So John Cena, unfortunately, went out with another major injury, this time with a herniated disc, and I believe he underwent major surgery just yesterday... and for the record, I wasn't being sarcastic when I said "unfortunately".Cena, although hated by half the fans, is still one of the top dogs in the WWE and is one of only a handful of wrestlers who receives SOME reaction from the fans as opposed to the diddly-squat reaction an alarmingly large percentage of the roster gets from crowds. I personally am on the fence with him, leaning a little more towards liking him, but most WWE fans above age 15 absolutely despise him. Why? Well, the haters say they hate him for a number of reasons: He has the same old moves, he says the same old things, he can't wrestle, etc.
I beg to differ. His repertoire of the "same old moves" and "same old one-liners" is actually comparable to the number of moves or one-liners any other wrestler has. Yes, Cena's may not be as flashy as those of the more popular wrestlers (like Jeff Hardy, Undertaker, Triple H), but is he supposed to be? His reputation is that of a straightforward, no-nonsense brawler, isn't it?
Anyways, back to what I wanted to get at... Cena, whether you like it or not, is pushed as a face. He sells things from the WWE Shop like few others can, and just because most of those items are for the younger fans doesn't change the fact that he moves merchandise. However, even as a semi-Cena fan, I agree that his time as a face is up. They've gone nowhere(I can't stress that enough) with his character since Wrestlemania, and although he's faced the likes of Triple H and Batista since then, each rivalry lasted one or two months tops, when really, those showdowns had 3-5 months of shelf life each. The only reason they didn't last longer was because two faces were going against each other, and a face vs. face showdown rarely can last more than two months in the business. So what does the WWE need to do to fix this problem?
Turn John Cena into a heel.
I know the WWE is probably hesitant to make such a drastic move, seeing that they make oodles of money off Cena-related merchandise. But if Cena turns heel, the company really will be better off in the long-run. There will be more opportunities for longer rivalries amongst him and other top wrestlers, a better chance to market Cena to the over-15 crowd (with whom, in his previous run as a heel, was popular with), and more tasty promos are all possible with just this simple switch. And besides, the last time the WWE took a chance (CM Punk), ratings went as high as they ever were in the last year, at least for a few weeks.
So what do you say WWE? Is Cena's time as a face up, and his time as a heel now?
(go ahead, roll your eyes)
