simply because as you state, he is the hero of this generation. He is the Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin of this generation. And he will always be known as that, he will never be the Ric Flair of the 80's, the Rock / Hogan of the 90's or the Triple H (Or Randy Orton) of the 2000's. And it's simply because he just does not fit that persona. He is a goody-two-shoe type of person, and I quite frankly believe that it should remain like that. It worked for Ricky Steamboat (Who I don't believe was ever heel) so why not Cena?

 

[SyndicateSaint]

Speaking as a Cena hater, I liked the article and I agree with it. As a kid I always liked the darker or more sinister heel characters. My favorites (in the 80's) when I was 6 or so were Jake Roberts, and Ted Dibiase. I was too young to remember a heel Roddy Piper, but he was my top favorite, but there was something about him that made me think he wasn't always playing by the rules.

I'm getting sidetracked though, my point is that while PERSONALLY I never liked the "hero" character, I do think there is a need for one. Not only for merchandising, but for the fact that in these days the newer fans are going to be children who would want that kind if thing. And in the end you have to use your basic comic book mythos. Your villain is only as bad, as your hero is good. With no good guy to compare to, the bad guy isn't going to seem as bad. And vice versa. One of the reasons I liked the Undertaker in the beginning *besides him being scary as hell* was that he was up against Hogan.

Oh, and not too sure on this but I think ROH tried to do a heel Steamboat. There was some thing I remember reading about a few years back with Mick Foley feuding with him over "hardcore" vs. traditional wrestling.

 

[jrichardson25]

Agreed. I'm not a big fan of most other sports but Cena is WWE's cash cow and he is a hell of a nice guy out of the ring. He seems to be someone you could actually talk to and not feel like you're wasting his time.

He is the face among faces anymore. He has gotten a little of an edge the past few months but that edge is simply explained as dealing with your problems head on. It has been one of the few things that has gotten Cena way over the past several months (as if he needed it. In fact the crowds have just been really hot over the guy more so than in the past)

Turning Cena heel... I don't see how that would benefit much besides turn a lot of people off of the programming that are just getting into it. Parents wouldn't want their kids to watch Cena be the bad guy.

I would say if they decided to continue tweaking the character of Cena that would be great. He does seem a bit limited still."If creative would.." (we all hear that shit...) If Cena could cut a rap once in a while it would definitely add a persona we haven't seen without making Cena heel. He could change up his attire (big deal) but to be honest even as a bad guy Cena was the same at his core.

My point finally is that Fitz you hit the nail on the head. Good article.

On a side note: Ferb, your last point of Steamboat never being heel was correct btw.

 

[CH David]

Great article again, IC. Cena is this generation's Hogan equivalent. Maybe he isn't as big a star or pulling as much merchandise, but the dude is pulling in the most in the company right now. What a lot of people want right now is another Stone Cold. They want the anti-hero. So they leach onto everyone who shows those kinds of "I don't give a shit who you are" attitudes. Look at Orton. People love him because he is the same way.

Cena is the one true good guy in wrestling. From his persona onscreen and off. Like you say in the article, he does so much for Make A Wish, which is always a great thing to see. He does it all because he loves the business and wants it to succeed. That right there to me says awesome offscreen. Onscreen the guy is Superman. I'm not even saying it in a derogatory term. Hogan was a superhero, Austin was the anti-hero. Cena is bringing us back to hero terms (sorta). Kids need someone to look up to. They had that with Hogan, when they got older, they had Austin, and now Cena is there for their own children. You need someone who does it all without a whim, and that's Cena.

As far as turning him heel, it's unnecessary right now. Like you said IC, he is in his prime. After 8 years on the big stage, the guy is now in his prime (maybe been in it for 2-3 years). He still has a long career before he needs to turn heel if he ever needs to. Vince has said (according to the main site) that he would be willing to turn Cena heel if everything was absolutely perfect for it. Right now that would be stupid. With his farewell last night, he gained a lot of respect from people, and made me a bigger fan. I want to cheer him more now than I ever have. If he is going to turn it should be long down the road, and give us the ultra heel that isn't cool to cheer, but great to boo.

Something Justin posted in another thread resonated with me. Most of the IWC aren't really wrestling fans, they are just people that need to bitch about wrestling. It's so true. Regular people want the actual hero to come through and do the impossible. Wrestling fans want him beaten down or to go too far and beat the other person to a pulp. Why should Cena do that, especially after tearing up last night?

 

[XgringolocoX]

I don't know that WWE should turn Cena heel. Isn't there something to be said for Cena being who he is. There should be a constant in wrestling. Cena being face could be one of those.
Growing up wrestlers stayed face or heel for long periods of time. You knew who was bad, who was good. Iron Sheik bad, Hogan good. It helps to keep shit straight.
If it came to a vote and I could cast a ballot I'd vote to keep Cena face. If it aint broke, don't fix it. Cena's actually one of the few things in wrestling not broke.

 

[Vlita316]

First off I'd like to say that I really enjoyed this article. So that there is some context, I'm a 21 year old female from the New York area and my opinion of John Cena is that there are things I like about him, and things that I don't. I like how he is a "company man" and the kind of role model he is for kids as well as his attitude towards those who hate him. I don't like how he is used in a creative sense where, even if he loses, he wins. the "super Cena" if you will.

That being said, I do understand that he is the company cash cow and that what he represents is good for the business. However, some food for thought may be: if now's not a good time to turn John Cena heel, when is?

Now in the grand scheme of things, according to the article, this is something that shouldn't happen, ever. Wrestling gets a bad reputation and having Cena's face helps company image. Also, in regards to the NFL example, with there being so many disappointing star athletes who have fallen victim to their own fame, seeing Cena rise above and show consistency is something that the sports/entertainment/sports entertainment world needs to see. However, should that really rest on the large, sculpted and possibly enhanced shoulders of John Cena alone?

Another thought is that while it's important to look at the bigger picture (especially with WWE being a publicly traded company and no longer the "underground" it once was, or at least appeared to be) the WWE Universe has had the last 7 years of this type of John Cena. Yes, we need a hero but the same hero for so many years? the fate of make-a-wish children aside (sorry if i sound like a tool) Cena is becoming a bit stale, at least in the way he is used now. I wouldn't be opposed to him staying face, but being revamped in some way that changes him (a la Undertaker, deadman/american bad ass?)

so in short, heel turn? maybe, maybe not. But do SOMETHING different for the next 7 years.

 

[Wrestlefan27]

While I agree with most of what you're saying TC, I will raise one point of contention. Wrestling is kind of a business where you either "get it" and absolutely love it, or you don't and you want nothing to do with it. I've never met anyone who was "lukewarm" about the business.

That being said, I don't think what happens with one man is going to have such a large negative impact on wrestling, as you seem to imply. People who love wrestling are so passionate about it that we will watch every episode even while complaining about how much things need to change. We're going to watch regardless of whether Cena is a face or heel, or whether he even exists. I for one, have been watching since I was 5, and I would be watching whether Hulk Hogan existed or not. I love the colorful characters and attires and the actual "sport" itself. I'm always more interested in what's happening in the ring than what led to it, though it is cetainly enhanced with a good story.

I won't deny that he's bringing in cash. But that's part of what we're anrgy about. The cash that Cena is drawing comes from the parents of children, not the 18+ year old men. So the ones who are paying are the ones who are being catered to. That's why we're having the PG era. It's annoying because we fans who have watched for most of our lives are not being rewarded for our loyalty. Our desires are being shoved aside in favor of catering to children and their hormones. We're being dictated to by snot-nosed punks. That's one thing that's wrong with most businesses in the US today (imo). They eschew rewarding loyalty for trying to gain new customers. New promotions are almost always to benefit new customers.

I never agree with Cena basher's logic; most of the things said about him can be said for a number of others. You can't dislike Cena, he's just a character. You can only dislike the writers and how they use people. That being said, I agree with you that the new generation needs heroes to build a new fan base, but I disagree with you about John Cena being bigger than the business. The WWE will get along fine for the X number of months Cena will be out and fans will continue to watch because we love the business. While I agree that money is good for the business, I don't agree with your assessment that we are "greedy" for wanting to see an interesting and compelling heel turn from Cena. The WWE may not earn as much, but it's not going to go bankrupt. No man is bigger than the business. Not even Hogan. The NWO angle was enhanced by having him turn, but it would have been awesome without him as well and drew money.

It's truly a different era in wrestling. Are parents letting their kids know about kayfabe now that we are the older generation, or are they treating it like Santa and the Easter bunny? Do these kids know Cena is just doing what the writers tell him or do they think it's all real?

Who can a fan believe in anymore? It's hard to say. Especially in the wrestling business that continually blurs the line between reality and script. Maybe people are jaded now. Maybe that's why people buy the jerseys of promising nobodies instead of established stars.

That's my opinion.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

Honestly, Tim Duncan shouldn't be in that conversation IC. He's one of the biggest crybabies in basketball when he doesn't get a call. That's not something John Cena or even the man that irritates me most, Tim Tebow would do. Just had to get that out there.

But more onto topic, you are absolutely correct, Cena needs to be the face of the WWE, but not for the actual wrstling show itself but for the image of the business as a whole. Does that mean I wouldn't want to see him do the ultimate betrayal and turn on his fans? No, I would be greatly interested in seeing that, but it doesn't change the fact that Cena does need to be the good guy at the end of the day.

 

[MaxPlastic]

I am a certified Cena hater, but not until last night and when I just read this great article did I realize that I'm supposed to be. He IS supposed to be polarizing like that. and he IS supposed be the way he is. I whole-heartedly agree with the article. I don't like John Cena, but last night during his promo, I realized that I wasn't supposed to, and that's just how they want it

 

[blackmetalbuick]

Kinda late on this whole "to heel or not to heel" issue. Obviously it's not happening now, so this preachy article would have made more sense a few weeks ago. Trying to compare wrestling to the sports world and saying that Cena needs to be a good guy because of everything else going on in other sports is well, dumb. Wrestling is not connected to any of this. A Cena heel turn wouldn't have been reported on ESPN as the sports disaster of the decade. He wouldn't be in segments on the news where they compare him to the recent downfall of other sports starts who have been caught up in controversies. Wrestling is a show. Not a sport. Of all the reasons to say he should stay face, merch sales, storylines, etc etc, this argument about needing him to be a good guy in today's world is just silly. Very poor article.

I myself and most others should get over the heel Cena idea already. We were dumb enough to get our hopes up for a brief while there. But when they didn't even make Cena wear a Nexus shirt aside from all 8 seconds when he put it on last week, we should have known they weren't going to do anything interesting. Top priority is still selling that purple shirt I guess.

And no, John Cena isn't SUPPOSED to be polarizing or controversial, he's supposed to be the biggest face in the world, but a portion of the audience turned against him. So WWE was smart enough to try and ACT like he's supposed to get a mixed reaction, but don't give them enough credit to say that was their plan all along. He's supposed to be today's Hogan, the biggest face in the company. He only gets boos and mixed reactions because half of us truly hate him.

It may have been poor timing anyway. TNA is practically recreating the entire nWo angle as we speak with THEIR biggest face turning heel and joining a heel faction. If Cena turned and joined Nexus, it's like both companies would be doing the exact same thing right now. I think this is a better reason for not turning him than comparing John Cena to the sale of certain NFL jerseys lol.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

I'm might fall off of the topic at hand, but since the nWo thing, everyone thinks that every face should go heel for the sake of the business. Even if the guy was so over with the crowd, people thought, "Hey, turn him heel, no one will see it coming!"

It was the finger-poke of doom that proved turning a face into a heel for that shock value proved to a bad idea. Just because Hogan's turn was a genius move, doesn't mean any turns will turn out as well.

Cena is the good guy. Always will be, and shouldn't change. Hell, if he got dumped to the mid-card good guy, that would be good for his career. It would be dumb to switch to heel for the shock value. Shock Value only last so long. I mean, look at Imus. The once famous Shock Jock, who would say anything in a character to shock the audience into listening lost his job, because he decided to shock an audience again by calling a college basketball team a bunch of nappy headed hoes. Was it funny, but, it was stupid and not really needed.

Cena staying face is a good idea. Most of us know this. It was a good way for Orton to become a good face. I mean, he was the alternative face on the show, gave the people another guy to root for.

Making Cena heel is just insane. Not really a good move for business or the show. Just because it worked 15 years ago for another guy, doesn't mean it will work again. Unless your the Rock, because, well, he is the best at it all.

PS. The fans booed the Rock when he was a face, Hogan when he was a face, and Austin got some boos as well when he was a face. People are going to boo, no matter what the characters are. I cheered for the Joker. )

 

[onecrazykid]

I have disliked Cena since he ditched the rapper gimmick and became SuperCena, for the same reason I hated Hulk Hogan. But thank you Chris for that insight. Put into that perspective, it sure changes the way you see things. I may never like SuperCena, but I see it differently now.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I agree. John Cena is someone that gets a lot of undeserved hate from the IWC. I believe too many internet fans think that a wrestler has to be on the same level inside the ring as a Shawn Michaels or Kurt Angle or an AJ Styles, etc. before they can call them "good".

I'm not a huge Cena fan, sometimes the guy does make me cringe a little when he's trying to be cute and funny because it seems corny at times. However, John Cena does have tons of charisma, he draws money and has been involved in some downright great feuds and matches. I admit that there's part of me that would like to see John Cena go heel as it would be unique. However, I think IC raised a great point about how "heroes" within the sports and/or entertainment world just seem to be disappearing for one reason or another.

In days gone by, parents wanted their children to look up to someone they saw on television. Sports heroes and movie stars were people that kids could look at and say "I wanna be like him/her when I grow up." Today, however, you don't hear that so much anymore because it seems that an endless string of famous athletes and celebrities are constantly winding up on the news involved in one scandal after another. Basketball players going out into stands to fight with fans, baseball players admitting to taking steroids or finding ways to avoid answering such questions in front of Congress, football players involved in drugs or dog fighting or what have you, famous movie stars getting pulled over for DUI and being recorded saying some downright filthy and deplorable things or slapping women around and so on and so forth. The simple truth of it is that heroes within the media spotlight are quickly fading.

In wrestling, something similar has happened in the minds of many internet fans. If a wrestler doesn't, more or less, meet the standards of an anti-hero then the IWC is pretty much ready to flay him alive. It's one thing to not really be into a wrestlers persona or care for the angle or storyline he might be involved in. However, it's different with John Cena because I've read posts that, at times, reads like they'd want him to just suddenly drop dead. It's as if they feel that John Cena has mortally offended them or something.

I don't see anything "bad" about John Cena. John Cena has worked his ass off for the WWE. There's never been a time when Cena hasn't been out there promoting WWE on tv talk shows, on radio talk shows, working closely with a number of high profile charities and doing it because he legitimately loves it. I just don't understand why or when it became fashionable for a wrestler to not be someone that children can look up to.

 

[Nev]

Some people don't realize to the extent of how much love Cena gets from marks who believe wrestling is real. Cena's semi bad-ass look combined with his clean face personna is a hit for people. Unfortunately, its not all about the IWC and people here need to accept that. We will never see a heel Cena and we will never see another attitude era. The IWC is irrelevant in the company's mind.

Cena wasn't always hated by the IWC. Most peeps back then loved the guy like they do Miz right now. He suddenly gets a push on smackdown and became an instant hit. He wasn't a superman face character at first either, he had a little anti-heel in him. A 'gangsta' gimmick, I believe. Regardless, he didn't get much hate from the IWC until around late 05. Ever since he got traded to RAW and became more of a superman character, he started to get heat. This is probably when the 'PG slippery slope' began. Little girls and women in the audencies started to pick up slowly and now they dominate stadiums. Tho, there's an exception in rowdy cities such as philly. There's nothing you can do about Cena now. He is the current hogan of the wwe and that will never change. Cena's work ethic and love for the WWE only makes it stronger

 

[TheJazzyOne]

There's something major going on with Cena that I think is over the heads of most of the IWC.

First of all, I am a 31 year old guy, and I LIKE Cena. I do, however, get tired of it when he is in the title scene all the time (which he hasn't been for quite a while now), but I like HHH, and I get tired of it when he is in the title scene all the time. I like Randy Orton, but I get tired of him if it's too much. Variety is a good thing, even when you like the characters.

But back to my initial statement... there is something going on with Cena that I think floats right over the head of most of the IWC.

Cena is probably THE most talked about person in wrestling, even by us "smart" fans. He gets the biggest reaction (good or bad) of ANYONE, even by us "smart" fans.

The Cena haters are constantly talking about how terrible he is, and the Cena fans are constantly trying to stand up for him.

At live events, the Cena haters try to boo as loud as they can, and the Cena fans try to drown them out.

He sells more merchandise than anyone else in the company, even though the Cena haters refuse to touch his stuff.

The IWC thinks that wrestling writers need to make them happy. In the end, it's a business, and sometimes, as Eric Bischoff likes to say, Controversy Creates Cash. Cena is controversial. Cena brings in money.

The writers will never (and should never) put their effort into making the IWC happy. That would lead to a boring and predictable product for those of us "in the know", at the same time alienating their other fans, who are obviously spending more money than the IWC on merchandise.

 

[Uncle Chester]

The need for a heel turn has fizzled out with the angle being almost telegraphed by the IWC. People don't give a shit about Cena turning heel, the speculation has gonne on long enough for people to just get tired of trying to get there. Sort of like Hardy's title win, the teasing went on way too long and his win didn't feel nearly as important as it should have been.

I realize the commitment , in rinf talent and promo talent but we need more diversity in a character than never give up, I will not back down, you will not break me etc. I personally fell the current Cena has run it's course, change hip up a bit. A few weeks ago he attacked Nexus and looked like a complete badass, that's what I like. Chagne him up a bit, make him less unpredictable but retain him being a good guy and I would love John Cena.

 

[Y2JisBA]

So, like all sensible, good and true wrestling fans who read this, I obviously agree with it in the fact that John Cena is best as a face, and while I would like to see what would happen if he were heel, I know I have to keep that to my imagination and only think of what could be.

Besides this, being that my favorite wrestler is HBK, a man whose matches never have disappointed me and who I appreciate, respect, and am a fan of above all other wrestlers, being a fan of also Chris Jericho (as you see), Edge, Triple H, Rey Mysterio (sort of), does that mean that because I am 18 I cannot like John Cena. So what if he doesn't have the best wrestling. I don't think he's that boring of a wrestler, and he can do better than a lot of the guys in the business (I am not here to argue about that, though). Anyway, is it a crime to be a legitimate wrestling fan for the past three years (I started watching before Wrestlemania in '07) and like John Cena. He is by no means my favorite, but he is one of them. I am a proud wearer of his orange shirt. Anyway, so am I just some idiot in the wrestling community? Or are there exceptions to the rules recognized here, even by Cena himself?

 

[Dagger Dias]

Great article. I agree that the wrestling world needs Cena as a face. However if he really is taking time off then they would need to build up someone to fill that void pretty quickly. Orton could for a while but in the long run someone else will need to be the top guy of the federation who represents them in the mainstream world like Cena did. None of us know when he will be back or if he ever will turn heel. I would welcome the idea at some point, but not until WWE has someone else to be the top face to replace him. Like IC said, the fans need a hero. No matter how much the attitude era fanboys would hate to admit that, they know it's true too. Every sport needs a hero figure and for WWE that was John Cena because he was someone we can truly look up to. "5 moves of doom" or not. I hope he comes back soon.

 

[Malenko316]

Dear me, with all this navel gazing, someone's going to get a sore neck.

Was it unrealistic to think the WWE would slay the fatted golden calve of JC in these though economic times? Yes. Right, point made, move on. It must be a slow day somewhere that people have time to right a magnum opus and try to turn a clean cut economic dicision into some comment on the state of the whole business or even real sport. Now, I respect what wrestlers do enormously, but to compare the controlled, scripted, rigged world of Pro-Wrestling with real sport, is silly, and frankly insulting. Are there pro athletes who could learn a think about self control? Yes. But those are people who a) earn alot more money, b) have much weaker job security (especially compared to company marks like JC and Trips) and c) do not know when they walk out onto the field or court every move there opponent will make, or how the match with end. If you want to praise someone in the combat arena who lives a clean life, try George St.Pierre.

I will never apologise for being a cena hater. I don't dislike him for being what creative has made him or dedicating the last 10yrs to be the true company guy. I respect him hugely for it. BUT, in becoming SuperCena his the poster child for the PG and the modern embodiment of mic talent taking precedence over ring work. (Creative have given RVD, Benoit, and many futher down the card like Goldust less guidiance or more crap to work with, and in the ring, they have shown more talent than cena). I can't blamce JC for being limited, but it does mean I have the right to dislike him (just like I dislike but respect the MIZ for the samething).

I do agree that it's also a massive dis-service to both the long term fans that the company's solo focus is on the tweenager dollar/pound/euro; and it is a dis-service to the rest of the locker room to think the sky would fall in without SuperCena. Would it be weaker? in the sort-term yes, but thats the byproduct of overemphasis and not building up a basis of plausable ME replacement faces. Although again, this is not an attack on JC, who unlike Trips, has never even hinted on or off camera that the business is dependent on him.

Ultimately, Cena is not Hogan, he has yet to transcend the ring into the true mainstream. He does not transcend into 'real' sport nor should he. Cena has been the posterchild, as I said, for the era in which the 'sport' element, wrestling, has been more and more devalued. So while some people who cross the divide, they are the unlikely and unheralded guys like Koslov (a real sambo champion) or Angle (a real olympic medalist). He deserves respect for being professional, hard working and nice guy. I'll even believe for now he goes beyond the niceguy persona he's contractually oblidged to be. But please. don't forget, the guy is like santa - there's a real guy under neither all of it, but all the hype is purely manufactured for profit. PV

 

[LSN80]

Excellent article. I agree wholeheartedly as well.

Hailing from Pittsburgh, Ive personally seen the Ben Roethlisberger go down from a bird's eye view. Mor and more stories came out, not just sexual allegations. Skipping out on large bar tabs. Refusing to tip. Getting thrown out of clubs for belligerance and excessive noise, and being banned from one altogether because of his arrogance, The small town "Christian" boy from Findlay, Ohio had turned into a monster.

Ben promised change, but so far, people don't believe him. By all accounts, his actions have been nothing short of a 180 from his past behavior. But people have seen him engage in one too many inappropriate activities, and only when forced, he changed.

I think that same logic can be applied to Randy Orton's character. They haven't tried to turn him into a noble, good-hearted babyface, more then likely because they know noone would buy it. He's done too many despicable things in the past, whether it being RKO'ing Stacy Keibler, or handcuffing HHH and RKo'ing Stephanie McMahon, then kissing the unconscious Steph while HHH watched. The numerous people he's punted in the head. I laugh when I hear him mention things like honor and "doing the right thing", because those very things have meant so very little to him in the past.

Which brings us to John Cena. Nobody has exemplified the ideal of doing the right thing, both inside and out of the ring, as John Cena has. He's constantly defended those who were under attack, even if it meant him being the subject of attack himself. The best part of his faux retirement sppech last night was that his tears were sincere when he was talking about his family. His ability to acknowledge what the IWC has said for so long about the women and children and adult males over 18 was so refreshing to see.

Which is why it would be an insult, in essence, to those of us who have followed wrestling for so long to turn him heel. The best characters in wrestling history have more or less stayed true to their characters, whether as a face or a heel. Jeff Hardy's a heel now, but he's still the same enigmatic goofball he's been the last 5 years. CM Punk was straight edge as a face, and straight edge as a heel. Undertaker is still the same "Deadman" he was when he debuted 20 years ago.

The problem that would come in with Cena is that there would be no way to turn his character heel without changing every aspect of who he is. The fun-loving, down to earth, wise cracking guy outside of the ring meshed with the never say die attitude in it would have to go. It would literally piss on the viewers who have bought his merchandise and supported him for all these years-especially after his goodbye speech last night. The time has passed for turning Cena into a heel, and honestly, I don't think they ever should do it. Wrestling does need those once in a decade type characters who are true to their persona in every aspect, and John Cena is at the top of that list right now. To change that would be an insult, especially now while Cena is in his prime. Great article.

 

[nwo1234life]

I respect every one's opinion but I cant stand Cena's bland boring character every time i watch Raw on youtube i skip his segments. I respect Cena for his dedication but the man needs a heel turn badly. I used to be a fan of his from 2002-2004 but ever since he's become Hulk Hogan 2.0 he's been boring.

 

[Karaoke Superstar]

I guess there is a couple points you have there. Although I have yet to understand what the major fuss is over Tim Tebow. The media and other critics of WWE are going to continue to look down on Pro Wrestling no matter how squeaky clean his image is. Although he may get the WWE a few brownie points. John Cena is one of those people that society loves and looks up to. But I don't think that their intention is to change sports forever, but rather to make money. If it was beneficial to the product to turn Cena heel and they had a compelling storyline for him then they would more than likely do it.

That aside, I am entertained and satisfied by the way the last couple of nights have went and the whole storyline. I think it is more logical and fitting than a heel turn and does create a lot of interest for this feud and his situation. He has helped to established Wade Barrett and Nexus as top heels and Wade has done an exceptional job of being a heel to Cena. For the first time in a while I want to see Cena kick somebody's ass. So way to go WWE.

 

[KitInaka]

First off, extremely good article.

Second, I have to agree in every sense that was made. Cena is basically supposed to have the woman and children love him and the men hate him just as much as your supposed to boo every time Michael Cole makes an announcement. Cena is really the perfect mold that the WWE wants. It's just tat mold has been filed and now needs to be emptied and filled with something new. What that new substance is is unknown and I'm pretty sure no one here could give the 100% right answer.

Then again, if your making as much money as VKM is off of Cena being loved and booed at the same time...why change what works?