Would A Cena Heel Turn Have Made Sense?

[Undar8d]

After The Miz cashed in the briefcase and became the WWE Champion, I immediately noticed some of the posts from other threads of people complaining that a Cena heel turn should have happened and that it would have been the biggest thing in this era.

My question is if a Cena heel turn occurred during tonight's broadcast, would it have even made any logical sense?

Let's face it, Nexus has been tearing at Cena, forcing him to do things that he didn't want to do. Some people on these forums have begun to complain that a Cena heel turn should have happened, instead of The Miz cashing it in.

I just don't understand how turning Cena heel at the point of a storyline would have worked out to make any sense.

What are your thoughts? Would you have rather seen a Cena heel turn?

 

[Adalam]

They don't have enough faces right now. Cena and Orton were/are the only two faces. With Miz, Sheamus, Barrett all vying to hold the title as well, that puts Randy Orton alone at a disadvantage. Sure, John Morrison is on his way up, and Triple H is still out there, but that's more heels than necessary already. I have always believed that there should be the same number of heels and faces on a roster so that it's not always a face-face or heel-heel match. So no, Cena should not have turned heel.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

My question is if a Cena heel turn occurred during tonight's broadcast, would it have even made any logical sense?

I know many, many, many people wanted him to turn heel. In fact there is one in particular that irked me by saying The Miz capitalizing and gaining the WWE title was "same old shit" whereas it wouldve been a shocker for Cena to go heel Let me say this very clearly:

Cena turning heel would have NOT been a total shocker. Why? Because there isn't a week that passes in the IWC that some poster doesn't make a thread about how Cena should go heel. It's not a surprise if you see the fantasy play out day in and day out, I'm sorry.


Now Miz cashing in tonight was a bit unpredictable. There wasn't any threads about a possibility that he would do it tonight. Not even a "What If?" Thread. So I am more willing to accept that as a true bona-fide surprise then Cena going heel.

Cena is still the top draw in the WWE. He isn't going to TNA or any other show. He is kayfabely fired for doing what's probably the most awe-inspiring move in wrestling today; he "sacrificed" his career so Orton could remain champion. That is the work of a true hero character. And some people want to shit on that? For shame.

The day Cena goes heel will be the day children will have to look up to another superstar. Who would fill his shoes; the tweener Orton? No; kids will still tune in to RAW in case Cena does make an appearance and when that novelty wears off then John Cena may return.

It would have been a bad business move to turn Cena. He is the mega-merchandise seller of the WWE.

 

[nbieclkl91]

I wouldn't have rather seen Cena turn heel (MAINLY BECAUSE THE MIZ FUCKING ROCKS)but it definately could've worked...If they did it right. Here's how I would've did it.

First off, once Cena joined Nexus, I would've had Nexus stop beating on Cena, etc and just have Barrett tell Cena what to do. (Pretty much exactly what happened) Second, I would not have any physical confrontation between Cena/Barrett at all. Next, at Survivor Series I would've had Cena attack Orton towards the end of the match and then give him to Barrett who hits the Wasteland on Orton and then pins him with Cena doing a fast count. Then have Cena get on the mic and say "I'm not leaving Nexus because I am Nexus!" and reveal himself as the "Bigger Picture" and Creator of Nexus and have him explain why by saying that no matter how hard he worked to please the fans, they still called him a crappy wrestler and chanted "Cena Sucks", etc. Have him say he created Nexus to try to win the fans over by having a group constantly attack him but it still didn't work. Seriously have Cena become the BIGGEST Heel ever! Turn his character into an "Anti-WWE" guy and just destroy everything and everyone in his path. Finally, have him reveal that he told Nexus to attack Undertaker (Setting up Taker vs Cena at Wrestlemania 27).

 

[kozzomozzo]

Cena turning hell makes no sense. He has already feuded with all the good guys so it would be like repeating the past. It would make much more for him to build another guy up like he has done with wade barrett.

 

[The Bad Guy]

I don't know if it would have made sense because really what in the hell does that even mean? What I do know, is it would have been the most unanticipated thing perhaps in the history of professional wrestling. With everything that happened surrounding his goodbye promo, I don't think anybody would have seen it coming. It would have been Hulk Hogan multiplied by 1000.

Like I said in another thread, imagine Cena doing what he did by pulling out the ref and putting Wade Barrett on his shoulders for the Attitude Adjustment. Then, imagine he puts him down, instead gives Orton an Attitude Adjustment, then takes off his shirt to reveal a Nexus shirt. Barrett pins Orton and the celebration begins in the center of the ring, ala the nWo during Bash at the Beach circa 1996. It would have been a true jaw-dropper.

 

[Dgnr82]

Whats to say Cena isn't still going to turn heel? Here's my theory...

Go back and watch the end of the title match tonight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqB3vNu8OU
At the 3:14 mark is the beginning of the end of the match. Watch the referee closely, and you'll see he counts to three, hence Barrett is actually the new champ. Now again, hear me out. Barrett was/is always talking about a bigger picture. What if they got a ref on their side as part of this bigger picture. Looking back, the ref kept asking Orton if he wanted to continue,.... Now, Cena got 'fired' last night,...but what if he is the Raw GM and he set this whole thing up to swerve the audience? No one ever thought he could be the GM.

So in short here ya go.
Cena is the Raw GM. He sets up the Nexus angle to the point we are at right now.Now tonight, the ref gets pulled out AFTER he hits a three count for Barrett. Now in all the confusion, the Miz comes down and cashes in the MITB and wins. But seeing as Barrett should be the champ, the Miz wasted his shot. So in the end, Cena is the Raw GM, real Leader of Nexus and screwed both the Miz and Orton. What better way to turn heel.

 

[CarlSinclair]

It would have been awesome for the moment... but once the shock wore off in a week or two.. there is nothing behind it.

The entire storyline thus far would have made NO sense.

Shock for shocks sake is stupid.. if it doesn't make sense its a Russo.

 

[Don]

Guys, I think Cena will become the heel soon. The way he gave his farewell, asking people to chant "Cena Rocks" and "Cena Sucks" was actually a veiled test by WWE officials to check whether Cena's popularity was in face or in heel. And the chant was louder for "cena Sucks". If people had cared Cena as a face, no one would have chanted that thing in the first place. That only tells WWE that Cena can be converted into heel.
In other words, Cena's request was not merely out of fun. It was actually a test for fans by WWE.
Mind you, Cena's going to turn heel soon.

 

[goukuma]

some of you want a JOHN CENA heel turn so bad that your willing to just let it happen at every dumb instance. im all for a CENA heel turn but it has to be done right and it has to be perfect which might be tricky to do considering im reminded of STONE COLD STEVE AUSTINS last heel run and the fact that it just ended up a failure.

CENA turning heel at SURVIVOR SERIES and being behind NEXUS makes no sense. for years he has already known that there are fans that dont like him, so that doesnt make sense for him to turn heel cause of them and him being behind NEXUS makes no sense. if he was to be behind the NEXUS that means he got his ass kicked a dozen times, lost his title, missed out on opportunities to win back the title, was forced to join them and then embarrassed by them. for what to fool us all and RANDY ORTON six months later.

this is how the heel turn should have went. RANDY does the RKO on BARRET. when CENA goes to the count he stops himself before he gets to 3 and does the AA on RANDY. BARRET pins RANDY and JOHN CENA is free. he sets his sights on attacking BARRET until NEXUS come down. NEXUS looks like they are gonna attack CENA until they attack BARRET. NEXUS gets out of the ring. MIZ comes out and cashes MITB. CENA gives MIZ the win. afterwards CENA takes off his shirt to reveal the NEXUS shirt.

next night on RAW, CENA reveals that he slowly convinced each of the members of the NEXUS to kick out WADE BARRET since all he cares about is himself and winning the WWE title. he can lead the NEXUS to greatness cause he has already done it all there is to do in the WWE and he wont have to hold the rest of the members back. he has never liked ORTON so he could care less about him and BARRET deserved what was coming to him which is why he made a deal with the MIZ.

we can have CENA continue to be heel till WRESTLEMANIA so he can fued with UNDERTAKER or CENA turns face prior to WRESTLEMANIA at the ROYAL RUMBLE when he uses them to win the RUMBLE then turns against them.

 

[Cruiser]

To be honest I actually don't think a Cena heel turn would have made a ton of sense right now. Before the Nexus angle I, along with many others, was really bored with John Cena's gimmick. I felt like it was extremely stale and nothing he did interested me at all. A heel turn seemed to be the best solution and it looked like it was going to happen. Then when Cena joined the Nexus I think his character got a bit of a boost. He was no longer superman and he was in a position that really made the fan in you feel for his situation. It wasn't the same old thing for the first time in many years with Cena. Survivor Series provided an interesting twist as not many people thought Orton would be walking out as the champ. Most of the ideas people had for what would happen post-SS were thrown out the window. I thought the promo cut by Cena tonight on Raw was absolutely brilliant. I usually just tune him out when he gets the stick because it's always the same old never give up type speech. But I was actually glued to the screen during this and was intrigued by Cena's face character for the first time in a while.

While I would want to see a heel turn by Cena in the future, I don't think now is the best time. Let's face it, when Cena does turn heel it is going to be a huge deal. Maybe not on the same level of Hogan in '96 but this is the top guy in the company, it's going to be big. What I'd personally like to see happen now is a well-crafted buildup to a Wrestlemania match between Barrett and Cena. This match has to happen. After everything with the Nexus there is absolutely no way the WWE cannot capitalize on this feud. Cena as a face now has another dimension to it and Barrett as a heel continues to be phenomenal. I think everything points to this match happening but the interesting part will be how creative does it. They've been throwing a lot of curveballs as of late and I think they can make an impressive build to a big time match.

Cena should turn heel at some point but I don't think it'll be through the Nexus. Seeing his promo tonight makes me wonder how awesome he could do as a heel character just because it's so different from what we're used to.

 

[AmericanDragonSW]

One other thing is financially, it'd be a bad move. Cena's stuff is a decent money maker and he's the poster boy for the WWE. They can't afford to turn him heel right now because they haven't built up anyone else. But I agree that Miz cashing in was a little unexpected tonight and I didn't think WWE would have Barrett lose to Orton TWICE in a row. Not saying that was a bad move because I feel Barrett isn't ready yet. But I'm one of those saying that a Cena heel turn won't work.

 

[realdealasshole]

Agreed, Cena turning heel would not have made sense. And I for one am extremely pleased that it didn't happen. Not just storyline wise, but also real life wise. If it would have happened it would have been solely for shock value only. Shock only happens one time. Would it have been cool to see Cena run in and screw Randy Orton tonight instead of Wade Barrett? Certainly. But what happens the next week when everyone on this website who hates Cena, still hates Cena. And what happens when all the kids who spend money on items and pay-per-views, stop spending money on items and pay-per-views? It would be idiotic. It would be useless. It would be mindless. It would be almost as bad as TNA's bound for glory fiasco.

 

[LiamMcMahon]

I'm in two minds. Personally, i don't think a Cena heel turn would make sense, the best time to do it would have been at S/S. There was also someone earlier that said what if Cena was GM and Nexus leader....i don't think thats true either. After his speech last night, i honestly think Cena is taking some time off.

The guy was talking about his family, welling up, etc. Now go back quite a few years ago to when Eddie died. Everyone knew of Cena's respect for Eddie. Yet not a once did it look like he was as upset as he was last night. Now some people might think "but he attacked Barrett, if he had gone he wouldn't be involved in an attack". But look back to Hardy's farewell speech. Punk attacked him, and it was the last we saw of Jeff in WWE. I think Cena is taking some time off, simply because its looking like Taker could miss WM, and people wanted to see Taker vs Heel Cena at WM

First time poster guys, so be gentle haha

 

[Mr. Wrestlemania]

A lot of you guys have made several valid points on both sides of the argument. So valid that I'm not going to argue ANY of them. But what I will do is throw a wrench in the works and I apologize in advance for going off-topic...

What if John Cena is just tired and wants to go home for a little while? Like he said, he's been doing this for almost nine years. These men and women miss so much of their lives with their families to entertain us 300 days a year. There really isn't any "off-season" and everyone needs to recharge the batteries every once in a while. I think the guy wants to spend the holidays with his family, and rightfully so. He's been the workhorse since winning the WWE Title at WM 21.

When will he be back? Not sure exactly. But keep in mind that he is no stranger to making a comeback in or around Boston (Survivor Series 2008). Now...I wonder where the 2011 Royal Rumble is located...hmmmmmmm...

 

[Malenko316]

Does Cena need some time as a heel to cement a legacy? Yes. Look at all the great legends and they've all had some heel time (albeit with differing success, a la Bret Hart sucked as a heel). Whether JC deserves to be considered a legend is for another feed, but I'd say management would like to have him up in that league.

That said, the way the hard been played, there really wasn't much room to turn cena heel the futher the angle went without looking like a russo shock for shockvalue move. Likewise, the guy is also the best cash cow the company has selling purple shirts etc. Until they find a replacement, he needs to be a face. It is a business after all. I would also agree that the balance on raw of faces and heels is so out of balance, again it made no sense to switch cena. If JoMo was free, Danielson more established with WWE as opposed to real fans, or they had Trips ready to come back as a face (albeit briefly), then they might have had more room. As it was, they had zero.

The only thing that I was never clear on was what would happen when Orton won at SS. I think there's some loophole out there which creative will use to keep him around, but it may look like BS, I mean serious BS. I don't think I've EVER said this before, but the speach on RAW seriously impressed me. I'm still not totally sure whether it was a work or a shoot. I guess we won't know unless he pops back up on Raw or gets sent to SD. I think it might do him good to take maybe the next two months off anyway, he is still an injury risk. With Taker likely out of WM, the company need all their faces ready to go in Atlanta.

Don't be surprised to hear 'you can see me' blast out at no.30 at the rumble. But as for a heel turn? I think we've seen one too many heels added the ME level after lastnight as it is. PV

 

[Remix]

From a storyline sence, no. Cena from day one has been fighting Nexus. Why would he say "you know what, fuck the Cenation I've been fighting for since day one. Fuck the WWE I've been fighting to protect since Nexus debuted. Fuck the locker room I've been standing up for and rallying to battle. I'm joining this bunch of heels who have beaten me black and blue and put two guys in the hospital.

From a buisness standpoint no. Cena makes 35% of all of the merchandise sales in WWE. It would make no sence to jeopardise that by turning him heel.

 

[Stall_19]

Well I didn't think Cena needed to turn heel by any stretch of the imagination but I can think of a natural way for Cena to have turned heel

So bear with me, we go back to the end of the Barrett/Orton match a Survivor Series with Cena having called the whole match down the middle. The end happens the same way it did Sunday with Barrett getting in Cena's face and Cena pushing him into the RKO. He goes to count 1........2.......but instead of hesitating and counting three, he hesitates and doesn't finish the count as he realizes what would happen to him if he finishes the count. Orton then gets in his face as Cena has a depressed look on his face as he is heartbroken that he knows it's wrong to screw Orton like that but cannot bring himself to end his cherished career. With Randy distracted with Cena, Barrett hit Randy with a low blow and then hits the wasteland and covers him as Cena delivers a reluctant 3 count.

The next night on Raw we would see random superstars backstage either being interviewed or talking amongst themselves that Cena did the wrong thing with the night culminating with Orton calling Cena out and trashing him. Cena walks out to the ring all depressed and ashamed similar to the Raw when he joined Nexus. He grabs a microphone to speak and looks like he's about to say something but stops and just leaves the ring without uttering a word as Randy calls him a coward.

We go to next week's Raw when Cena finally speaks. He says that he couldn't do it. He couldn't end his career like that. He mention all the people who trashed him for making that decision well as Randy's verbal assault on him. He makes a point that his entire career he always did the right thing, he devoted his life to pleasing the fans but this one little time he did the selfish thing and he gets trashed for it. He mentions he's still the same old Cena asks why everyone can't everyone understand that this business is his life and why one little incident is going to tarnish how he viewed by the superstars in the back and the WWE universe.

And basically we would build from there with the WWE superstars treating him differently as well as the WWE universe (or at least him perceiving it that way) with Cena growing resentful of that. They'd keep developing that storyline by pitting Cena against faces and him noticing more and more of the crowd is cheering against him until he finally snaps and gains a "everyone turned on me, so screw them" attitude.

That I think would have been a natural way to turn Cena heel.

 

[daddyJ_t]

so how much was a work and how much was a shoot? thing is he said some stuff that made me think cause it kinda blurred the line.(like the comment bout billy kidman, cause i didnt even know he was still with them.) maybe his contract is up and he is taking some time off, or maybe healing up from some nagging injuries. fired? hell no, the E isnt that stupid. heres how i see it, jus like somebody said bout bash at the beach. cenas gone and almost "forgotten" and jus when ya thinkthe nexus will win a huuuuuge match, with even bigger ramifications, cena pops back up and everybody pops and he pulls a hogan and drops the boom and joins nexus. not nessarly nexus, but something of that magnitude. it would make perfect since and make his the biggest heel since before angle turned him by choosing his for his survivor series team

 

[rge2010]

I want a Cena heel turn, but last night wouldnt of made sense. Survivor Series was the chance to make it happen.

In the coming weeks I see the thing between Orton and Cena turning sour. I dont buy into the shaking hands and hugging crap especially after all they have being through. Its no believeable. Something will happen...

 

[midnightrider2011]

the way things are going in the wwe right now. it really suck balls.
cena turning heel wouldn't make no sense what so ever.
the miz the wwe champ. he not a champ he a big fat joke. he totally sucks
wwe raw have not many faces right now they are hurting with that.
that why turn cena heel will make it worse for the wwe.
cena is cool all u hater out their who hate cena and go and f.u

 

[SydTinDad]

First, Cena is in that Rock/Austin/HBK (fuck HHH) stratosphere where he does not need a title and can be more valuble helping the young guys become household names. In the grand scheme of things, NO, a Cena heel turn makes no sense, would have made no sense, and will not make sense in the future.

Folks, MONEY! It's all about MONEY!. Daddy boos Cena but still buys all the merchandise for little Johnnywho loves him. Dad boos Cena but still still spends the money for little Johnny, sister Mary, and moma Clever to go to the event and drop even more money.

Cena is a human ATM for the 'E' and will never....................AND THE ROCK MEANS........ever turn heel until; and only until, a new super hero comes along. Those my friends, are once ever 10 years.

They learned thier lesson with that moronic and idiotic SCSA heel turn. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Rasha]

I love all this talk about a heel turn "not making sense." Really? The guy said it best himself last night; half the crowd already hates him. Wrestling used to do a much better job of gauging its audience and tapping into it. Groups like the nWo and DX, or the rise of the anti-faces like Austin and Rock, were as much about the changing personality of the fans as they were the gimmicks of the wrestlers. They created trash-talking, rebellious heroes because that was the nature of their core audience.

How does this relate to Cena? Well, let's say he turns heel the way many of you have suggested; revealing himself to be this sinister mastermind behind the Nexus and even the RAW GM. You can do it, but it's not that believable. It also doesn't tap into the fans. The people who boo Cena don't want to have to give him credit for being an evil genius. They think he's lame and they want him to be even more pathetic.

So, you have him do something that's very simple, easy, and hateable... he sells out. He does what Barrett told him and saves his job. He betrays all the kids by not standing up for himself and he makes the 18+ crowd hate him even more for looking like a pussy. He should have done that at Survivor Series and then come out last night and tried to defend himself. The boos would have been louder than anything we've heard in a long time. He could have stood there in the ring and talked about how much he loves wrestling and didn't want to lose it, but the boos wouldn't have stopped. And then, after he looks defeated... his face turns to a sneer. He pulls his head up in that cocky way and says, "if you really feel that way, then *#?! you!"

It would have made sense, it would have been better, and it would have set him up for the biggest heel run in years. He could have become a bitter, fan-hating s.o.b. who made it his mission to ruin anyone the crowd favored. He could have started brutalizing people and eventually even turned the Nexus members to his side when they realized he more ruthless and lethal than Barrett. And of course, the eventual blow-off with Orton would have been huge.

It's a missed opportunity.

 

[OutsiderDX]

It would have been un-natural for Cena to turn heel, not because he is a good face. But because his entire essence is sucking the life out of every angle.

Why turn heel and make the Nexus / Barrett fued interesting and entertaining? That would be Un-Cena like.

So instead he agrees with this unrealistic / fuex "quitting" angle which NOBODY in the world can come close to suspending any type of belief. Quitting / Fired angles do not work when someone is as high profile as Cena. This angle is going to fall so hard and flat.

If Cena turned heel, Nexus could have rolled on with so much steam it could have lasted through next SummerSlam. And Cena could have an angle that would have defined his career. An angle that he could have associated himself with for the rest of his life.

Nexus was formed and on the first night attacked Cena
Cena forms an Army to fight Nexus
Cena is forced to join Nexus
Cena is torn between his word and his conscious
(and this is where Cena cut it off, instead of exploring the countless intriguing storylines)
Cena turns his back on fans and accepts Nexus and it's benefits
Cena happily helping Nexus with heel tactics
Cena and Barrett contesting over leadership
Barrett face turn (and heel turn to end the angle)
Both Mystery GM and "Larger Picture" implications
Then eventual face turn /redemption for Cena as he finally ends Nexus.

One year angle- Cena most memorable angle. Neat and tide, Cena has 3 months of solidily being a heel (making half the world happy), 2 months of teasing a face turn (giving the other half the world hope), Nexus begins and ends around SummerSlam.

But instead we get a standard Cena "i am superman" and will fight next and win every week for the next 2 months.

*yawn* but this is John Cena, so it makes sense for him to make us yawn.

 

[the_shooter]

A heel turn for Cena wouldn't have made a difference one way or the other for the IWC. But, for the kids who influence what their parents buy for them, a heel turn would have been a revenue disaster for WWE.

Until WWE is able to establish a new top babyface "people's champion", Cena will work babyface.