WrestleMania 28: How John Cena Has Pushed Fans to Embrace The Rock

John Cena shows up to nearly every live event, participates in autograph signings and does a bunch of work with charitable organizations. The Rock shows up whenever he feels like it, doesn't wrestle except in key pay-per-views and will be gone once again after WrestleMania 28.

So, how is it that Cena is overwhelmingly viewed in a negative light while Rocky gets a warm welcome wherever he goes? The answer is simple.

The WWE Universe has grown tired of Cena's act. He doesn't bring anything new to the table. As The Rock accurately pointed out in his promo last week, the biggest change he's made since last year's marquee event was changing his shorts.

Think about some of the company's other big stars and their paths since WrestleMania 27.

CM Punk transformed from a middling heel character to a fan favorite with one epic pipe bomb last summer. He's had a couple extended title reigns, at least by modern standards, and is embroiled in a terrific feud with Chris Jericho.

Daniel Bryan went from battling Sheamus for the United States title in a dark match to world heavyweight champion. Since winning the belt, he's undergone a heel turn and developed an edgier side than fans had seen in the past.

Heck, even Dolph Ziggler went from being involved in a match with Snooki to the main event scene. He has the look of a future star once all of the hype from WrestleMania fades away in mid-April.

Cena? Same story, different year. He continues to overcome the odds, no matter how steep they appear to be, and the younger demographic eats it up.

Character progression is key to any superstar. Ever since Super Cena took the company by storm, nothing has changed. His act is stale, and The Rock has become the voice through which that message is relayed.

There's nothing the Cenation leader can do over the next month to change the way people view him. The WWE has attempted to help with what, in my opinion, was an obvious setup by having The Rock write notes on his wrist.

Vince McMahon and the creative team are trying to give Cena every advantage they can to make it appear to be more of a fair fight heading into Miami, but it's not going to work. Diehard fans are going to lean toward Rocky in large numbers.

In reality, it doesn't matter who Cena's storyline opponent is. It could be The Rock, Kane, CM Punk or Hornswoggle. As long as whoever it is focuses on Cena's shortcomings in terms of development, the crowd will be on his side.

The fact that fans would rather support somebody who they know will be off to shoot his next movie following Raw on April 2nd instead of a person who appears every week should be a clear message to McMahon.

Until Cena's character starts to evolve, he'll continue to be despised. No trick or tactic is going to change that, and it's why The Rock continues to be embraced when he returns.

Hopefully, it's enough to spark some changes moving forward. And I don't mean a new shirt color.