The Brilliance of John Cena

[darbare]

I cannot believe it has taken me this long to figure it out...it just hit after watching RAW this past Monday....Vince either struck gold and is actually the genius that everyone claims him to be, or either John Cena's character was an accident...What I mean by this is, we all know who Cena's main audience is....women and their children in the audience....Vince has already guaranteed their money....but on to the smarks and Internet guys who "hate" John Cena....these guys give him more attention almost more than Cena's kid fans....they almost despise him and boo him loudly on a weekly basis.....these same guys are essentially GIVING John Cena his legacy....without the hate, what else is there unique about John Cena? he wears fruity pebble rainbow shirts, but what else? nothing....and in a time where there are essentially no other faces of the company, Cena has done what no man has been able to do, and that is carry a product BY HIMSELF.....think Hogan and Macho Man/Warrior, HBK and Bret, Stone Cold and Rock, John Cena and ....? John Cena is able to generate money from all the kiddies, while at the same time get more ratings from all of his haters who wish to see him either injured, beat, or turn heel....its a win-win situation all across for WWE.....without his haters, Cena's gimmick no longer exists to an extent because the crowds show displeasure resulting in the passionate rants and spews about how much he sucks in the ring, when in reality he really doesnt....this in turn fuels pretty much every promo he makes about hustle loyalty and respect and never giving up in the face of all the doubters and haters....Am I the only one who sees this or what? the "haters" have indirectly created his legacy for him....Vince has possibly created the biggest face of all time as far as money is concerned, and quite possibly the biggest heel of all time once he does turn heel

 

[Paramount]

Absolutely. Mind you I don't think that was Vince's or Cena's first intention when he started his push to become not only the most loved face in WWE but also the most hated, but hey it worked out. I agree that all the people who love to hate John Cena have essentually made him that much better. Everyone says he sucks and that he cant wrestle and that hes stale and that he should turn heel, yeah well guess what, he got you talking about him, got you to turn on the TV to watch him, and got you to buy those PPV's to see what will happen. The haters, in my opinion, have helped make his legacy more so then the lovers of John Cena.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

I think it was just an accident that the hate would be so strong... i personally feel that the hate is there because we all enjoyed Cena when he was cuttin edgy raps on the likes of stephanie, brock lesnar, etc. and having parking lot brawls with Eddie Guerrero. Then all of a sudden he turned into the kid friendly fruity pebble guy we all despise. I think we all want that old Cena back and I don't think i'm wrong judging by the response his first rap against the Rock got. I think Vince at best thought the kiddies and moms would like Cena and he'd make some money. I don't think he expected the males to lambast him to the extent they have. I don't think it's something they have really been trying to profit much from either. I can only think of two instances it has worked in their favor and not been a distraction to a show. ONS against RVD and currently with the rock.

 

[TheLoneCharles]

The hate for John Cena is ever present with older fans (Im 28) b/c of the absurdity of his gimmick. No one wants to see John Cena dominate every main event and be this "superman" character. I'll admit that this has been happening less frequently, and now it seems Randy Orton took Cena's superman gene.

I predict that the crowd is going to turn on Orton the same way they did to Cena. It was ridiculous how Punk dominated that WM match only to be RKO's out of nowhere for a loss. WWE doesn't know how to properly book a face.

 

[blackmetalbuick]

I wouldn't give too much credit to Vince or the writing team. I don't think they planned all along for Cena to be hated just as strongly as he's supposed to be liked. If anything, we can give them some credit for not giving in to the pressure and changing anything about his character just because he isn't the uber-face that he was supposed to be. I wouldn't call it a success on their part, it's still a failure, they DID want another Hogan or Rock, and even though I'm sure those guys had a handful of people booing in the arena as the other 99% of the fans erupted in cheers, it wasn't this noticeable. It's because Hogan and Rock became so huge naturally, whereas Cena was kinda forced on us. So nobody really deserves credit for something they didn't expect to happen, but Cena has stuck with it and dealt with the boos and even goes so far as to acknowledge the fact that many people hate him, so he deserves a bit of credit, and the writing team hasn't buckled under pressure either, although I always thought the whole idea was that the fans decide who is hated and who is liked. Look at Orton, he wasn't really supposed to be the new Austin either, but as he got more cheers, his character changed a little bit. So I wouldn't credit anyone as if they knew this all along, but at least they haven't waivered under pressure.

 

[Blue Beanie]

That's the way things work these days. Hate gets a lot more attention than positivity. Watch the news, reality TV, even scripted TV. It's criminals making headlines, natural or accidental disasters playing the heel, the biggest jerks or most idiotic drunks getting TV time... that's what the masses enjoy. The people watching prefer to complain about what they don't like rather than change the channel (or turn off the TV) and find something to appreciate.

Also reminds me of something I used to hear when I was in retail sales... A satisfied customer might tell a few people about the positive experience, but unhappy customers will tell everyone they know and anyone else willing to listen about the horrible service.

If 90%+ of the live crowds were cheering Cena, THEN his character would have become stale. He's already won all the championships, he's been the top guy for years, but he still has one underlying mission to accomplish: find a way to stay as he is and convert the haters.

But he's getting the negative attention that people enjoy, and the other side that's cheering Cena tries that much harder to show their appreciation. Without knowing it, because there was no way to predict this kind of reaction, WWE created the perfect modern hero character.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

As for the WWE capitalizing on Cena's heat, I seriously doubt they want Cena to be hated by the older fans. I read that in the NYC press conference for WM27 that the fan reaction of Cena and The Miz were altered cuz the NY crowed were behind The Miz. Also the WWE does take away anti-Cena signs away from the audience. So all this crowd control for Cena suggest they want Cena as loved as possible.

 

[brandogg]

I'm not the biggest John Cena hater, but I also wouldn't consider myself a fan. I did enjoy his freestyles back in the day, and when he beat Jesus Aguilera and Carlito with the chains that was pretty awesome. The thing is though - all these people that hate him (and I'll actually include myself) will probably become his biggest fans when he finally turns heel.

 

[OutsiderDX]

Is it brilliance or ignorance?

Even if the reason McMachon keeps Cena as "The Face", I still don't see the benefit or the brilliance.

He has alienated so many long time fans (including myself) who have been turned off by the product in majority part to Cena. Some stay sure, but many have left, just look at the weak ratings over the Cena decade push.

Never should one wrestler ever ever ever suspend / disrupt the creativity process. With Cena staying face, storylines are stalled, storylines that could involve so many fantastic emotions like : betrayal, jealousy.... redemtion. But we are left the with same STALE act.

For what T-Shirt sales? Ok Let's say a "face: Cena sells 500 T shirts.

Well when Cena turns heel he only sells 250 T-shirts. Well guess what, now the storylines are better, more ppl are interested in the product. Now Daniel Bryan sells and Extra 50 T-Shirts, CM Punk Sells 100 more. Before you know it, instead of selling 500 t shirts from one person, you are selling 750 for 3 and 4 guys.

And guess what, when Cena turns Face after being heel, he will sell 1000 T-shirts instead of 500.

It's not brilliance... it's ignorance from Vince. He isn't looking at the big picture. He doesn't see that his product is stall... just like Cena.

 

[akrassikauda]

It's brilliant I call it the Howard Stern effect. How many people watch because they love him. How many people watch because the hate him. Look at the ratings when Cena was gone pretty much up & down. And the one thing that gets me is Cena doesn't complain about the booos he knows he's getting paid he's doing his job fuck the haters and that works.

SMARK: " I HATE YOU CENA I HOPE YOUR LEG BREAKS "
CENA: " WELL THANK YOU FOR BUYING A TICKET OR PPV JUST TO SAY THAT I'LL REMEMBER THAT WHEN I'M CASHING THE CHECKS, THE BIG CHECKS CAUSE YA GOTTA HAVE SOME TALENT TO BE THE MAN "

 

[Brahma Bull]

Ive been thinking this same thing for awhile now. Obviously cena is a face. hell, he is the face of the company. kids and women love him. kids love him because he is the perfect role model and seems like a genuinely nice guy. and girls love him because the dude is pretty fucking ripped. but the big audience, guys, absolutely hate his guts. the guy was pushed to the moon, and the die hard fans still cannot see why. he sucks in the ring, and is always the exact same. i am hardly ever entertained by him. it is normally who he is fueding with. but... that may be exactly the point. he is the perfect heel for the die hard fans. people hated when jbl was champ, so they would watch to see him loose. same thing for people who hate cena. i almost always want him to loose. i am tired of him with the title, and that sometimes makes me watch more than anything else. i have grown to love many heels, sheamus, barrett, jericho (i actually have liked him since he arrived, but you get the point) because they either take the belt away from cena, or beat him. i like them for other reasons too, but it really helps them.

all in all, the op is right. cena is both the perfect face for women and kiddies, and the perfect heel for males older than 12, which is a huge audience. i dont think it was planned, but damn if vince didnt hit a gold mine with it.

 

[cam1126]

Cena has been without the title for awhile now and look how many weeks he let them have the Miz ambush him. ANd Miz STILL won at WM, when the Face usually walks out. Cena has put over Sheamus, Barret, And Miz and has done it with no problems. He has taken a back seat to the Rock's return...and STILL you guys gripe and moan about him. LOL. It is amazing how Palin makes Libs crazy, and equally as amazing how Cena makes Smarks crazy. People love to Hate and Vince thanks you from the bottom of his bank account. Hate the Game, don't hate the player

 

[zabba53]

why do so many ppl hate cena? im 22 years old and have seen nothing but good in him, his done a great job at being the face of the wwe, his feud with the nexus was 1 of the best feuds i've ever seen in wrestling, before it i was dropping off a little, but since that has happened i've been right back into it

 

[hollowpoint]

Is it brilliance or ignorance?

Even if the reason McMachon keeps Cena as "The Face", I still don't see the benefit or the brilliance.

He has alienated so many long time fans (including myself) who have been turned off by the product in majority part to Cena. Some stay sure, but many have left, just look at the weak ratings over the Cena decade push.

Never should one wrestler ever ever ever suspend / disrupt the creativity process. With Cena staying face, storylines are stalled, storylines that could involve so many fantastic emotions like : betrayal, jealousy.... redemtion. But we are left the with same STALE act.

For what T-Shirt sales? Ok Let's say a "face: Cena sells 500 T shirts.

Well when Cena turns heel he only sells 250 T-shirts. Well guess what, now the storylines are better, more ppl are interested in the product. Now Daniel Bryan sells and Extra 50 T-Shirts, CM Punk Sells 100 more. Before you know it, instead of selling 500 t shirts from one person, you are selling 750 for 3 and 4 guys.

And guess what, when Cena turns Face after being heel, he will sell 1000 T-shirts instead of 500.

It's not brilliance... it's ignorance from Vince. He isn't looking at the big picture. He doesn't see that his product is stall... just like Cena.

This is my theory, but there are a couple of problems that Ive come to realize:

1. the WWE seems to be afraid to risk the money that Cena brings in as a face. They've had plenty of chances to turn him heel and decided not to shows that.

2. If he turns heel, then who would be a face? The Miz? CM Punk? I think both of those guys are too deep into their character to turn face now. With the lack of Face Main Eventer on the roster as it is, they would have to do a HUGE push of someone that is nowhere near deserving, thus shoving another Superstar down our throats and continuing a vicious cycle.

So although I agree this is what they should do, I also understand why they aren't doing this. Is it brillance..eh, not really. One thing I know about Creative is things never go as planned out. Crowd reaction varies ever so often and since they run their business from that, nothing will never go as scripted. Circumstances create characters.

 

[rge2010]

The OP states he will be the biggest heel of all time, maybe so, the kids and women will feel betrayed. But the people who hate him now, will probably cheer him. After all, it is pretty cool to cheer the heels is it not!? I would much rather watch a bad ass Cena destroy the locker room than a 'Super-Cena'.

Anyone remember the Rock in late 2002? He was stale, the crowd turned of him. He returned a few months later and he was awesome. Arguably his most entertaining part to his career...The Rock concerts, the promo in Toronto. He was brillaint and probably got more cheers than he was a face 4/5 months earlier.

 

[Reddog1146]

I have to admit, i never thought of it that way and now that i do it makes sense to me. Cena is one of the most talked about guys on this site, it may mostly be hatred but it is attention any way you look at it. but i do think his attention was an accident i do not think they planned for him to only be liked by women and children.

 

[GW_Hart86]

John Cena is definately the kind of guy people should get behind a lot more. He is the tye of guy who is 100% committed to the WWE and the fans. He shows it every week and always puts on a great show. As far as Im concerned, the latest fued with The Rock, he easily destroyed rocky on every point and showed everyone how much of a traitor to wrestling the rock is!

Its guys like Cena who need your support, guys who actually WANT to be there and entertain the fans IN PERSON as opposed to "via satellite"

 

[Mustang Sally]

....but on to the smarks and Internet guys who "hate" John Cena....these guys give him more attention almost more than Cena's kid fans

You're right. When a wrestler is cheered, he's (correctly) said to be popular, but one of the common misconceptions in wrestling is the belief that when a performer is booed, it means he's unpopular......it that simply isn't true. The more attention Cena gets, the more popular he is, whether that attention be positive or negative.

I saw an example of this in an interview done by the Miz in connection with that little girl who appeared on the Slammys stage with him. The interviewer was asking Miz if he was upset that the girl was so genuinely upset that he had won the championship. Miz replied that if the girl hated the fact he had succeeded, it meant only that he was effectively playing the role his employer wanted him to play. In other words, he was popular with the girl......negatively popular, but popular just the same.

So, sure Cena is brilliant.....and the fact he's made a point of embracing the fans who "hate" him further shows his brilliance. He knows that his impact as a performer is reaching everyone. He's saying: "Love me or hate me; just don't ignore me."

No one can say John Cena is ignored.

 

[Mexican Mark Henry]

This is why John Cena is a major reason Raw has such good ratings.

People pay for Cena to get beat up and people pay for Cena to beat someone up.

I like it this way. Keep Cena as a "tweener". Keep the hate on Cena and keep the little kids and women cheering for him.

Like you said, it is a win-win situation.

The problem is though, whoever Cena feuds with, that person will also get a mixed reaction. Since the older fans hate Cena, they will cheer for the person feuding with Cena and since the kids and women like Cena, they will hate the person Cena is feuding with.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

......no shit dude. What the hell do you think I've been saying for 6 years now? Look at my sig.

Without the boos, Cena is still good at getting 75% of one reaction or the other, which is about HBK 1996 or Bret Hart level, but getting 100% of the crowd to be screaming as loud as they can (one way or another) is something very few can do.

The OP states he will be the biggest heel of all time, maybe so, the kids and women will feel betrayed. But the people who hate him now, will probably cheer him. After all, it is pretty cool to cheer the heels is it not!? I would much rather watch a bad ass Cena destroy the locker room than a 'Super-Cena'.

Anyone remember the Rock in late 2002? He was stale, the crowd turned of him. He returned a few months later and he was awesome. Arguably his most entertaining part to his career...The Rock concerts, the promo in Toronto. He was brillaint and probably got more cheers than he was a face 4/5 months earlier.

Too bad Cena still gets 75% cheers and turning him into a monster would make him just like every other character in wrestling history. Cena is interesting as hell the way he is. WHo gives a shit if he doesn't do lots of technical wrestling, wrestling is about getting over and variety. If everyone was like Bret hart, it'd be boring as hell.

 

[The Idiot]

I don't think anyone is a "genius"...that terms gets thrown around too loosely. It happened the way it did...and the fans respond to him, mainly positively. I think they should continue to run with the Super Cena gimmick for as long as it will go...or until they form another mega-face. Then and only then can they turn him heel. The longer they wait the better and more dramatic it will be. When they do turn him heel...they need to change everything. His look, his entrance music and obviously his attitude. He can always come back to Super Cena...but for it to work he needs to go the Hollywood Hogan route and do a 180.

 

[SomeAreSet]

To call it genius would be kind to Cena and Vince.The backlash just sort of happened after Cena beat Jericho and Christian and Kurt Angle and just about everyone else on the roster.Admittedly it is smart of them to keep Cena face and have him keep on doing what he does.That way he still draws in the kids and their moms and get heat from everyone else.He gets buys from the people who want to see him win,and buys from the people who want to see him lose.

The heel turn is inevitable,but the question is who will become the top face of the WWE?Because as high as The Miz is right now I can't possibly see him attain the levels that Cena has attained,however hard Miz works.Once you have someone who can get reactions like Cena got in 2005,I say they'll turn Cena heel and run with it.

 

[darbare]

maybe I'll detract some of my statements...what I meant to say was did somewhere down the line, Vince realize the brilliance and position that Cena was in, or he is solely just a cash cow....I would like to think they have waited this long for a reason, and that may be because everynight he is the biggest face in the arena, and also the biggest heel to some fans based on reaction....its almost like, why even bother turning him heel, when his kiddie fans and their moms are gonna boo him, when the haters are gonna cheer him...it kinda cancels itself out....its almost like no matter what they do with him, no one is going to be happy, thats what I was trying to explain...either way he is still gonna make money because his haters wanna see he does next, and his kiddie fans will then want to see their idol who turned their backs on them lose....why even bother turning him heel honestly, besides preference for some most fans, including myself.....

 

[772Attitude]

Here me out but i think i have the best solution on how to turn Cena heel (Even though Cena does not need to be a heel at all, he's to valuable as a face).

Step 1: Maybe during or after a ppv have Cena do heelish things to the rock or R-Truth and turn his back on everybody. WWE can come up with a reason why he did it.

Step 2: for him to maintain mega heat with the crowd, don't change a thing with his in ring work, let it still be an average John Cena match where he gets beat up 80% of the time then does his 5 moves of doom and wins. Imagin the heat he will get as a heel when he sets up the 5 knuckle shuffle and hits the FU. The crowd already hates him for doing it as a face, so imagin him doing it as a heel.

Step3: Keep him cutting the same cheesy goofy promos that he's been cutting against heels, but have him do it against other faces and the crowd. Once again imagin the heat the crowd will be giving him just for being so corny like they already do.

All in all i say don't change his in ring work or his goofy corny promo's but just have him turn his back on all his fans. Think about it if they just turned him heel and gave him a whole new gimmick then all of a sudden the crowd would just love him but were suppost to hate heels.

LET ME KNOW WHAT YALL THNK WOULD IT WORK OR WOULD IT JUST BE A TERRIBLE IDEA. SHIT IM NO WRITER BUT I DO HAVE IDEAS.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

How the hell is a heel turn inevitable? because the moves marks boo him? The same guys that would boo any muscular babyface? that's stupid. That's like saying "we have a customer who always bitches about our steak but he always orders it, so next time when he orders steak, lets give him a shrimp basket".

Not only that but if you want a guy for the "other" fans to cheer. they have the Miz. they're building him as the voice of the anti Cena fans. On Raw he said stuff like "all the five year olds chanting his name, everyone else with a brain is chanting against him" which he might he actually stolen from this very board. Or "super cena" which is something all moves marks mock him with.

so here you have Cena, a guy loved by kids and hated by adults, Miz, hated by kids, loved by adults.

How cool is that? That's way better than a boring ass straight up heel vs face. It's even more interesting than the attitude era "anti-hero vs grey area but evil bad guy that you could still like coz he's such a badass". They're working both types of fans. The kids who forget it's an act and let themselves get emotionally caught up (don't call them stupid coz you know deep down you wish you could still get that invested, I know I miss it everytime I saw Danielson live in ROH and by the end I was marking like I was 6 again). They also work the supposed "smart" marks by making them feel like they have a voice.

The whole damn thing is brilliant and has been for a while. It's just taken the IWC so long to realize it because most of you are too smug to think that you can be worked.