John Cena will never 'turn heel' and this is why

[Dolph'sZiggler]

He is already both a face and a heel. On one hand, he can be the smiley, goofy, kid friendly, merch selling machine face of the company. On the other hand, Cena is basically a heel to the IWC/older fans already because he refuses to change up his character and does the same corny shit week in week out. If people like us want him to turn heel, wouldn't we cheer him if he started being a typical heel, thus making him more like an anti-hero face?

It's far from an original thought, but I can't recall a thread on the subject so I figured we could discuss it.

If 'heel' Cena would result in kids booing him and smarks cheering for him, isn't it nothing more than a lateral move from WWE's perspective? Spinning their tires in a way?

It's similar to the Attitude Era, where good guys were boo'd and bad guys were cheered, but in a less deliberate and obvious way. So while we chastise WWE for being terrible, maybe in reality they are pushing Super Cena down our throats because they know he is the most over heel in the company, sans the kids and women who love him.

I feel like this thread would have been easier to make if I were high.. my once coherent thought has since turned into drawn out rambling

anyway. Discuss :matt:

 

[Crayo]

This point has been brought up many times. The "isn't he already a heel" argument is so wrong I can't even begin to write paragraphs explaining why. Yes, a heel's primary purpose is to get boo'd but if you're not intentionally getting boo'd then you're not a heel. Heels = guys who people pay to lose, that's how heels draw. That's how HHH drew when he was on top as a heel. Do you know any Cena haters who pay for PPV's to watch him lose? No, they know he'll win, that's why they hate him. So no, he's a semi-boo'd babyface, not a heel.

Also, this "he'll be loved once he turns heel" is pure speculation. I know so many butthurt Cena haters who hate him no matter what. If he was heel (and a good one with good booking) he won't be loved the next day. Like all heels, if he's good enough, eventually he will win over everyone. But he won't, in fact I'd still think for the first few months kids/casuals will cheer and IWC/Smarks will still boo. But he'll still be a monster draw but he'd just be entertaining. Then eventually the tides will change if he's good enough and he will draw people who want to see him lose.

The attitude era had heels who were cheered? I guess Austin's character sometimes reflected heel. Tyson was cheered and he came out and started a fight with him, which is a heelish thing to do, but it was moer anti-hero. There's a difference. Austin was arrive, raise hell, leave. An attitude people loved and respected as everyone wanted to be like them. Cena shouldn't and won't be that.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

This point has been brought up many times. The "isn't he already a heel" argument is so wrong I can't even begin to write paragraphs explaining why. Yes, a heel's primary purpose is to get boo'd but if you're not intentionally getting boo'd then you're not a heel.

How can you say with any certainty that Cena isn't doing what he does just to garner negative reactions from the people who hate him? His appearance last week would be a perfect example. He pokes fun at the idea of turning heel by saying he won't 'lash out at the WWE universe'. He has his typical goofball ass smile on his face when Brock comes out, which obviously infuriates his haters. I think the argument could very easily be made that Cena's actions a lot of the time are to get smarks to hate on him.

Heels = guys who people pay to lose, that's how heels draw. That's how HHH drew when he was on top as a heel. Do you know any Cena haters who pay for PPV's to watch him lose? No, they know he'll win, that's why they hate him. So no, he's a semi-boo'd babyface, not a heel.

His feud with Rock doesn't fit that mold, and neither would a feud with Brock.

Also, this "he'll be loved once he turns heel" is pure speculation. I know so many butthurt Cena haters who hate him no matter what. If he was heel (and a good one with good booking) he won't be loved the next day. Like all heels, if he's good enough, eventually he will win over everyone. But he won't, in fact I'd still think for the first few months kids/casuals will cheer and IWC/Smarks will still boo. But he'll still be a monster draw but he'd just be entertaining. Then eventually the tides will change if he's good enough and he will draw people who want to see him lose.

Of course it's speculation. Smarks like to pretend like they have all of the answers, but our job as fans is to speculate. Smarks always cheer heels they like. I've seen ADR get face pops, Dolph get face pops, Austin Aries was turned face by the fans, Bryan could wind up the same way... there are a million examples of crowds liking heels. I think it's very reasonable to say Cena would fall into that category, but obviously nobody can say with any certainty one way or the other.

The attitude era had heels who were cheered? I guess Austin's character sometimes reflected heel. Tyson was cheered and he came out and started a fight with him, which is a heelish thing to do, but it was moer anti-hero. There's a difference. Austin was arrive, raise hell, leave. An attitude people loved and respected as everyone wanted to be like them. Cena shouldn't and won't be that.

There is more to the AE than just John Cena. They had characters like Val Venis, a porn star, who was face, which from a morality standpoint doesn't add up. DX was turned face by the crowd when they were supposed to be the ultimate degenerate anti authority heels. Dustin Rhodes was mercilessly boo'd as a heel when he was nothing more than a bible thumping good guy who wanted to get his wife back from Val Venis. The Rock's good guy babyface character was boo'd out of the building every night. I could go on and on with guys who at face value were 'good guys' who were heels and vice versa.

 

[Super Saiyan Goku]

CENA BETTER TURN HEEL SOON!

 

[Crayo]

CENA BETTER TURN HEEL SINCE!

Since??

 

[Sage.]

Nice post, though I completely disagree in Cena's actions being directed at the IWC/Smarks. He just isn't hiding them any more. His feud with Punk brought him to say "Heel persona" and "5 moves of doom". He's acknowledged that nothing he can do will get those haters to like him. I don't believe the garbage "He's just saying that to get people to like him", he really doesn't give a damn and neither do WWE. They're making more money than ever off of John so I don't see a heel turn coming an y time soon, if ever. However, if they were to turn him heel and they had someone like Brock Lesnar to use, then this is the best time. So it's a possibility, more so now than it ever will be.

 

[I'll See Ya Kia]

I hope he never turns evil. It would b bad 4 his skin.

 

[wolf_bl]

my english isnt so great so can somebody explain to me what this "heel" is?

 

[seabs]

my english isnt so great so can somebody explain to me what this "heel" is?

The bad guy.

 

[Lockard 23]

I somewhat agree, unfortunately. The fans who boo him would love to see him lose (most of the smarks like us loved to see him lose to The Rock at WM) but the fans who do still love him make the company millions of dollars in merchandise. And as a general rule, for whatever reason, heels don't sell as much merch as babyfaces.

I just think (at least for the moment) that he's best being left in the position he is in now. Doesn't mean his character has to be so corny and stale so often, though.

 

[Crayo]

my english isnt so great so can somebody explain to me what this "heel" is?

http://wweforums.net/misc.php?action=help&hid=14