Why John Cena's WWE Character Will Never Change

Those who follow wrestling tend to hear about a whole lot of rumors. A lot of those people tend to be the ones who start the rumors in the first place.

When I have discussions with fellow wrestling fans, there are a lot of questions asked which center around how good or bad a particular guy is. Discussions often include proclamations of what are supposed to be better moves for the company as a whole. If there is one question I've heard asked to me or proposal pitched over time, it is about John Cena's being perceived as a bad guy.

So, even though I'll continue along with this article about it, I'll simply address the idea right now. If you didn't understand the headline at all, understand this: John Cena cannot and will not ever become a bad guy.

Period.

What possible reason is there for him to become one in the first place?

The most common justification I have heard is that it would get those who boo him to begin to cheer him.

That is simply not true.

Many of those fans get on Cena for his wrestling ability. Those boos would not change if Cena were ever a heel. It would mean only that they would be booing the bad guy, which is exactly what they are supposed to be doing anyway.

Cena has been wrestling with the critics who say he cannot wrestle for years. Yes, I see the irony in that statement, but it's something that will define Cena's entire career, heel or face.

Those boos from older fans don't bother WWE very much. The company is more than prepared for those boos each and every week. These aren't like the times of Rocky Maivia hearing "Die Rocky Die." These are just a bunch of adults that are angry at the children they sit next to.

Those kids are another reason that things will not change. The WWE wasn't changing back in the day when the action was catered to the kiddies and things were TV-PG.

Those children are the ones who insist on coming to WWE live events. They are the ones who will buy anything with John Cena's face on it. Cena is an icon to them, just as Hulk Hogan was an icon to many of the older fans.

In fact much of what has happened to Cena happened to Hogan first. Both would be criticized for their constant babyface moments, their never-say-die attitudes, their abilities to win with the odds against them and their lack of hard-hitting moves.

This is where the next theory comes in.

Since Hulk Hogan ultimately became a bad guy with the New World Order in WCW, it will be Cena's inevitable heel turn that will bring on a meteoric change in WWE history.

Hogan's turn was 16 years ago this month and was done in part to help WCW pull ahead of WWE in the Monday Night Wars. WWE is not really in danger of being dethroned by anyone, nor do they have to beware of how their ratings are doing.

WWE has no issues with ratings. Even when they aren't nearly as high as they were back in the day, they are still among the top shows on cable each week.

Besides, incredible TV ratings don't generate the annual revenue that ticket and merchandise sales do.

Cena is a juggernaut that brings attention to WWE constantly. He is always doing interviews and can pop up on television just about anywhere. His immense amount of work with Make-A-Wish is something that WWE can be proud of.

A heel turn tarnishes, or at least halts, all of that.

Even lately, as John Cena became Mr. Money in the Bank, he decided to go about it all differently. The role often comes with being opportunistic and winning a title from a prone and weakened champion. It has led to a few heel turns over the years.

Instead, Cena told Punk when he wished to cash in the opportunity. That is a move that only Rob Van Dam has successfully done over the years. Cena had a few chances to hold onto the briefcase and wait for CM Punk to be incapacitated before cashing in Money in the Bank.

That's just not Cena's style.

It's hard not to respect Cena's personality in the ring, especially because it is his personality outside of it too. John Cena shows compassion, and he seems to know what is right from what is wrong.

It ends up being a very difficult job to try to hate John Cena.

He is likable, but his ability to constantly win is what leads to a lot of the negative emotions about him. That can all be perceived as envy.

I'll be the one to say it: Fans who hate John Cena tend to envy John Cena.

Before that theory gets busted up, the idea of being the incredible John Cena would seem pretty nice, wouldn't it?

That's exactly the point.

Even if there were legitimate hate for Cena, it wouldn't be because of anything that the man had actually done, positive or negative.

With a decade in the business and a lot of success and accomplishments behind him, nothing seems to be stopping John Cena from staying exactly the way he is (minus some changes in colors of t-shirts) for quite some time.

Cena could be a good heel, but why bother? Classically, those who cannot get reactions end up as heels until they get enough of buzz as bad guys. That complaining for a heel can turn into cheering for a face when they get turned to the good side.

Cena can make heels look great and end up winning in the long run, leading to positive payoffs from storylines.

The turn for CM Punk back to being a heel all but cemented it for John Cena: He will not be a heel down the line.

Cena did nothing more at RAW's 1,000th episode than be a nice guy who had the decency to plan his title cash-in a week ahead of time, get knocked out by interference and see his title shot go up in smoke due to a disqualification.

Cena now holds the albatross of being the guy who could not successfully win a title from a Money in the Bank briefcase. It was the first time in 11 attempts; someone had to do it eventually.

John Cena was that guy.

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