WWE: Analyzing John Cena in the Aftermath of CM Punk's Historic Promo

WWE and John Cena's babyface persona is all about money and merchandise

CM Punk's stirring and much-discussed promo on this week's Monday Night RAW has served to do two things to the WWE universe in its wake.

First, it’s stirred the controversy of whether or not CM Punk was given permission to slam the company, as well as its top performers, the way he did. The chances are that there was a rough sketch of what he was to say, but where he filled in the gaps may have been the night’s most tantalizing moments.

The second thing that his words did was drive the wedge further between John Cena and the Internet Wrestling Community that has become a bigger, more prominent part of the WWE audience.

It’s long been known that Cena and the WWE faithful, those over 13 years old, haven’t gotten along. He’s slammed mercilessly on message boards and his gimmick continues to garner him more boos than cheers in arenas all over the county. To some extent Cena is to blame for his troubles. It’s true, whether you love John Cena or not, that his gimmick has been stale for quite some time.

He’s a modern day Hulk Hogan. He’s virtually impervious to top heels in the company. In matches, like his “I Quit” match against the Miz, Cena will often take a beating, but then sell out his own performance for the sake of his Cena-like comeback. He plays vulnerability as poorly as Hogan used to and his “5 Moves of Doom” are much fodder for those who spend countless hours hating him.

However, Cena’s gimmick, as well as his continued push to stay the top face in the company isn’t so much Cena’s problem as it is a problem with the culture of wrestling. The problem is money. Plainly put, Cena brings in money.

This money first attitude is nothing new. Since promotions were regional and business was done on a handshake, everything has been about selling tickets. If you could pack the house, you got paid. The belt has never been anything more than a prop to sell tickets. It’s the thing that we want our hero to have, and the thing we know the villain is going to take away.

John Cena sells tickets. CM Punk said, in his now famous rant, that Cena, like The Rock and Hogan before him, was a world-class suck up. While that might be true, it doesn’t change the fact that Cena has long possessed certain intangibles that make him a great draw. His looks, combined with his mic skills, have put him ahead of others.

Take WrestleMania 28, for instance. Having The Rock there automatically increases the buy-rates. When he was on top there was a palpable buzz whenever he was present. Cena, who appears to many to have lost that effect, still generates more revenue than anyone else on the WWE roster. It’s a fact that’s not lost on McMahon.

If you can believe it the boos that hit John Cena every time he’s introduced are further proof that his gimmick is working. The goal, when it comes to selling tickets, is to get a reaction out of people. Cena gets a reaction from every single person. Polarizing figures such as Cena are helpful, not harmful, to the bottom line of the brand. Guys that get buried at the bottom of the roster are guys who get no reaction at all. It’s the reason why Kelly Kelly and Melina don’t headline pay-per-views.

The biggest gripe from the cyber world is that Cena is working to create a stale product. The fact is that John Cena is a stale product. Anyone who believes that he’s a breath of fresh air has just shown up to the game. Those that have been watching the WWE for the last 5 years will tell you that Cena is anything but fresh. Still, Cena isn’t going to change because the WWE is controlled by a higher power than Vince McMahon, they are controlled by their shareholders.

Every quarter the WWE must report their earnings and see if they match the projected earnings by Wall Street. They fall short, they lose big money and their stock plummets. They do better than expected and the WWE makes strong returns and people by stock. It’s that easy an equation. Turning John Cena, while good for the product on TV, hurts the interest of children who are buying the t-shirts, wrist bands and hats. Don’t think the fact that Cena wears the loud colors he does has anything to do with his affinity for purple. It’s marketing.

This principle is seen week in and week out on WWE TV. Their attempt to go PG wasn’t for stylistic reasons, as the WWE has much more freedom within the rated-R world. WWE understood that their core audience was young and it became their goal to gear their content to a younger audience, not just for them, but for their shareholders. Even the WWE No-Bullying Campaign is a nod to the younger market that is the primary focus for WWE.

Whenever the debate comes up about how effective John Cena’s heel turn would be, there is always the evoking of the great heel turn of our time: Hulk Hogan. In 1996 at Bash at the Beach, while Hogan was a member of the WCW, he turned heel in one of the most iconic moments in wrestling history. The buzz was enormous, and it allowed the WCW to beat the WWE(then the WWF) in ratings for a solid year.

While this comparison is apt in terms of Cena’s likability and his command of the younger audience, it doesn’t hold weight as a direct apples-to-apples comparison. The biggest difference between the two was the organization they wrestled for. Hogan was a member of WCW, who at that time catered to an older audience who liked wrestling that wasn’t quite mainstream. Turning Hogan was necessary for an older crowd who was less likely to buy bright yellow shirts and say their prayers. The move to Hollywood Hogan was flawless and sold a ton of merchandise.

The WWE knows that the big supporter of their merchandise sales is their youth market. Cena wouldn’t be catering to his most profitable audience, he’d be alienating them.  This makes him going heel, especially with an event like WrestleMania 28 already gaining so much momentum, a near impossible move for a company that has a dwindling shareholder base and waning TV numbers. The issues between the Rock and John Cena, and the sort of staunch division that it has created (even if it doesn’t feel that way on live TV) increases interest and buy-rates for next year’s pay-per-view.

It conversely creates interest in any other marquee event that the Rock might show up at. If he shows up at SummerSlam, especially unannounced, it will boost the replay value of the event. If Cena goes heel prior to WrestleMania 28, it will only serve to hurt the product. While the idea of good vs. evil is normally compelling enough to sell tickets, the Rock and John Cena have a much more interesting dynamic going.

The Rock, who is clearly the favorite of the older crowd, has faced his own share of criticism over his lack of appearances on WWE TV. There are those that choose to believe that the Rock turned his back on the WWE audience. There are those that look at him as a symbol of the Attitude Era and the last man standing from an era when wrestling was better. The truth is both guys are flawed, but carry the image of a face and this makes for the most interesting sub-plot to their showdown.

Of course keeping Cena heel doesn’t just work for the Rock’s Mania angle, but rather, it speaks to the sad state that the product is in right now. The truth is that if the Rock, say, were back full-time, Cena could afford to turn heel because the company could rely on another face to drive sales. As it stands today there is no such face in the WWE. CM Punk, even with the sizzle his name carries at the moment, isn’t a guy that is going to drive buy rates consistently. While a heel is important, they don’t sell as much merchandise, and no one shows up to boo someone (Hollywood Hogan being the lone exception).

Until the WWE can find a suitable replacement for John Cena at the top of the pyramid they will continue to drive him as a face. Even if a face emerged now (my best would be the Miz) they won’t do anything until after Mania.

The hatred for Cena may grow, but don’t blame him. It’s not his fault he is the way he is.