If Cena turned heel, how would the WWE change?

[Deleted]

So let's say somehow Cena turned heel sometime between TLC and the night after Wrestlemania.

How would that change the landscape of the WWE?

How do you see the storylines changing? Also this doesn't take into account that the WWE gets scared and changes him back. Let's say they're full on for a heel Cena. How do you see things playing out for the next few years?

Very interesting in seeing what FAN says.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

The pitch of LETS GO CENA/CENA SUCKS chants would be slightly altered.

[rnrk supports BLM]

Remember all the complaining that Sheamus was Cena lite? Expect a lot more of it.

[Bad Moon]

Now the obvious answer would be that he would instantly turn into a chickenshit stooge champion who needs run-ins and distractions to beat the likes of Big E. Langston and Dolph Ziggler, because the WWE just don't do strong heels unless their name rhymes with Schmelmsley. HOWEVER, if they actually do turn Cena heel and book him just as dominant as during his babyface reign of terror, he could be an insanely powerful draw. He could finally be that Lesnar 2.0 Vince has been looking for since at least 2006, an unstoppable monster who pushes around everyone just because he can.

[Hit Girl]

For the better. It would force them actually do something different.

[blake6905]

It would give them tons of momentum going into Wrestlemania season. I wouldnt change a thing about him except maybe he disses the town hes in during a promo. Do NOT let Cena and Bryan touch each other until Mania, just keep teasing it. Bryan wins the rumble and sets up the epic match.

[saintpat]

People who boo him now would cheer him, people who cheer him would boo him.

A lot of Make-a-Wish kids who are dying of cancer or the likes would lose a hero. And that is very real.

[SEAN CARLESS]

Dec 13, 2013 9:09:40 GMT -5 saintpat said:

People who boo him now would cheer him, people who cheer him would boo him.

A lot of Make-a-Wish kids who are dying of cancer or the likes would lose a hero. And that is very real.

You can't build a business around dying children. There's no chance of return customers there!

I'm just kidding for the record.

[Deleted]

Dec 13, 2013 13:47:19 GMT -5 SEAN CARLESS said:

Dec 13, 2013 9:09:40 GMT -5 saintpat said:

People who boo him now would cheer him, people who cheer him would boo him.

A lot of Make-a-Wish kids who are dying of cancer or the likes would lose a hero. And that is very real.

You can't build a business around dying children. There's no chance of return customers there!

I'm just kidding for the record.

"Your an asshole"

[Hit Girl]

Dec 13, 2013 9:09:40 GMT -5 saintpat said:

People who boo him now would cheer him, people who cheer him would boo him.

A lot of Make-a-Wish kids who are dying of cancer or the likes would lose a hero. And that is very real.

It depends how they turn him. If they go with the tired, cliched old method of having him insult his fans, then maybe they would lose their hero.

If they were innovative, they would have Cena's fans stick with him. He could easily say "I need your support, even if I have to start playing by a new set of rules....blah blah blah" or some other shit like that.

For the first time, WWE could turn a segment of the audience heel.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

I see it going about as well as WCW's attempts to make Goldberg and Sting into heels, the live crowds just wouldn't let them, he'd turn back within a month tops and they'd act like nothing happened. There'd be booking chaos for two, maybe three weeks before a return to the status quo, heck, knowing the WWE he'd be tagging with the person he turned on before the end of the month with no mention of the animosity they'd hoped to build.

The window for a Cena heel turn has closed, the portion of the audience that hated him with a passion a few years back have just given up, the passion isn't there to make it work. With Hogan's turn in WCW, it wasn't just that the turn was shocking that made it work, the audience hated him before he turned and when he finally did, that hatred turned up to 11 and transformed from 'we're bored of you, please go away' heat into 'we'll pay to see someone kick your backside' heat. I can't see that happening with Cena no matter what they do.

[Deleted]

He would use black t-shirts more often.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

He'd refuse to let go of the STF after the bell.

[BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps]

Not by much, given that Cena's been booked as the "king of the mountain" juggernaut for a number of his recent angles regardless.

At this point, I'd rather see Sheamus become the dominant monster heel a lot of fans want Cena to be, if only because I think he'd be way more entertaining in the role. Granted, ideally Cena would keep the same cocky attitude he has now and transfer it over to his heeldom, but I doubt that'll happen. I can't shake the sense he wouldn't have that sense of fun and adrenaline he currently has as a goofy face, I keep envisioning him playing it like Crow Sting or something, in a very dour "what have I become" fashion. Boring.

There's next to no chance of that happening with Fella, he seems to always take a lot of glee in abusing people. Book him like 2012 Sheamus and just make him an unrepentant dick, it'd be glorious.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

But he already turned heel the night after WM 29.



This business was never the same again.

[A Platypus Rave is Correct]

Dec 13, 2013 14:44:58 GMT -5 CATCH_US IS the Conversation said:

He'd refuse to let go of the STF after the bell.

We've never seen Cena that aggressive before!

[SEAN CARLESS]

People who hate Cena won't start cheering him if WWE simply amped up those traits they find annoying and irritating anyway. The trick would be creating a disingenuous character that the people who cheer now would suddenly hate. You'd have to keep him with the same goofy (and contradictory) moral code, and gaudy attire, but just have him do things to people who are popular until the proverbial lemmings jumped off the ship. You'd have to be subtle. And part of me would be curious to see how many of the child fans would even understand that he was a phony poseur now and how long it would take. It'd be an interesting sociological experiment.

[4real]

He starts wearing rival teams jerseys again hopefully, either that or has a new shirt every week and never stops shilling it.

[angryfan]

Dec 13, 2013 9:09:40 GMT -5 saintpat said:

People who boo him now would cheer him, people who cheer him would boo him.

A lot of Make-a-Wish kids who are dying of cancer or the likes would lose a hero. And that is very real.

If that's the sole reason, then the WWE is in serious trouble, and so is John Cena the person.

I've heard him say essentially that he's the only one the kids have to cheer for. Thus, WWE's creative direction as a business MUST be centered around that, given how much they tout the connection with the Make-A-Wish foundation. Cena, the man, will have to keep going out there, keep rushing back from injury early, keep going with the same character saying the same lines week after week, month after month. The physical toll is obvious, the mental toll of such repetition, well Hogan's done it for decades to the point that separating man from gimmick is damn near impossible. His body is also a total wreck.

I'm all for doing anything we can for the Make-A-Wish kids, I donate my money and time whenever I can to charities like it, but if that is the sole reason to not freshen up a character and, in the process, take some of the weight off of a man who has burned the candle at both ends for you for damn near a decade, then I don't think the ends justify the means. Not by a long shot.

[Deleted]

Dec 13, 2013 14:48:04 GMT -5 Magic knows Black Lives Matter said:

But he already turned heel the night after WM 29.



This business was never the same again.

He actually turned heel a week before that at the Wrestlemania press conference.