Post by BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps on Oct 28, 2013 0:19:31 GMT -5
I sorta touched on this on that "success led to resentment" thread, but I just felt like elaborating.
There's a big misconception a lot of folks have with the new World Heavyweight Champion. I think a lot of fans believe that WWE wants for them to cheer Cena 24/7 and never question him. This, to me, can't possibly be the case given not only their track record of other faces (Punk, Bryan, HHH, Rock, etc, etc) shitting all over him, calling him a kissass/puppet/"not a wrestler" and riling up his boos, but also the way they have Cena himself go out there and egg the crowd on to boo him, including goading fans by calling him an "underdog" when he's clearly not one. But the thing is, those aren't "bones" being thrown to disgruntled fans, that's WWE trying to create MORE disgruntled fans.
Put simply, there's a large portion of fans who hate Cena mostly because WWE, without ever outright turning him heel, encouraged them to. In fact, I'd say it's far bigger than the vocal minority that's actually bored with him (or so they say).
I don't believe I'm giving WWE too much credit here, as there's a lot to be said for the effectiveness of propaganda- as shown by their efforts to get fans to cheer him, as well as jeer him by subliminally sticking him in angles where of course he's going to look less appealing than his (relatively) fresher opponent. We give them a lot of grief for not being able to follow through on angle executions, but seeing as the Cena Reactions are an ongoing project, they've had understandably more success there.
And to an extent, it's worked for a while- it keeps crowds loud, and his merchandise sells. But what's stupid about it is that it also often doesn't allow Cena to get a clear cut response across the board, especially when an angle might call for it. It doesn't make much sense for Daniel Bryan to rip Cena apart (as well as lie, let's be honest) and for the writers to saddle Cena with lines that will rile fans up (I wouldn't be shocked if that thing about indy feds was put there for that very purpose), yet then give Cena video packages and whatnot and then expect him to be cheered across the board. The problem isn't Cena's demeanor or his sense of humor, it's that WWE keeps trying to have their cake and eat it too in terms of how he's presented to fans.
Now don't get me wrong, there are some fans who Cena is just not going to appeal to. Like any other superstar, his style and approach to angles isn't for everybody. But can you honestly listen to this man's delivery, his cadence and the use of body language, and not wonder why he doesn't have more crowds eating out of his hand? At this point, it's got to be something beyond "too strong and not srs enough".
There's an easy fix to this issue, and it doesn't involve turning Cena heel, giving him an edge or even making him more "human". Basically, Cena has to become Superman.
Why? To bring about that consistency that so many fans clamor for with him. He would be presented as the odds on favorite in all of his feuds rather than an underdog. He would be well aware of how dominant he was and wouldn't be afraid to let people know about it- basically the attitude he took on the MizTV before SummerSlam, only it'd be his default attitude.
And most importantly, WWE would have to stop riding the Cena Sucks train so hard. When other faces would feud with him, they would talk him up as an obvious legend in the same vein that other superheroes respect and talk up the Man of Steel, instead of pointing him out as some sort of charlatan who got lucky in order to feed off his boo contingency. At this point, he should be presented as a more colorful, prone to smile Undertaker.
Now would this approach to him convert every single hostile fan? Obviously not, but it'd be a huge change for him, without having to turn heel even. And his reactions would definitely improve slightly because at least WWE would be selling Cena in an honest fashion for once. He's done all there is to do, he's beaten everybody under the sun and he hasn't wavered from his principles, so why not have him admit he's the shit?
If they consistently presented Cena positively instead of wavering from it every few months for hot new faces to call him a phoney, far fewer people would consider him to be a phoney. That's campaigning 101, have a consistent message.
There's a big misconception a lot of folks have with the new World Heavyweight Champion. I think a lot of fans believe that WWE wants for them to cheer Cena 24/7 and never question him. This, to me, can't possibly be the case given not only their track record of other faces (Punk, Bryan, HHH, Rock, etc, etc) shitting all over him, calling him a kissass/puppet/"not a wrestler" and riling up his boos, but also the way they have Cena himself go out there and egg the crowd on to boo him, including goading fans by calling him an "underdog" when he's clearly not one. But the thing is, those aren't "bones" being thrown to disgruntled fans, that's WWE trying to create MORE disgruntled fans.
Put simply, there's a large portion of fans who hate Cena mostly because WWE, without ever outright turning him heel, encouraged them to. In fact, I'd say it's far bigger than the vocal minority that's actually bored with him (or so they say).
I don't believe I'm giving WWE too much credit here, as there's a lot to be said for the effectiveness of propaganda- as shown by their efforts to get fans to cheer him, as well as jeer him by subliminally sticking him in angles where of course he's going to look less appealing than his (relatively) fresher opponent. We give them a lot of grief for not being able to follow through on angle executions, but seeing as the Cena Reactions are an ongoing project, they've had understandably more success there.
And to an extent, it's worked for a while- it keeps crowds loud, and his merchandise sells. But what's stupid about it is that it also often doesn't allow Cena to get a clear cut response across the board, especially when an angle might call for it. It doesn't make much sense for Daniel Bryan to rip Cena apart (as well as lie, let's be honest) and for the writers to saddle Cena with lines that will rile fans up (I wouldn't be shocked if that thing about indy feds was put there for that very purpose), yet then give Cena video packages and whatnot and then expect him to be cheered across the board. The problem isn't Cena's demeanor or his sense of humor, it's that WWE keeps trying to have their cake and eat it too in terms of how he's presented to fans.
Now don't get me wrong, there are some fans who Cena is just not going to appeal to. Like any other superstar, his style and approach to angles isn't for everybody. But can you honestly listen to this man's delivery, his cadence and the use of body language, and not wonder why he doesn't have more crowds eating out of his hand? At this point, it's got to be something beyond "too strong and not srs enough".
There's an easy fix to this issue, and it doesn't involve turning Cena heel, giving him an edge or even making him more "human". Basically, Cena has to become Superman.
Why? To bring about that consistency that so many fans clamor for with him. He would be presented as the odds on favorite in all of his feuds rather than an underdog. He would be well aware of how dominant he was and wouldn't be afraid to let people know about it- basically the attitude he took on the MizTV before SummerSlam, only it'd be his default attitude.
And most importantly, WWE would have to stop riding the Cena Sucks train so hard. When other faces would feud with him, they would talk him up as an obvious legend in the same vein that other superheroes respect and talk up the Man of Steel, instead of pointing him out as some sort of charlatan who got lucky in order to feed off his boo contingency. At this point, he should be presented as a more colorful, prone to smile Undertaker.
Now would this approach to him convert every single hostile fan? Obviously not, but it'd be a huge change for him, without having to turn heel even. And his reactions would definitely improve slightly because at least WWE would be selling Cena in an honest fashion for once. He's done all there is to do, he's beaten everybody under the sun and he hasn't wavered from his principles, so why not have him admit he's the shit?
If they consistently presented Cena positively instead of wavering from it every few months for hot new faces to call him a phoney, far fewer people would consider him to be a phoney. That's campaigning 101, have a consistent message.
