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As I watched Night of Champions last night I couldn't help to think to myself, "Man, if Cena had been a heel when delivering the AA on the floor to Rollins...that would have been a moment," It seems to me that over the past few years there has been a lot of talk about turning Cena heel from we smart fans. I am one of those fans. But there is always a reason given, whether it be by WWE or a journalist for him not to be. And that reason is almost always money. John sells merchandise so WWE doesn't change his character too much and he is the superhero of the WWE which works with kids. And frankly this all makes sense...until one flips the switch a bit.
The above mentioned reasoning isn't John Cena sells merchandise, it is actually a WWE character sells merchandise and we want to tap into a specific market. This character does this, so WWE won't change him. But for the first time, in many years, I saw something new, because for the first time I watched a WWE event with my five year old son and six year old daughter. They didn't make it much past Rusev vs. Ziggler (bed times and all that), but I did ask them around that time, who is your favorite wrestler (They had never seen a PPV but are regular watchers of NXT and bits of RAW so they know the players).
Their answer surprised me somewhat. My little girl loves Bayley (not a surprise) and has some love for Sasha Banks as well. But my little boy, who I thought at the old age of five, would go for Cena and maybe Ziggler, said "My favorite is Nebile" (he can't seem to use V's very well) and Seth Rollins." He thinks they are cool and said "Nebile does the awesome things, Papa". I see many of his classmates at daycare, and none of them rock a Cena shirt but I have seen an Ambrose and Rollins one. Dylan once said "Times they are a' changin'." The WWE needs to tap into that and quick.
So how does that all tie in with Cena? Simple math. If WWE can get people to buy the same amount of merch that Cena sells from one or two other characters than Cena can change. In fact, it is even possible for them to make more money. There are people who will stay Cena fans even if he fully turns. If they could market Seth and Neville as faces to the superhero degree they have Cena it would open up new possibilities, and frankly new financial opportunity for the business. WWE's answer to the question "Why don't you guys turn Cena heel" is legitimate." But if one can counter that reasoning, then its null and void.
I'm not into the fantasy booking so I don't know what I would do to change the direction. But it seems they already have gold in Neville and if they turned rollins right now it would be money. Changing Cena is easy...wait till Bryan gets back and have Cena turn on his soon to be brother in law. The bellas would be a great addition too. But getting Rollins to Cena-like highs will be challenging.
My five year old has no idea who Sting is, neither does a 13 year old and frankly (as much as this pains me), some twenty year old fans don't know him either, or if they do its from his rough stint in TNA. Why Sting was wrestling for a championship is beyond me. The WWE needs to get in touch with the times. HHH is on the cusp of something huge with NXT. He has the pulse of the current fans, it just needs to translate to WWE.
