Word life ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to talk about everyone’s favourite former rapper. John Cena has been a key cog in the WWE machine for many years now, with many considering him to be one of the greatest Superstars in the company’s history. Given his run of great matches, it’s hard to deny him that honour, especially considering how durable he’s been despite picking up so many injuries.
But as is the case with any professional wrestler, he certainly isn’t perfect, and because of that, there are a few things we wouldn’t mind altering when it comes to Big Match John. Obviously, some of these points are much more realistic than others, but we’ve got to aim high – especially considering that he’s now moving towards the back end of his career.
We’d like to think that John or WWE will read this list one day and look back on how many of these suggestions actually happened, but in reality, it’ll probably end up being a case of what could’ve been. Not for them, of course, because they couldn't care less what we think, but as fans, we’re programmed to remain hopeful.
With that being said, here are five things that John Cena needs to change in WWE.
#1 Alignment
This is going to sound fairly played out, so we beg you to read on past this first point, but John Cena does need to turn heel at some point. Sure he’s getting better reactions these days, but his recent WrestleMania 33 program turned a lot of people against him once again – especially now that he’s moving into a part-time schedule (we’ll get to that).
If only to make things feel a little bit fresher, Big Match John should turn on someone at WM34 next year to really freshen up his character. Then, whether he leaves straight away or doesn’t, the fans will be instantly more invested in him, and it’ll make his next series of big time matches feel much more special.
Speaking of which...
#2 Schedule
We understand that Cena is moving down the same path as The Rock when it comes to his part-time schedule, but we need some clarification one way or another. As a babyface, he owes it to the fans to let them know what he’s doing because the last few times he’s disappeared there hasn't really been any kind of announcement in advance.
Plus, there’s no real structure to when he’s meant to come back. If it was a few months on and a few months off that’d make sense, but we never know one way or another, so it’s hard to get excited about what he’s doing when he comes back. If these kinds of things are made crystal clear, then we’d have a better grasp on the current product and what direction the company are going in.
We can look, but we most certainly cannot touch.
#3 Bella association
Nikki Bella is an interesting WWE superstar, in the sense that her character pretty much sexualises everything she does despite the company attempting to move away from that stereotype. As such, her role as a babyface alongside John Cena doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, and it’s affected the former WWE Champion quite badly.
Obviously, we all know that the two are together and engaged in real life, but we don’t need to see that unfold on WWE television anymore. With Miz and Maryse over on Raw there’s no reason to carry that feud on when they return, so when Cena comes back, we want him to focus on being a singles star where he can have exciting matches with some of SD Live’s top performers.
Stop smiling, for the love of god.
Also read: An open letter to the Doctor of Thuganomics, John Cena
#4 Persona
Cena’s persona is an interesting one, mainly because wins and losses don’t seem to matter all that much to him. Sure he gets passionate about a few feuds here and there, but for the most part, he puts on this big smile and laughs off a lot of the people that stand up to him.
We want serious John Cena 95% of the time as opposed to just 50% because this cheesy babyface is exactly why so many people turned off their televisions from 2010 to 2012. Some fans will inevitably enjoy that kind of thing, but for the most part, the WWE Universe is fed up of the squeaky clean “Oh well, I’ll try again next time” guy.
Speaking of which...
#5 Promo habits
Building on the last point, Cena’s promos are just so stereotypical at this stage. He seems to have two default settings: cheesy and overly serious, and we could probably write out the baselines for both of those promos because they’re so predictable. We’ve seen more of a tweener side to him on Talking Smack, but let’s face it, not everyone has the WWE Network.
Promos can make or break a feud depending on how they’re delivered, and recently, Cena’s predictable do’s and don’ts have worn a little thin. Perhaps that’s just us, but then again, just look at how he treated Miz in the build up to the mixed tag team clash.
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