WWE Survivor Series Preview & John Cena Rant

This Sunday November 20th, WWE holds one of their four flagship events, Survivor Series live from Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Headlined by the return of The Rock to the ring for the first time in seven years , “The Great One” teams up with his Wrestlemania 28 opponent John Cena to face the team of Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) in tag team action.

With the tag line “Never Before. Never Again.” the sole purpose and selling point of Survivor Series is solely focused around seeing The Rock returning to action. Barely any other match-ups have been promoted, and while this is unfortunate, I believe the reasoning is that something exciting will happen in The Rock & Cena vs. Awesome Truth contest.

My prediction is that something game changing will take place at Survivor Series, something larger than life that is big enough to get people talking and back interested in the WWE product again. With Wrestlemania 28 being promoted as the biggest Wrestlemania of all time, I feel the WWE needs to begin the road to Wrestlmania a little earlier than usual this year and the only way to do that is by turning John Cena heel.

For years, die hard fans have been clamoring for Cena to turn heel turn, only to be repeatedly let down. I now see that the timing was never right and most likely would have been a colossal failure had a Cena heel turn taken place in the past. There are many factors which need to be in order such as the right opponent, the right venue and proximity the event is to Wrestlemania, all of which Survivor Series fits.

One reason I feel the time is Sunday, is because of who Cena is partnered with and who the event is centered around, The Rock. The Rock is one of the most beloved wrestlers of all time and the biggest superstar to ever breakthrough to the mainstream world from wrestling. Having Cena cost The Rock his return match whether deliberately or involuntarily will be newsworthy enough. Even something minor like a post fight beat down after a victory will do the job of planting the seeds for a Cena turn.

The WWE should do something different with Cena, as his character has been stale and repetitive for way to long. Always playing the goodie-goodie boy scout, even the slightest change in aggression from Cena would suffice and make an already intriguing match much more interesting at Wrestlemania.

Another reason is where Wrestlemania 28 is taking place. Located in The Rock's backyard of Miami, FL, anyone who thinks Cena will get the slightest clap or ovation is out of their minds. Cena already gets mixed ovations all over the world, including his hometown of Boston, MA., so to think Cena will not get booed out of Sun Life Stadium as soon as the sounds of his familiar horns hit and his theme music plays, April 1st is ludicrous.

While I would love to see a Cena turn happen, since I am a fan who feels it would ultimately make the product better and more interesting, there are still numerous factors which could prevent WWE from pulling the trigger.

The first and most important is that John Cena is the most requested participant of all time in the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Whether hardcore fans accept it or not, WWE is no longer an edgier program and instead their target audience is centered around kids. Children love John Cena and are his biggest supporters, so this might be a reason why WWE has been so hesitant on the turn thus far.

Another hurdle is merchandising. For years, Cena's gear was by far and away the biggest earner for the WWE, but up until recently this has changed. While Cena items are still some of the best selling for the WWE, CM Punk has surpassed Cena as the top earner and up and comers like Zack Ryder are beginning to cement themselves as top equipment sellers.

Now, a full out Cena heel turn is unnecessary. There is not a need for Cena to go back to his previous rapper gimmick as that would be pointless, but Cena revisiting his “Ruthless Aggression” character would be nice.

A sign that this may be happening is the fact that Cena recently changed his attire of jorts and colorful shirts for darker camo shorts and a black T-shirt which reads “Rise Above Hate.” Cena has also started claiming much more defiantly that he has never cared what anyone thinks of him and that he will always show up and perform. I might be looking too much into this but I feel all of these elements are signs that a meaner John Cena will appear in the coming months.

WWE usually saves big moments for high profile cities and venues, and there is not a bigger city or venue than New York City and Madison Square Garden, for one of the bigger and most anticipated moments in WWE history. I doubt a full pledged heel turn will take place but I believe a changing of Cena's character is upon us. As John Cena's theme song states, I believe the “time is up” for the boring boy scout we have seen in recent years and the “time is now” for a new chapter in the era of John Cena.