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I've tossed the idea of John Cena becoming a member of The Wyatt Family around in my head for a while. There are a lot of pros to the idea, but a lot of risky cons too.
PROS:
+ John Cena is dramatically freshened up. Cena would be a heel, which on its own is a revolutionary concept in WWE. But he would also stop shaving. I'm not sure if the WWE still have a marketing agreement with Gilette or what have you, but seeing an unkempt John Cena could be...almost frightening in a way.
+ Bray Wyatt gains credibility. If he has John Cena working for him, then he's almost invincible. Simple as that.
+ Cena isn't Daniel Bryan and isn't "white-hot" right now. He's very over, don't me wrong, but he's been the poster boy for almost a decade. He's the status quo, and I think that being captured and programmed by The Wyatt Family is much more intriguing storyline than what they attempted to do with Daniel Bryan, who already had a distinct path in front of him.
+ It's a storyline that could grab the WWE a lot of attention. Cena shedding his credos for a darker persona might inspire "Have you seen John Cena lately?" discussions. It's basically just the added spike from any "John Cena turns bad" scenario.
+ Cena turns heel, but he has an out in that Bray Wyatt has brainwashed him, and the announcers can make excuses for John Cena as he does terrible things in the name of Bray.
+ It's a creative break for John Cena. Maybe Cena loves doing the same thing week in and week out, but as a performer, he probably likes challenging himself every now and then. Can you imagine a bearded John Cena telling the WWE Universe that they booed him when he gave them everything? His world was burning from the neon lights and he didn't even know. It'd give Cena an outlet to just be...different for a few months.
+ People might actually start missing the John Cena of old. A grand return to form and a triumphant return against Bray Wyatt could lead to the Cena brand coming back -- but would it be as strong as ever?
+ It's a creative break from John Cena. I'm not saying this to bash Cena; but it's just a case of there only being so much room at the top of the show for super faces. And if the WWE really wants Daniel Bryan to be the guy, then taking away that "safe" option of Cena means that Bryan must rise on his own. That sounds scary, but you do have guys like Sheamus and The Shield (as a unit) waiting in the bay. It also means that the casual fan that just wants a hero is going to be more driven to accept Daniel Bryan, since it's not a case of Coke or Pepsi with Cena in the franchise role. Or the casual fans might react differently, which brings us to...
CONS:
- The casual fans may not take too kindly to Cena now being a bad guy, and stop watching the WWE because their hero has betrayed his mantras. It was always the negative to turning John Cena heel.
- Pressure on alternate faces to step up could see guys cracking under pressure, or not being as successful as Cena and potentially tarnishing their brands as well.
- Merchandise sales for John Cena would probably drop. The WWE could probably be sneaky and try and sell something the casual fan could buy to support their hero -- a "Come back, John!" shirt, armband, cap, etc. This was always the risk of turning John Cena heel. There does come the potential positive of Cena and The Wyatts moving a ton of adult merchandise, but the adult demographic may not be as kind to the WWE as the younger fans.
Well, that's basically the list, and while there seem to be way more pros than cons, the cons are pretty fucking big ones. Still, if the WWE is satisfied with the numbers that Daniel Bryan and others are making them, or that they know CM Punk is on his way back, or that they can somehow make money out of this venture -- I would creatively be fine with it. I just want to see John Cena looking like a mountain man.
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