Summerslam - is this the time for John Cena to turn heel?

Yep I'm sorry, this is another one of those threads about John Cena turning heel!!

Having watched the last 2 episodes of Raw, it struck me that the Summerslam main event might just be the right place and the right time for the WWE to finally pull the trigger and turn John Cena heel.  Let me explain......

2 weeks ago on Raw, Brad Maddox gave Cena the chance to pick his challenger for the WWE championship at Summerslam, later on Raw in a backstage segment HHH and Stephanie McMahon congratulated Maddox for his decision, and they alluded to the fact that Daniel Bryan would be picked, they also suggested that Vince McMahon might not be happy with this choice.  

This week on Raw, before the contract signing segment Brad Maddox began to question Bryan's credentials as number 1 contender, and later in the show HHH alluded to the fact that perhaps Vince McMahon had put words into Maddox's mouth.

We all know that there is a power struggle storyline simmering between HHH and Vince, and I'm predicting that possibly it will reach boiling point at Summerslam, with Vince screwing Daniel Bryan out of the WWE championship, thus turning Cena into a corporate champion of some description.  

In my mind it seems like quite a logical time to pull off a heel turn for Cena too.  WWE have 3 really strong face/baby face superstars at the moment in Bryan, Punk, and Ziggler.  All 3 of these guys are getting huge reactions from the crowds every week, I'm not sure the WWE need Cena as the no.1 face of the company anymore. As mentioned before a heel turn would freshen up his character, and add a bit of balance to the face/heel dynamic of the current roster.

What do you guys think? Let me know.......

No chance in hell.

Versus the Rock in Miami was the time for a heel turn.

They've missed their opportunity, it will never happen now.

Ent wrote:No chance in hell.

Versus the Rock in Miami was the time for a heel turn.

They've missed their opportunity, it will never happen now.

In hindsight, was Wrestlemania 28 the right time? At that point in time Cena & CM Punk were the biggest full-time stars on the roster. They were the no.1 and no.2 faces of the company, supported by part-timers like The Rock, Taker and HHH. Had Cena turned it would have left Punk to carry the company on his own.

In comparison, you turn Cena heel now, we've got Punk, plus Bryan and Ziggler who have broken into the main event scene, 3 faces who can carry the company forwards.

Although id be all for any kind of Cena heel turn, I think the only person turning heel at Summerfest is Randy Orton.

The-Rizz wrote:

Ent wrote:No chance in hell.

Versus the Rock in Miami was the time for a heel turn.

They've missed their opportunity, it will never happen now.

In hindsight, was Wrestlemania 28 the right time?  At that point in time Cena & CM Punk were the biggest full-time stars on the roster. They were the no.1 and no.2 faces of the company, supported by part-timers like The Rock, Taker and HHH.  Had Cena turned it would have left Punk to carry the company on his own.  

In comparison, you turn Cena heel now, we've got Punk, plus Bryan and Ziggler who have broken into the main event scene, 3 faces who can carry the company forwards.  

Ziggler isn't going to carry anything and punk is just returning as a face - compared to where he was then.

The turn has to be huge, the fans will cheer a heel cena if its against Bryan at summer slam.

Against the rock in his home town?

[quote="Ent"][quote="The-Rizz"]

Ent wrote:

The turn has to be huge, the fans will cheer a heel cena if its against Bryan at summer slam.

really? Daniel Bryan is getting insane crowd reactions, you think if Cena turned screwed Bryan over, turning heel in the process, he would get cheered?

A heel cena will get cheered as everyone is waiting for it, unless it was done really really well.

Had he cheated to take out the rock in Miami he would have gotten insane heat both on the night and afterwards.

I can't see it now either way.

Cena will have little to no fan backing against Bryan. When Bryan is in the ascendancy it will be YES YES YES, when Cena is it will be NO NO NO

Agreed - the crowd would shift if he turned heel mind as everyone is waiting for it.

Just can't see it happening ever now, it's been too long - that ship has sailed.

If Cena turned at Summerslam I've no doubt the roof would come off, the majority of fans want the turn to happen.

If the WWE were ever brave enough to go for it, they would have to execute it to perfection as it's no normal turn. Cena would need a specific opponent in order to get a heel reaction if the moment ever comes, I don't think Bryan is the guy.

nasisillmatic wrote:If Cena turned at Summerslam I've no doubt the roof would come off, the majority of fans want the turn to happen.

If the WWE were ever brave enough to go for it, they would have to execute it to perfection as it's no normal turn. Cena would need a specific opponent in order to get a heel reaction if the moment ever comes, I don't think Bryan is the guy.

That is essentially what I wanted to say. Very well put.

John Cena will turn heel when The Undertaker loses at Wrestlemania - i.e. NEVER!!!!

nasisillmatic wrote:If the WWE were ever brave enough to go for it, they would have to execute it to perfection as it's no normal turn. Cena would need a specific opponent in order to get a heel reaction if the moment ever comes, I don't think Bryan is the guy.

Totally agree with this, and the only people on the roster currently that I can see garnering the required response for a Cena heel turn are CM Punk in Chicago and possibly the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. I say possibly because there are usually a ton of hardcore smart fans at Wrestlemania so they might end up cheering the turn anyway.

WWE have missed the best chances, so im not even going to debate a cena heel turn anymore.

That being said, Vince screwing Bryan at Summer Slam and shaking hands with Cena after ...

Would they? It immediately made me think of Austin and McMahon and that awful heel turn on The Rock (can't remember which Mania that was off the top of my head). Now, the reason that didnt work was because Austin was just too popular a guy and the heel turn wasn't necessary or particularly wanted by the crowd or Austin. 

Isn't Cena a quasi-heel anyway? The only way you get the right reaction is if he screwed Punk, Taker or Austin maybe. And it needs to make sense too, needs some actual depth rather than it happening "because"

Ent wrote:No chance in hell.

Versus the Rock in Miami was the time for a heel turn.

They've missed their opportunity, it will never happen now.

You cant turn a guy heel infront of a partisan crowd that will completely hate him win, lose or draw.  It would be like turning him heel vs RVD at One Night Stand.

On the Summerfest scenario, its a good a time as ever. The crowd are super hot for Bryan but Cena will still have alot of fans in his corner. Although im resigning myself to realise its probably never going to happen.

cena will never turn heel ever stop wishing for it to happen it wont. as much as everyone would like him to

Do many top guys go throughout their career without a heel turn? There are probably examples, but im thinking Rock, Austin, Hogan, Bret Hart, Macho Man, Taker have all been heel, and all turned heel whilst popular. Its just no impossibility

I also think it will never happen, but can understand why people think now is the moment it will happen. Bryan is so over now that if Cena wins at Summerslam it will probably be greeted with massive boos, so it's not a massive leap to imagine Cena getting a heel reaction if he beats Bryan using heelish techniques then shakes hands with Mr McMahon.

Dolphin Ziggler wrote:Would they? It immediately made me think of Austin and McMahon and that awful heel turn on The Rock (can't remember which Mania that was off the top of my head). Now, the reason that didnt work was because Austin was just too popular a guy and the heel turn wasn't necessary or particularly wanted by the crowd or Austin. 

The reason that didn't work was because Wrestlemania 17 was in Texas, you can't have a Texan turn heel in his own backyard and expect a bad reaction from the crowd.

If he does turn heel at summerslam he has to act the coward. I.e. repeatively leaving the ring after getting a beating from Bryan to take a breather, pushing Bryan into the ref and hitting him with the belt and going for the cover only for him to put him in the 'YES lock' and Cena tapping out whilst the ref is down. Bryan goes to help the ref get up in frustration only for Cena to hit him again with the belt and pin him 1,2,3. Could then go on to give a big speech about how he won fair and square on RAW and gloat and say that will be the last shot Bryan will ever get at his title. Can imagine the Boo's and the chants of 'YOU TAPPED OUT'

Hogan turned heel when he was 43. Bret Hart turned heel at Mania 13 when he was 40. John Cena is 36, it’s not too late. I don’t think it will happen at Summerslam but I do think it will happen. Surely John Cena would want to experience being a heel and Vince knows the reaction to it would be a huge draw and that it would change the landscape of the WWE. They know they are in total control of it and can pull the trigger on it whenever they want when they think the time is right. Vince is a risk taker and I don’t think he’ll be scared of it, I also think Triple H will be the one who pushes for it. They have waited so long that they have convinced everyone, including most of you, that it will never happen so when they do pull the trigger on it the shock factor will cause meltdown. I think it’s more a case of when and not if, and maybe more importantly I also think it massively tarnishes Cena’s legacy if it doesn’t happen.

Everything Mr H says above is right. They will do it one day, even if its just because Cena begins to lose his appeal a bit and they are desperate to make money from him still.

And that heel turn didnt work that one night with Austin, but it wasn't that one night that ruined it. The whole turn was ill conceived and done without conviction.

I think the fact the whole Invasion angle happend a few months after Wrestlemania, didn't help much either.

There was also no good enough face for him to go up against.

Bryan and Punk are two of the most over faces in recent years. Orton is also getting some brilliant face reactions and is doing his best work for a couple of years - that should keep him busy for a while!

Cena, Punk, Bryan, Ziggler and Orton are all face.  Thats arguably the top 5 guys in the company.  Surely one has to turn soon.

You also have to remember if Cena turns against the fans the kids are going to find someone else to cheer, so whoever it may be - Punk, Bryan, Orton, they are going to get even better reactions than they do already.

Cena would need to be a despicable, dastardly heel who says the title is more important than the fans and will do anything to keep it. He can't be an edgy cool heel like Punk because he'd still be liked. Vince McMahon is the greatest heel in history, I think Cena aligning with Vince is the best chance of guaranteed heat. The suited and booted office backed Cena is the option i'd go for.

I still think the best way to get Cena to turn heel is to beat Undertaker for the streak at Mania 30 by cheating/alligning himself with someone like Vince.

I meant there was no good enough faces for Austin when he turned heel.

Cena doesn't have that problem.

Can’t disagree with that MIG. I’d have a Vince/Cena fued come to a head on the Road to Wrestlemania. Vince tries everything in his power to strip Cena of the title. He makes title matches every week on Raw but Cena overcomes the challenge every week. He even makes himself guest referee in a Cena match but Cena still manages to keep hold of the title. Vince then promises that Cena wont walk out of Wrestlemania because he has decided the main event – John Cena will defend against The Undertaker. During the match Cena looks like he’s going to win but Vince comes out. After a ref bump Vince goes to hit Cena with the title but instead nails The Undertaker. Cena and Vince smile before Cena hits 2 AA’s to end the streak. Heel turn complete. Vince and Cena fooled everyone.

That would be gold.

Cena heel turn on The Streak does have a huge neon sign above it. But why would Vince be involved on that one? Even in storyline, why would he help defeat the biggest Wrestlemania cash cow? Why would he turn on his most loyal employee? What would Vince the character have to gain from it? I don't think even the dumbest of marks would believe that one.

Undertaker could go on about him and the streak being the reason Wrestlemania is so big in the build up to Wrestlemania 30, then Vince could say after the screw job that he created Wrestlemania and he is the reason its great.

Yup, good point.

would people really be happy to see the streak end at Wrestlemania with a screwy finish?

The streak is huge, it is the perfect tool to elevate a superstar to the next level. It should be saved for someone like Daniel Bryan, and it should be ended cleanly. Undertaker can retire, and a new main event level star is born.

I want to see Cena vs. Undertaker at a future Wrestlemania, but I don't want him to be the one to end the streak.

I hate the streak. It does nothing for anyone other than The Undertaker. I've wanted it to end for years and I don't care who ends it. I'd be happy with a screwy finish and a Cena heel turn, no problem whatsoever.

I'm with H on that one.

I like the streak, don't try and argue with me about it, as I'm very aware it goes against all the logic I percive wrestling with, but just something in my gut makes me very fond of the streak, I'm excited when it comes around every year and I'm reluctant to see it end.

I'm not trying to drag you into one Dr House, the lore of The Streak certainly has it's place in wrestling history. But WWE have now gone beyond that point where the Undertaker either needs to retire or the Streak ends. Even buying into the kayfabe, it comes to something when the longest heavyweight champion of 20 years, at the absolute peak of his power can't beat up a 50 year old part-timer. Whilst it was something a few years back, the longer it goes on now, the more it harms wrestling.

It's funny, because I do agree with you in a lot of ways, there's just a part of me that can't control and I know I'll feel sad if it goes.

I think the streak is fantastic. Undertaker is one of the biggest characters in wrestling history, he never won the amount of titles like the other guys on his level did and I think the streak makes up for that. Its Undertakers thing. Its what he'll be remembered for and its massive. I also tend to get drawn in every year wondering if maybe, just maybe it will be broken....

However I do agree with what Kid is saying about the longer this goes on now with Taker being old and a part timer (even thats a stretch now) then he can't keep going over current stars as its doing more harm than good. Thats why I'd like it to be ended at Wrestlemania 30. Or if not, then make that the final match for Taker.

I love the Streak, I love how something like that can survive and remain popular. And arguably The Streak match has been the best match of many of the last few Mania's. 

I dont think it does any harm to wrestling as the majority of people buy into it and even those who dont cant logically argue that anyone who loses to Taker is devalued because they know what it is and they understand the Streak, thus it doesnt harm people to lose. 

I personally would prefer it to remain unbeaten, but if it goes I want it to be a catalyst for something. I dont think Vince and Cena in the ring works as there nowt special about it particularly, whereas Cena on his own probably would have more allure. However, if Axel or Bryan, Ambrose or Reigns etc took it then its a massive deal and does a huge purpose in the end. 

I enjoy it in a rare way in terms of my wrestling enjoyment, it has all the feeling of a real sporting rivalry to me. I mean that in the same way as I will be disappointed if Bryan loses at Summerslam. Not because I think its unfair or bad booking, but because I am a fan of the guy and would like him to win.

The streak is brilliant and should never be broken.

The thing that grinds my gears most about it is that The Undertaker doesn’t work any other PPV’s in the year yet he rocks up at Mania every year, works a solid 20 minute match, goes over and goes home with a big fat paycheck. Granted his body is broken but it’s funny how every year he always manages to make Wrestlemania. I bet if he wanted to and I mean *really* wanted to he could have worked a Summerslam or Survivor Series or 2 over the last 3 years to put a couple of guys over. You get your CM Punk’s of this world who bust their ass for 2 years but have to lay down for Taker at Mania. It just stinks. If Taker put Punk or whoever over at another PPV it’d be an easier pill to swallow but it’s not even as if facing Taker at Mania has enhanced Punk’s legacy. I don’t think he’s any better off for it. I get why people like the streak though. I get it’s mystique, it’s legend, it’s drawing power, I wouldn’t argue with anyone who likes it but personally for me it peaked in the End of an Era match with Triple H. The storytelling was incredible and the match was superb, it wont get any better than that. I’m a huge CM Punk mark but even this year it felt like they were flogging a dead horse and not at any point did I think Punk might win. I feel sorry for whoever has to do the deed next year.

Mr H wrote:I feel sorry for whoever has to do the deed next year.

What if.... what if it was The Warrior?

There's always an exception to the rule KV! I'd mark.

WORYAH! is the exception to every rule.


You know this to be true.

Mr H wrote:Can’t disagree with that MIG. I’d have a Vince/Cena fued come to a head on the Road to Wrestlemania. Vince tries everything in his power to strip Cena of the title. He makes title matches every week on Raw but Cena overcomes the challenge every week. He even makes himself guest referee in a Cena match but Cena still manages to keep hold of the title. Vince then promises that Cena wont walk out of Wrestlemania because he has decided the main event – John Cena will defend against The Undertaker. During the match Cena looks like he’s going to win but Vince comes out. After a ref bump Vince goes to hit Cena with the title but instead nails The Undertaker. Cena and Vince smile before Cena hits 2 AA’s to end the streak. Heel turn complete. Vince and Cena fooled everyone.

You really think WWE are going to turn Cena, a massive cash cow, and end the streak, another massive cash draw, in the same night? What else will they have after that? Would be great to see but it just won't happen.

Cena will never turn heel.

I think its more likely that Cena will turn heel before his career ends if you think of how the company tries to maximise the money they can make out of him.

Best way to turn him? On the biggest babyface storyline the WWE has ever had? Hard to say it wouldn't be huge.