8 Wrestlers Who Could Be the Next John Cena

John Cena is a one-of-a-kind WWE superstar.

Whether you love him or hate him, it's hard to deny that Cena has followed in the footsteps of Hulk Hogan and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and become the face of professional wrestling.

And that's what I think of when people talk about the "next John Cena": the wrestler who will be the next face of the business.

No one will ever replicate what Cena has done (and still will do) throughout his WWE career, but there are some stars who will one day be synonymous with pro wrestling, just like Cena has become.

In order to define the "next Cena," I'll be looking at a number of factors, such as in-ring skills, age, etc. But four things will most define who I think can be Cena's replacement in the near future: popularity, ability to sell merchandise, ability to perform as a baby face and gimmick.

That being said, let's look at eight wrestlers who could step into Cena's shoes, the guys who I think are most likely to become the "next John Cena" (even if our definitions of what that means may differ).

8. Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan has a few things about him that really stick out: his incredible in-ring skills, the fact that he looks like "one of us" and his uncanny ability to get fans to like him without putting forth much effort.

Although Bryan is clearly turning heel at the moment, his future in the WWE is as a baby face, and his "common man" persona (a la Dusty Rhodes) and his instant connection with the fans is a great way to get over as the top baby face in the WWE.

The main problem I see with Bryan becoming the "next John Cena" is that he's almost too plain as a baby face.

Bryan gets some solid pops from the fans, but if he wasn't a great wrestler, I'm not sure that would be the case, because nothing else really stands out about him.

Like I said, he's blessed with that natural likability, though, which is something that very few wrestlers are fortunate enough to have.

If Bryan can get to the point where what he does outside of the ring and on the mic rivals what he does in the ring, the sky truly is the limit for him.

When you look at Bryan, he may not scream "WWE superstar," but he does scream "company guy," and there are certainly worse options for the potential face of professional wrestling. 

7. Seth Rollins

We'll call Seth Rollins a wild card at the moment.

I know a lot of casual fans have no idea who Rollins (a.k.a. Tyler Black) is, but hardcore fans who have seen him in Ring of Honor know that this guy has loads of potential and could be the WWE's "next big thing" so to speak.

Although Rollins has yet to debut on the main roster, he worked a number of Smackdown house shows and dark matches recently as a baby face.

I'd fully expect Rollins to debut in the near future and get an instant push as a mid-card face, likely on the Smackdown brand.

He can already out-wrestle a big chunk of the main roster, he's got that alternative look going for him (sort of like CM Punk) and he has a loyal, albeit small, fanbase built in from his ROH days.

The questions about Rollins do not stem from his abilities. Rather, they stem from the lack of confidence in what the WWE may do with him.

The good thing about Rollins, though, is that he's still only 25 years old and will likely debut during a time when former ROH guys (Punk and Daniel Bryan) are at the top of the WWE.

6. Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler has been a heel throughout his WWE career, but he'll likely be set up perfectly for a baby face turn down the road.

He has the good looks, the charisma, the improving mic skills and, most importantly, the wrestling ability to really get the fans behind him at some point down the road.

Of course, Ziggler looks like a major heel right now, but John Cena started out as an easy-to-hate heel, turned baby face and then had his career take off from there.

I could see a similar path for Ziggler.

He's currently got the cocky "showoff" gimmick going, but imagine if he turned face and did those handstands and sit-ups in a way to agitate the WWE's top heels.

I think it would instantly gain Ziggler some more fans, and he's already one of those Chris Jericho-type heels who gets a lot of love from the older fans because he's so good at what he does.

Ziggler's not done as a heel (not by a long shot), but for someone who's yet to really win a World title, he's already got a cult following that will absolutely explode once he turns face.

5. Cody Rhodes

If you notice one thing about professional wrestling, it's that the true greats of the business can get fans to like them just as easily as they can get the fans to hate them.

Guys like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Vince McMahon and Randy Orton have all done this tremendously well, and in turn, it's made them have unforgettable careers.

In my view, Cody Rhodes has a great chance of joining those legends in that elite category one day.

Rhodes is just so old school in everything that he does, from his mannerisms in the ring to the way he cuts promos, that I could see him easily doing what Randy Orton did and turn baby face almost by default.

Orton got so over, oddly enough, during his feud with Rhodes that the WWE had no choice but to turn him face, and I can definitely picture a scenario where something similar happens to Rhodes.

And though Orton may not be as popular as John Cena, he's been the closest thing to Cena we've seen in recent WWE history. Yes, even closer than CM Punk.

Rhodes is still only 26 years old (hard to believe, huh?), and he has all the potential in the world to become the next face of the business.

After all, he's still yet to enter his prime, and by the time he does, Cena will be in his late 30s.

4. Kofi Kingston

I will admit that Kofi Kingston is an incredible long shot to be elevated to John Cena's current level.

But when I compare the two men side by side, I can't help but see the striking similarities between them.

While Kingston is nowhere near as good as Cena on the microphone, they both have the happy-go-lucky, smiling baby face persona that the younger fans always react to, they both wear the bright colors and they both have gimmicks that are damn near perfect for the PG era.

I'm incredibly surprised that Kingston hasn't been elevated to the main event yet, and I think that, had his feud with Randy Orton in late 2009 went a different way, he would probably be there right now.

But I'm still holding out hope that Kingston does get another chance to be elevated to the World title scene.

The guy is really talented in the ring, with an offensive style that is perfectly suitable to his baby face role and a very likable personality.

Like Cena, these things seem to come naturally for Kingston, and they give him a clear advantage over other baby faces who have to work really hard to get the crowd behind them.

3. CM Punk

Although CM Punk has had an amazing rise in popularity over the last year or so, he still hasn't quite reached the status of John Cena.

I think Punk is undoubtedly a better overall performer than Cena, but as recent Raw ratings have shown, the WWE's overall fanbase doesn't respond to Punk the same way it responds to Cena.

The problem with Punk trying to become the "next John Cena," or face of the business, is that he is 33 years old, Cena is 34 and they are in the same company at the same time.

I would argue that Punk is to Cena what The Rock was to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin during the Attitude Era—that is, Punk is the WWE's No. 2 star and will be no matter what (as long as Cena is around), even if the gap between he and Cena is almost microscopically small.

It's an unfortunate situation for Punk to be on the same show with Cena, because he's never really going to get the spotlight for an extended period of time in that scenario.

Plus, Punk's age really hurts him.

If Punk was 29 or even 30 years, he'd have a much better shot at taking over as the next face of pro wrestling than he currently does.

2. Zack Ryder

A lot of the criticisms I hear about Zack Ryder go something like this: "He needs to change his gimmick and get more serious if he's ever going to be a main-eventer."

My response to statements like that is this: How is he really any different from John Cena?

Ryder may be a little goofier than Cena, but thanks primarily to the WWE's PG era, they are both over-the-top, corny, happy-go-lucky baby faces.

While Ryder may drop a lame joke about sending Jack Swagger to the E.R., Cena is doing something very similar by calling Sheamus a "human jar of mayonnaise."

The bottom line is that they are both comedy-oriented baby faces who are held back in the PG era.

While Cena and Ryder both get serious at times, they thrive on trying to get the audience behind them by smiling and cutting promos that are supposed to be funny.

It's not that far-fetched to think that, given the right storyline and booking, Ryder could get over as the top baby face in the WWE.

He's got a good look, age on his side (he's 26) and he has a kid-friendly gimmick that makes him keen to selling merchandise.

Sounds a lot like Cena 2.0 to me.

1. The Miz

The Miz has spent his entire WWE career as a heel, and the staleness in his character is really starting to show.

He's one of the top three or four mic workers in the WWE, but fans cannot seem to take him seriously as a heel anymore, and he seems to be stuck in a major rut at the moment.

The cure for that? A mega baby face turn.

While you may not currently think of The Miz as "likable," he does more promotional work for the WWE than anyone—yes, even John Cena—and has perhaps more connections outside of the WWE than anyone in the company thanks to his reality TV past.

Trust me, Vince McMahon loves that about The Miz, and a face turn is inevitable at some point. I think it's going to work out really well, too.

The fans are already behind The Miz when he says his "I'm...awesome" catchphrase (one that I think could get over big time as a face), and his "Really?" line would be a phenomenal way to annoy the WWE's top heels, similar to Stone Cold's famous "What?" line.

Heck, The Miz even looks more like a baby face than a heel.

I know many of you may not be able to see it right now, but I think he has the potential to take over as the WWE's top baby face and become incredibly popular (in terms of merchandise sales, too) within the next couple of years.

Really? Yes, really.

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