Welcome to another eWrestlingNews Question of the Day!
At the end of Friday Night SmackDown, John Cena mirrored CM Punk’s iconic “pipe bomb” promo with a parody version of his own, calling Punk Mr. TKO, saying he’s gone from being The Voice of the Voiceless to a capitalist, and shouting out Claudio Castagnoli, Nic Nemeth, and Matt Cardona.
The segment has been met with a very positive reception online, with many fans calling it at least the best thing Cena’s done since turning heel, if not one of his best promos he’s ever cut in his entire career.
But the biggest villain in the company to be getting these types of responses isn’t exactly the goal, is it? Surely, shouldn’t this get some heat, rather than get people chanting for Cena?
My question for you today is “Do you think this showcases how Cena should actually be a babyface right now, instead of a heel?”
Remember to answer with your response in the comments below.
As far as my answer…
I pose this question because my immediate reaction was to think “Man, if Cena was just cutting this same type of promo against a heel right now, I bet it would go over even better.”
Cena’s always been good on the mic. Sometimes, he’s been hampered by Vince McMahon and the PG Era forcing him to edit himself. He’s had cringe-worthy promos that everyone’s rolled their eyes at, but he’s also been able to cut someone down to size and best even some of the other best talkers of all time like The Rock.
When he’s on, he’s on, and people like it. Last night was an example of that.
I think it goes to show a simple rule of thumb that WWE still seems to struggle with, despite how this has been the thing for at least 30 years, which is “If someone does something cool, the fans will like that person, even if it means downgrading a babyface in the process.”
I say 30 years because look at Razor Ramon, Diesel, and Shawn Michaels in the mid-90s. They’re cocky, arrogant heels, but they’re cool guys, who eventually fans just consider too cool to boo. You don’t have to wait until Stone Cold Steve Austin comes around to see that lesson. Hell, you can argue it goes back to The Undertaker before The Kliq, and even before that, “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
The best case scenario when this happens is that WWE realizes it, keeps the person the same character, and just pairs them up against heels so fans can properly cheer them. That’s what’s happening right now with Jacob Fatu, for example. The worst case scenario is what happens to someone like Roman Reigns, where WWE feels the need to strip them of all that badass aura, pigeonhole them into being the same generic and bland babyface as everyone else who struggled to get over before them, and neuters them in the eyes of the fans.
So when it comes to Cena, his heel turn hasn’t been working out well from the perspective of a lot of fans. I’m one of those who wanted this to happen for so long and was excited when it went down, only to be disappointed that this is all we’ve been given so far. It feels off, and it seems like the audience in general just doesn’t want to boo him and he isn’t able to generate the right type of heat. Even this, where he’s against a beloved babyface like Punk, got cheers, rather than boos.
I think this is as textbook of a sign as it gets that if Cena can throw insults at Punk, Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and everyone else so far and get cheered, there isn’t really anyone he could go up against that would make him seem like the most dastardly villain out there that fans are seething to see lose the title.
Keep the edge. Let him cut the best promos he can against everyone. Take the gloves off. But let him do that to the heels on the roster just as much as the babyfaces, and you’re going to get massive positives from the crowd, as they get to have fun with the insults, as opposed to how they’re now struggling with the idea that they’re supposed to be offended, but with a smile on their faces.
What do you think? Drop your thoughts below!