WWE Releasing Anti-Cena T-Shirts

[Jack-Hammer]

The WWE looks to be heading down a path that I'd say is guaranteed to not only make them a lot of money but to also push Cena down the path towards a heel turn.

As we all know, the WWE is acknowledging the heavily mixed reactions that Cena has been getting and is working it as part of a storyline. As of now, I've read about two shirts that will be put out. One of them will be a "Cena Sucks" shirt and the other, I think, will have a picture of Cena with "You Can't See Me" across the picture. Cena himself is getting into swing via Twitter:

"They have wanted too since 2008. I told them no. Finally I just said I dont care. Im fine with the way things are. Some like me. Some don't."

A "fan" asked Cena if he thought WWE's choice to go through with this was disrespectful and he replied:

"Agreed. But WTF. Ignore it no longer. Its out there so those that wanna be like that should be able to voice their opinion. Like I said doesn't change me one bit. Stay true..always have.. always will"

Another fan asked if Cena thought that WWE would put out any Anti-Rock shirts:

"I can tell u right now….that would never happen"

The t-shirts will probably be huge sellers and maybe it's wishful thinking or reading too much into something but it seems more and more likely to me that WWE is on a slow build to turning John Cena heel.

 

[Kenneth]

He is not going to turn heel at all. WWE can make money from people who like him and hate him with selling his Cenation Shirts and now these Anti-Cena shirts.

 

[HoHo]

Yeah but to sell Anti-Cena sounds interesting to me.With WWE ideas always come a plan or method behind the madness, and he might not be 100 percent heel, but they are giving out hints that Cena might.Last night, were they any Cena shirts in the build, here and there right?

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Wow. I actually thought this would never happen.

The Cena haters will probably think they're sticking it to John Cena, if they buy these t-shirts, but I don't agree with this line of thinking. IF you buy these t-shirts, you're just giving more attention to John Cena. Cena wins either way in this situation, because you're still spending your money on John Cena, and these shirts will just help Cena stay more relevant when you stop and think about it, because there's a very good chance these shirts will become hot sellers. Cena has had his fair share of haters (live crowds and the IWC) for years, boos for Cena aren't surprising anymore, and the Cena hate isn't some thing new. Sure, the anti-Cena shirts will help add some extra fuel to the fire, but in the end, Cena will just gain more spotlight, when these shirts start to sell at a quick pace.

As far as a Cena heel turn goes, I've actually warmed up to the idea of Cena as a bad guy over the past couple of months. A Cena heel turn would feel refreshing, and a heel Cena could add an interesting twist for his feud with The Rock.

 

[yanks9548]

I personally feel like Cena is a much better heel right now than anyone else in the company. He might not do anything "heelish" but he knows how to get people to boo him. Like it or not Cena not turning heel is a sure fire way to keep the heat going, think about it most of the people who boo Cena cheer many of the heels. If they turn Cena heel his reaction will lessen, kids won't care they will just be upset he isn't a good guy but kids don't get mad the same way adults do, and internet fans might cheer but probably most won't because they won't want to admit to responding to Cena's presence.

 

[Jackal960]

As for a heel turn, I think it might happen as early as WM, as it would be easier to get a negative reaction from the Miami crowd when you are wrestling against the Rock. However, for the time being, it might make Vince get richer to milk the hate. I actually thought this would have done even earlier. WWE is like the guy selling weapons to both parties who are in a war. He is selling love Cena shirts with hate Cena shirts at the same time. Whichever one loses, WWE wins And as long as WWE can milk it, they will use it to keep both parties interested.

 

[trashboy]

Wow. I actually thought this would never happen.

The Cena haters will probably think they're sticking it to John Cena, if they buy these t-shirts, but I don't agree with this line of thinking. IF you buy these t-shirts, you're just giving more attention to John Cena. Cena wins either way in this situation, because you're still spending your money on John Cena, and these shirts will just help Cena stay more relevant when you stop and think about it, because there's a very good chance these shirts will become hot sellers. Cena has had his fair share of haters (live crowds and the IWC) for years, boos for Cena aren't surprising anymore, and the Cena hate isn't some thing new. Sure, the anti-Cena shirts will help add some extra fuel to the fire, but in the end, Cena will just gain more spotlight, when these shirts start to sell at a quick pace.

As far as a Cena heel turn goes, I've actually warmed up to the idea of Cena as a bad guy over the past couple of months. A Cena heel turn would feel refreshing, and a heel Cena could add an interesting twist for his feud with The Rock.

Exactly. The Cena "haters" don't want to support Cena, but if they buy these shirts, they're still supporting him. If you're such a Cena "hater," you'd stay away from these shirts whether they say, Cena Sucks or not. They cry about his merchandise being hot sellers because the kids or "little Jimmies" get their mommy's to buy them. Well, you're adding to his merchandise sells if you buy one of these anti-Cena shirts.

 

[Hazardous]

The shirt is, as I said earlier, pure marketing genius. will surely move Cena related shirts back to #1 again (sorry punk). One question though.. Why do they need to turn him Heel for 'Mania? Miami is already going to boo the hell out of him. it'll make Chicago and Philly look like nothing. both times he was a "face" and got more heat than any face ever has, so what should be so different about Miami? But yes, the shirts? Love it. Great move by the WWE. A little overdue though

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

This kinda confuses me to be honest.

On one hand, the seeds are planted for the oft-rumoured Cena heel-turn, but what if WWE are perhaps planning a subtle swerve with this?

Cena fans before the Rise Above Hate t-shirt release were easily identified. The bright colours amidst a sea of black and white clearly stood out, be they the orange, red or purple designs. A casual viewer flicking through the channels could tell within a few seconds that the t-shirts were associated with Cena as they were so different to the norm.

But now a few weeks after the release of the black Rise Above Hate shirt comes an anti-Cena shirt also in black. Hello ambiguity, where you been all this time?

So now there are 2 Cena shirts that cater for both sides of the Cena fence; those that love and those that hate. The waters are becoming muddy when it comes to who in the audience are for or against Cena, but the over-riding message is that Cena is still a popular guy, with an almost civil war between the fans going on.

Where does the swerve come in? Cena has been rising above the hate for a long time now, smirking in the detractors' faces while he carries on his function as a hero to the kids and draw to the paying fan. For all the work he does for WWE and Make-A-Wish, he still gets booed. If Cena/WWE bow to the pressure then who is the next hero who can fulfill Cena's boots?
Punk is decent, but doesn't seem as selfless as Cena. Rock is an extended cameo for high buy-rates. Orton is a psycho the fans turned. Sheamus is a force the fans turned too.
I've been back and forth on the 'Cena heel' debate, but I wonder if the WWE are possibly aiming to include part of the audience as the heel in a storyline which will go on to at least WrestleMania. By visibly identifying the Cena haters, it identifies the previously anonymous booers and jeerers in the crowd and in part makes them part of the story. First it was Mick Foley, then Piper, now the t-shirts; I just wonder if WWE are teasing the audience with something they think they want to lull them into a false sense of security.

Or Cena is in fact turning heel. One or the other.

 

[DemonToSome]

I have been saying Cena needs a heel turn for over a year now and I think this may be the start of it. I think this move is one of the smartest WWE has made in a long time. I'm still not buying one of the shirts though. No need for me to help Cena reclaim his #1 merchandise sales spot.

 

[Paralyzer Z]

This is a genius move by WWE, I can't wait to say how gullible the haters will seem.after they buy these shirts. If you purchase them, you support Cena while thinking you are "sticking it to him. Thus you ate further solidifying him as the top seller in WWE. More Cena sales in terms of T-shirts including these ones, the more the haters get him on their TV screen. Everything that needs to be said has already been said in the other post but I will give the haters some advice. If you really hate Cena, stay away from his merchandise, and give him no reaction when he comes out. I am proud to call myself a Cena fan on this day.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

There is no genius behind it... it's just pure business, the whole Rock/Cena thing has been a huge experiment to avoid the Hogan/Rock scenario where the fans chose on the night who was face or heel... They have made Rocky and Cena both look like asses and this is just an extension of it, for every "Team Bring It" shirt there will be a "Cena Sucks"... its the balance that makes face v face work... If Cena is gonna turn, it's gonna be at Mania...and it'll be huge... but otherwise it puts the marketing and the tone of the match in WWE's hands not the fans... Crucial for the "biggest match since Hulk/Andre"

 

[Derf]

I bought my Cena Sucks shirt last night at TLC, i love it mainly because cena sucks more ass then a prostitute for cash!

I LOVE this post! I'm so glad someone voluntered to be this topics idiot! Had you read everyone elses posts (which I agree with) you'd realize that by buying the shirt your still technically supporting Cena.

That being said, while brilliant from a business standpoint, I have to question what it means for Cena? I doubt we're gonna see the long craved heal turn, but I don't think I've ever seen the WWE release a shirt so obviously insulting one of it's superstars instead of talking them up. Definatly a unique storyline developing, I believe this shift is ment more for the storyline then an anti Cena shirt.

 

[sabu4life]

everybody knows buying these shirts aren't gonna help cena turn heel. why spend $15-$25 on a Anti-Cena shirt. you can make your own and save yourself some money

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

It's a good move by WWE, I mean clearly they must've gone to Cena with the idea and they all agreed.

There is this tinge of WWE not backing Cena through the boos and that's exactly what they want. I'm not thinking this is an impetus for Cena to turn, but Cena's Jesus gimmick these days is great for the WWE, business wise and the crowds are so alive when he is on. But still I'm not wholely convinced if this is the right move, for the sheer fact that if Cena does acknowledge the fact on air with his gimmick, he's just a ticking time bomb for a turn.

 

[gurvinder372]

Its interesting!!
Now, will you be in Miami (wrestlemania 28) wearing Rock's T-shirt to support Rock or wearing Cena-Sucks T-shirt bashing Cena. It can simply establish whether people love Rock because they hate Cena or they love Rock regardless of who is his opponent.

I agree totally with fellow WZers that this is a brilliant and has a touch of genius to it. If you wear Cena Sucks T-shirt, you are still supporting him only. Adults who are not quite willing to take on their friends who want to hate cena to look cool, can quite buy this T-Shirt to show their loyalty towards Cena and their friends in one shot. GOOD work WWE

Cena is very good in selling that people boo him and he is okay with that, so his undercover-fans will not think that they are betraying him

 

[metalbass]

I have a bit of an off-the-wall theory. I've wanted to turn heel for a while, but now I'm almost conviced he's going to stay a face for a long time, almost in a Kurt Angle type way. Back then fans were chanting 'you suck' to the tune of Angle's entrance music, and eventually Angle embraced it, and started chanting it himself. I almost kind of believe we'll actually see Cena himself wearing one of those anti-Cena shirts at WM28 to further hype the crowd in the Rock's hometown. He still won't change his M-O much, he'll still have the kiddies and the women cheering for him after WM is over but we will see much more Cena in 2012. Him not being a part of TLC is just the calm before the storm. He will have an even bigger role than he had before and probably will be champ around Summerslam. If everything works out right Cena will be a HUGE cash cow for the WWE and we should start to see ratings rise significantly (probably not close to attitude ratings though).

 

[beccawwenerd]

When john cena first came to the wwe he was a heel. I liked him so much better that way. His matches were way more interesting to watch and he had some different move sets he has been a face for way to long. Its about time they turn him bad. WWE will still make a lot of money off of him because people love seeing him getting his butt kicked and seeing him in a different way. Id love for him to turn heel in the next couple of months, but they shouldnt rush it.

 

[GameOver]

When john cena first came to the wwe he was a heel. I liked him so much better that way. His matches were way more interesting to watch and he had some different move sets he has been a face for way to long. Its about time they turn him bad. WWE will still make a lot of money off of him because people love seeing him getting his butt kicked and seeing him in a different way. Id love for him to turn heel in the next couple of months, but they shouldnt rush it.

no he wasn't he was a face initially, standing upto Kurt Angle in one of his hometown hero challenges.

he turned heel and became the Doctor of Thuganomics which got him over with the majority IMO at WrestleMania 20 he won the US title from Big Show (repeating in a small way Hogan vs Andre by slamming Show) and by 21 he was full fledged Super Cena which was the end of any attitude/ruthless aggression he had.

 

[DirtyD79]

Exactly. The Cena "haters" don't want to support Cena, but if they buy these shirts, they're still supporting him. If you're such a Cena "hater," you'd stay away from these shirts whether they say, Cena Sucks or not. They cry about his merchandise being hot sellers because the kids or "little Jimmies" get their mommy's to buy them. Well, you're adding to his merchandise sells if you buy one of these anti-Cena shirts.

If you hate him so much you shouldn't even watch WWE at all. Did you watch a DVD he was on? he made money. Did you buy a video game he appears in? He made money. Did you order a pay per view he appears in? You guessed it you got dinged again. Did you go to a live event and he was on the card? You shouldn't have because you just took another whack from the croupier stick. No matter who you hate if he or she is in some way on the show they make money love `em or hate `em.

Or then again maybe you already know this and you're just having fun with the show.

 

[Steve001]

Firstly, I think WWE has done masterful job of of distorting and purposely misinterpreting fans' reactions to John Cena.

What's been long forgotten by many is that the hostile reactions from live crowds towards Babyface Cena, that started in August 2005, were directly aimed at him by fans for seemingly going out of his way to destroy the illusion of Pro Wrestling on TV and PPV almost on a weekly basis.

Not because he is "kid friendly" as WWE openly portrays currently.
Although, I'm sure that's why many fans who have just started to sprout what could be pubes on their sack, boo Cena today.

John's no-selling of opponents offense and various storyline injuries at times, is so blatant, you'd swear he was doing it on purpose! A seasoned Pro like Cena, really should know better.
As I recall, the boo's started to rain down on Cena way back in 2005, as he would make his Face comeback on his hapless opponents whilst throwing the absolute phoniest right hands, almost in the history of the business itself.

You know it's bad, when in 2006, It was widely reported that Mickie James of all people, tried to give Cena advice on his punches! Hey, throwing punches never worked for RVD in the 'E, especially with his weak brawling skills, so he threw more forearms! Same with Jericho...Ouch! but oh so very true!

But all in all, I certainly don't expect WWE to come right out on TV and lay out Cena's very real flaws, that'd be more than foolish. However, the way they're handling it, so far, is probably the best they can do given the circumstances.

Taking advantage of the audience hostility obviously is a great move, skewed as it is, I just wish it'd happened 3 years ago...

 

[neildittmar]

Cena "hate" t-shirts are very smart marketing and long overdue in my opinion. Regardless of how many fans actually boo Cena vs. those who cheer him, it's obvious there is a split in most of the crowds. Why not capitalize on this? Why not try to make money off of it? This is pro-wrestling for crying out loud. The fans are "right" once again and the company can monetize this.

As to what this means for the bigger picture for Cena, it's kind of hard to say right now. Cena is still overwhelmingly playing babyface, and I don't think the availability of a couple of t-shirts in and of itself is going to suddenly turn him heel. Lets see how the sales of those shirts do. Lets see if the crowds on RAW are wearing the shirts and trashing Cena in kind. Lets see how many people jump on the WWE-sponsored "I hate Cena" bandwagon.

I'm sure WWE has their own ideas of where this "I hate Cena" marketing push is going but it'll be the fans that ultimately decide whether Cena turns heel or not. Think of the shirts as WWE testing the waters a bit more formally than they have in the past few years. This could be "Die Rocky Die" all over again, or it could simply be a tactic to boost the sales of Cena merchandise. Time will tell.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

People seem to be missing the point. We don't care that by buying ant-Cena T-shirts, that we are supporting Cena. The true enemy to us "Cena haters" (as you call us) is the creative team that has not yet chosen to turn him heel. We love the WWE enough to keep watching even when the face of the company is continuously staying stagnant in a direction that we do not care for.

Buying these t-shirts might make Cena more cash and that's great for him. But the more that are bought would also show how unsatisfied the growing demographic is with Cena maintaining a face. Storylines should be driven by crowd reactions in wrestling. If you do not get a pop, work needs to be done. If you get boo'd work needs to be done. If you get bashed incessantly by people who want more from your character, work needs to be done.

No you can't please everybody all of the time but with Cena, the creative teams have spent the last 5 years not even trying to please all of us. And for that reason alone, us "haters" felt ignored and began to lash out. Purchasing an anti-Cena shirt is a way for us to remain vocal about our displeasure in the written character of Cena - not the actual man. He can make all the money in the world off of us, we don't care unless we see some added depth to his character...wrestling careers are supposed to be stories with character twists and increased depth after all.

 

[The Champ]

People seem to be missing the point. We don't care that by buying ant-Cena T-shirts, that we are supporting Cena. The true enemy to us "Cena haters" (as you call us) is the creative team that has not yet chosen to turn him heel. We love the WWE enough to keep watching even when the face of the company is continuously staying stagnant in a direction that we do not care for.

Buying these t-shirts might make Cena more cash and that's great for him. But the more that are bought would also show how unsatisfied the growing demographic is with Cena maintaining a face. Storylines should be driven by crowd reactions in wrestling. If you do not get a pop, work needs to be done. If you get boo'd work needs to be done. If you get bashed incessantly by people who want more from your character, work needs to be done.

No you can't please everybody all of the time but with Cena, the creative teams have spent the last 5 years not even trying to please all of us. And for that reason alone, us "haters" felt ignored and began to lash out. Purchasing an anti-Cena shirt is a way for us to remain vocal about our displeasure in the written character of Cena - not the actual man. He can make all the money in the world off of us, we don't care unless we see some added depth to his character...wrestling careers are supposed to be stories with character twists and increased depth after all.

See, I was beginning to see your point about supporting the idea of turning Cena heel. And maybe buying the Anti-Cena shirts is a decent way of making that point. But then when you went on to say WWE hasn't tried to please everyone, that's where I have an issue.

Something I don't get about people who hate Cena is that they think turning Cena heel is the method WWE must use to please them. This is not true at all. WWE can please people who are not Cena fans while leaving Cena a face. In fact, they've done it plenty of times this year. They're pushed all the internet favorites. They've brought back Rock. They've brought back Kane's mask. All these things have been pleaded for by the 'net for years, and WWE did them all. And yet, they still claim that WWE doesn't listen to their audience because they won't turn Cena heel.

Some of you need to look at the bigger picture here. WWE has to try to appeal to every demographic, not just some. Daniel Bryan just won the World Heavyweight Championship, a decision that was quite obviously made to appeal to internet fans. The return of Kane's mask is a decision that was done to please people who started watching in the Attitude Era. Cena is kept face to please the kids and the women. And so presumably, everybody would be happy, right? Maybe not. But the thing is, some people in the adult male audience will never be satisfied no matter how much WWE caters to them. So, the strategy of throwing them some bones without alienating the rest of their audience works much better as a whole.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

See, I was beginning to see your point about supporting the idea of turning Cena heel. And maybe buying the Anti-Cena shirts is a decent way of making that point. But then when you went on to say WWE hasn't tried to please everyone, that's where I have an issue.

Something I don't get about people who hate Cena is that they think turning Cena heel is the method WWE must use to please them. This is not true at all. WWE can please people who are not Cena fans while leaving Cena a face. In fact, they've done it plenty of times this year. They're pushed all the internet favorites. They've brought back Rock. They've brought back Kane's mask. All these things have been pleaded for by the 'net for years, and WWE did them all. And yet, they still claim that WWE doesn't listen to their audience because they won't turn Cena heel.

Some of you need to look at the bigger picture here. WWE has to try to appeal to every demographic, not just some. Daniel Bryan just won the World Heavyweight Championship, a decision that was quite obviously made to appeal to internet fans. The return of Kane's mask is a decision that was done to please people who started watching in the Attitude Era. Cena is kept face to please the kids and the women. And so presumably, everybody would be happy, right? Maybe not. But the thing is, some people in the adult male audience will never be satisfied no matter how much WWE caters to them. So, the strategy of throwing them some bones without alienating the rest of their audience works much better as a whole.

I said that the WWE hadn't spent the last 5 years (as a whole) trying to please us all. They just recently as of this year took these many efforts to reach out to the "anti-Cenation" as their ratings continued to slip. And no, the WWE cannot please us enough to quiet us from combating Cena as a face. As you can see, we still cheer his opposition, we still boo him whenever given the chance, and we damn sure blog and bitch about about it on open forums. No masked-Kane, "internet darling" champions, Trish Stratus return, or Booker T commentary is going to make us forget our disdain for the snail-paced direction of Cena's character since he is still the face of the company.

We expect more from the top guy and many of us believe that Cena is talented enough to become versatile by changing his character after a handful of years of not doing so. And at this point, anyone who sees nothing wrong with the star of a show remaining the same forever and displaying zero character flaws is not going to understand our need to be interested with significant character changes in a story. We like a good story and Cena's feuds are far too similar and take his character no where that he hasn't already been.

This is why there's value to be seen in supporting the movement by selling these shirts. We'll still support the company but we want it to be made clear what we want to change as people who do help fuel the business. Chanting Cena sucks, holding up anti-Cena signs, bitching online, and wearing the related clothing are our ways of expressing that.

I'm open-minded enough to understand your need to feel defensive over many people bashing a character you love but why can't people like yourself be open-minded enough to understand that many of us want a more interesting character (through a different character direction) out of Cena? Meanwheile we're made out to be these evil Lex Luthors who want Superman dead but really we just wanted to stop watching WWE's version of Captain Planet every Monday Night Raw.