John Cena: Breaking Down WWE Star's Upside, Direction and Long-Term Potential

Whether you love him or hate him, there is no denying that John Cena is the WWE's most transcendent star and the man around which everything in the company revolves.

That has become a point of contention for many over the past few years, but Cena maintains the largest fanbase in the business and gets the loudest reactions as well.

For all of Cena's supporters, he has his fair share of detractors as well.

Being booed on a nightly basis might have ruined top guys in the past, but the WWE and Cena have embraced the split opinion and used it to their advantage. Cena may not be the handpicked star of the realm of Internet wrestling fans, but you can't take away what he has accomplished.

Keep reading for the 25th and final installment of my WWE superstar countdown, in which I break down the upside, direction and long-term potential of the company's most important stars. Today I will examine No. 1 on the list, John Cena, and determine what we can expect to see from the leader of the CeNation moving forward.

Origins

After initially trying his hand at a bodybuilding career, Cena decided to give professional wrestling a try in 2000. He trained and competed in Ultimate Pro Wrestling where he was known as The Prototype.

Cena saw instant success as he won the promotion's heavyweight title, but he wouldn't stay there for long. The WWE signed Cena to a developmental deal in 2001, and he was promptly assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling where he won the OVW Heavyweight Championship and OVW Tag Team Championships.

Cena's meteoric rise continued as he was promoted to the main roster in 2002. He made his debut when Kurt Angle issued one of his many open challenges. Cena became the poster boy for the "Ruthless Aggression" era as Vince McMahon gave a speech that implored the rising stars to show ruthless aggression in order to rise up in the ranks.

Cena gave Angle a great challenge before Angle ultimately held on to win the match.

That signaled the beginning of Cena's ascension to superstar status as he became an instant fan favorite. Cena went on to have a brief heel turn, but he soon turned face again and won the United States Championship from Big Show at WrestleMania XX. Cena defeated JBL for the WWE Championship exactly one year later and officially established himself as the top dog he is today.

Current Storyline

It is fair to say that Cena is in somewhat of a transitional period right now.

After feuding with The Rock, Brock Lesnar and John Laurinaitis in succession, Cena has actually taken a bit of a backseat to the WWE Championship feud involving CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and AJ. Cena had a one-match deal with Big Show, and while he is still technically rivaling him, Cena's main goal is to win the WWE Championship contract Money in the Bank ladder match.

Cena has never competed in a Money in the Bank ladder match during his illustrious career, so the fact that he will be doing so on Sunday makes it extremely special. Cena will take on the aforementioned Big Show, Kane and Chris Jericho in the contest.

Since none of his counterparts make much sense as winners of the match, I fully expect Cena to secure the briefcase.

That might rub a lot of fans the wrong way since Money in the Bank is generally used to elevate new stars, but it would make for some interesting moments. If Punk retains against Bryan at Money in the Bank, then there will be the constant threat of Cena, the No. 1 face in the company, cashing in against Punk, the No. 2 face in the company. That alone should make the product very compelling in the near future.

Strengths

As much as some like to say that Cena is talentless, you simply don't become the main star of the world's most powerful wrestling company without possessing some integral qualities.

Cena's biggest strength is his overall presence and the brand that he has built himself into. Cena is the most recognizable person in wrestling and he is one of the few wrestlers who non-fans can identify. That is a big deal and it puts him on a similar level as guys like Hulk Hogan and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin before him.

In the same vein, Cena's exploits outside of the ring should be commended. I understand that Cena's charitable contributions don't have anything to do with the product itself, but the fact that Cena regularly visits the troops and grants wishes to children with illnesses shouldn't be dismissed.

Cena has been molded into a role model for children and pretty much anyone for that matter, so those types of things are big for his overall image.

On a more entertainment-related note, Cena is one of the better speakers in the business. Some believe that he is the best, but while he can hold his own against pretty much anyone, I don't believe you can put him ahead of more believable guys like CM Punk, Chris Jericho and The Miz.

Cena is a bit too over the top and his promos can seem rehearsed at times, but the fact of the matter is that he is asked to speak more than anyone else and he rarely makes a mistake or flubs a line, and that is no easy task.

Weaknesses

The thousand-pound gorilla in the room when it comes to Cena is his in-ring work.

I'll preface my analysis by saying that he is sometimes unfairly criticized in this particular area, but there is no doubt that he has a lot of room to improve.

I believe that the biggest issue that people have with Cena is his penchant for being too formulaic. Almost every wrestler has some sort of go-to sequence that they use in every match, but aside from Cena's "five moves of doom" he truly doesn't bring anything else to the table.

Guys like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and even Punk currently have similar sequences, but they buoy them with a vast move set throughout the rest of the match.

Cena doesn't have that so he relies on a very small list of maneuvers and overall showmanship to get through matches. Sometimes it works, particularly when he is helped by a great worker such as Punk at Money in the Bank last year.

Other times it falls flat, though.

On a somewhat related note, many are disillusioned by Cena's penchant for no-selling his opponents' moves. That very thing is a big reason why fans turned on Hogan in the mid-1990s, and it is happening to Cena as well.

I realize that Cena is booked in a dominant fashion, but fans feel like their intelligence is being insulted when he absorbs a beating for a half hour at the hands of The Miz and Alex Riley, as was the case at Over The Limit last year, and still comes out on top. It simply isn't realistic, and since we're in the "Reality Era" it isn't going to fly much longer.

Greatest Match

In terms of pure in-ring work, there is no question that Cena's best match came against Punk at last year's Money in the Bank pay-per-view.

Punk dictated the action, but Cena held his own and acquitted himself well. With that said, I already used that bout as Punk's greatest match previously, so I decided to go in a different direction with Cena. A great match isn't only about the technical wrestling aspects within it—it incorporates a compelling story and a great atmosphere as well.

Cena vs. Punk had that, but so did Cena against The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII. Say what you will about the year-long angle being botched, but regardless of how effective the build was, every true wrestling fan was excited for that clash of the titans.

The crowd was absolutely electric for the match and a big reason for that was the emotion that Cena drew out of people. The Rock obviously had a lot to do with it as well since it was his first singles match in about eight years, but much of the reaction was booing or cheering for Cena.

There have been far better matches in terms of in-ring work, but Cena and Rock gave it their all and came through with a contest that was fitting for the occasion. I even thought that the ending was great as Cena was caught napping by a Rock Bottom after getting a bit too cocky and arrogant.

It showed a different side of Cena and I hoped that it would lead to a tweaking of his character, That didn't really come to fruition, but the match was one of the biggest spectacles in wrestling over the past 10 years or more.

Career Potential

At 35 years of age, Cena is already a 12-time world champion in the WWE and considered by some to be one of the most recognizable and greatest superstars of all time.

With that in mind, Cena really doesn't have much potential left to fulfill. He has clearly established himself as the face of wrestling in the WWE and across the world, so it may seem like he is at the end of the line and should just ride things out for another five or 10 years.

If Cena wants to receive serious consideration as the best ever, though, he has to lead the company both as a face and a heel.

Many become agitated at the mere mention of a Cena heel turn, but it has to happen eventually. This business is cyclical and the odds of somebody lasting their entire career in wrestling as a face, save for one brief, minuscule heel run, are quite low.

Cena has to establish himself as the top heel one day and I believe he can.

Regardless of how some may feel about him, I consider Hogan to be the best ever. Not only because he was the catalyst that made the WWE a global power in the mid-1990s, but because he was the biggest thing in wrestling as a mega-face, as well as the biggest thing as a mega-heel when he helped form the nWo in WCW back in 1996.

Not even Austin was able to do that as his heel turn was generally considered a flop. A Cena heel turn would have the necessary wow factor, though, so I feel like it would be successful.

How He Gets There

Perhaps a Cena heel turn won't happen this year or even within five years, but it's only a matter of time.

People love to use the argument that Cena can't turn heel because he draws too much money for Vince McMahon and does too much charitable work outside the ring.

While that is a solid point, one of the positives of turning Cena heel would be the emergence of new top faces. Punk and Sheamus in particular are already on the verge of becoming stalwarts, and battling a heel Cena would be a great way to cement them both.

It may not be the by-the-book way of doing things, but heels can draw too. Hogan managed to do it in WCW, and Cena is just as big of a star, so he can do it too. I'm not confident that it will happen, but I feel like the WWE has a golden opportunity to turn Cena in the near future.

If he secures the WWE Championship Money in the Bank contract and Punk retains his title, then Cena may very well cash in on Punk at some point.

I would love to see Punk retain in a hard-fought match against Bryan at SummerSlam, only for Cena to cash in on a vulnerable Punk afterward. That would be a great heel tactic to start his turn and he could engage in a slow-burning turn until he ultimately snaps.

After that, I would love to see his heel turn cemented with a match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania. Taker vs. Cena is probably the one intriguing match left as far as the streak is concerned.

I'd rather not see the streak broken, but if Cena beating him can serve as a vehicle for cementing him as the ultimate heel, then I would be all for it.

This entry culminates the WWE 25-superstar countdown. Here are the five most recent editions for your viewing pleasure:

6. Dolph Ziggler

5. Daniel Bryan

4. Randy Orton

3. Sheamus

2. CM Punk

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