John Cena: How Would a Heel Turn Impact WWE Star's Merchandise Sales?

A few months ago, rumors started circulating that John Cena could turn heel.

Many people assumed that the WWE would never pull the trigger on a Cena heel turn. As the poster-boy of the WWE, Cena is the role model of the company.

Even more so than that, many speculated that the WWE would never go through with it because of the amount of merchandise Cena sells.

John Cena is one of, if not the most polarizing character in WWE history. Loved by the children and women and hated by the men and “smark” wrestling fans, Cena can garner either the biggest pop or the most heat of the night. Whether you love or hate him, all must agree with the fact that Cena has one of the strongest emotional connections with the fans.

Starting a few weeks ago, they began to tease a Cena heel turn.

For the last few years, Cena would brush off the heat he would get from fans. It wasn’t until a recent edition of Monday Night Raw, when Cena was in Piper’s Pit, that he strayed from the norm. For the first time, it seemed that the boos from the crowd truly got under Cena’s skin.

Since they’ve teased the potential heel turn, the WWE has begun selling anti-Cena merchandise at live events, and now on WWEShop.com. As well as Cena’s “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect” and “Rise Above Hate” stuff sells with the younger fans, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that the anti-Cena merchandise will sell well with the large population that despises Cena.

With this move, the WWE has really capitalized on Cena’s ability to sell merchandise.

Because his character is so polarizing, I don’t think that Cena will ever make a 100-percent heel turn. I’m not even sure that would be possible. I feel like those who hate him now will cheer for him simply for turning heel.

Rather, I think that Cena will continue on his current path and just begin to embrace the heat and even entice it. While he’s at it, he can keep telling his longtime fans to “rise above the hate.” That way, the WWE can make the most of how polarizing his character is—those who love him will love him more, while those that hate him will despise him more.

I would figure that merchandising sales would reflect the WWE capitalizing on Cena’s polarity.

Would a full-blown heel turn, if possible, make a significant impact in Cena’s merchandise sales? Possibly.

Could the WWE play it safe and continue booking Cena as the superhuman, role-model figure that so many people actually despise? Of course.

Granted, this is only the opinion of a fan, but I believe that the WWE could truly optimize Cena’s merchandising sales by adding the dynamic to his character in which he embraces and encourages the hate, but also continues to win over the love of his already-loyal fans.

The WWE is taking steps in the right direction by releasing anti-Cena merchandise. That, however, is only the beginning. There’s a lot of untapped potential in John Cena that the WWE has yet to explore simply because they are wary of impacting Cena’s phenomenal sales.

You’ll never know if you don’t try. The road to WrestleMania for The Rock vs. John Cena would be an ideal time for them to explore this potential.

Only time will tell if adding an edgy dynamic to Cena’s character will increase his already incredible ability to sell merchandise.

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