[admiremyclone]

During the build-up to Wrestlemania, it appeared as though WWE was trying to garner sympathy for Cena and get him some cheers against The Rock by attacking what makes Rocky great. The whole promo notes on the wrist thing, as well as the constant mentioning of Rock leaving for months at a time...WWE was trying to chip away at Rock's image/popularity to make Cena look better.

Sure, it was a stupid-ass idea because Rock was a special attraction intended to drive up buyrates and make more money for the company. So making Rock look less than he is was risky because people may have been turned away.

Judging by the 1.3 buyrate, it didn't work because people ordered it in big big numbers. However, did WWE ultimately succeed in making Cena a bit more popular? Especially now as he goes up against Brock Lesnar, who comes from a similar position as The Rock in terms of coming back from another career and facing Cena.

Ignore the night after Mania where the crowd was full of those who were at the big show the night before, and it seems that Cena seems to have a few more male fans than he's had for a while. And Brock isn't getting the overwhelming cheers in the feud. The mention of his name last week in the UK didn't get a hugely positive response, and last night on RAW he get loads of heat.

So, is it just because Brock isn't as big in the wrestling world as people make him out to be and people genuinely dislike him, or have WWE ultimately managed to secure Cena a few fans that he hasn't had for a while?

 

[greaz taker!]

Sunday night you will see why they failed miserably. Cena sucks and will get booed out of the arena as usual whilst Brock will be cheered massively

 

[Amsterdam]

WWE should've grown a pair of balls and turned John Cena heel at WrestleMania 28. The End.

 

[admiremyclone]

Sunday night you will see why they failed miserably. Cena sucks and will get booed out of the arena as usual whilst Brock will be cheered massively

Yeah, I'm fully expecting Cena to get booed out of the building on Sunday in Chicago. But in the slightly less smarky cities...is Cena a bit more popular now?

The Rock got the pop of a lifetime when he beat Cena at Wrestlemania, but it definitely wasn't a 100% pro-Rock crowd. Nobody was anti-Rock because he got no boos, but you could hear a more masculine tone in the "let's Go Cena" chants.

 

[greaz taker!]

Yeah, I'm fully expecting Cena to get booed out of the building on Sunday in Chicago. But in the slightly less smarky cities...is Cena a bit more popular now?

The Rock got the pop of a lifetime when he beat Cena at Wrestlemania, but it definitely wasn't a 100% pro-Rock crowd. Nobody was anti-Rock because he got no boos, but you could hear a more masculine tone in the "let's Go Cena" chants.

True but he still gets booed mercilessly wherever he goes as long as that happens wwe will have failed

 

[Amsterdam]

Yeah, I'm fully expecting Cena to get booed out of the building on Sunday in Chicago. But in the slightly less smarky cities...is Cena a bit more popular now?

The Rock got the pop of a lifetime when he beat Cena at Wrestlemania, but it definitely wasn't a 100% pro-Rock crowd. Nobody was anti-Rock because he got no boos, but you could hear a more masculine tone in the "let's Go Cena" chants.

Even if that were true, who gives a fuck if a couple of male fans like John Cena now? The bottom line is that he is a babyface who is no longer being cheered. The reaction is still mixed, but it's no longer 50/50. A clear majority of the fans straight up boo him. The feud with The Rock was the perfect, and I mean PERFECT chance to turn John Cena heel, and WWE will NEVER get another chance at it now. The decision to instead make John Cena a pathetic bitch is a failure of epic proportions, and the lower than expected ratings show for it.

WWE hasn't succeeded with Cena. They've NEVER succeeded with Cena. If they had succeeded with him, he would've been loved by the fans on the same level as Hogan, Austin, and Rock uears ago. "Cena Sucks" has been echoing throughout arenas loud and clear since 2005 - the year he became the new face of the company. The only thing WWE has done with Cena, and they'll never in a million years admit to it, is FAIL.

 

[fulcizombie]

Cena in the U.K was not popular at al, esp. Among the adult males . Brock is getting some boos cause he is presenting himself like an extreme heel , like Jericho, something that the rock was not . Cena's popularity hasn't improved at all , hell many children in the U.K were wearing cmpunk t-shirt not cena ones .

 

[greaz taker!]

Cena in the U.K was not popular at al, esp. Among the adult males . Brock is getting some boos cause he is presenting himself like an extreme heel , like Jericho, something that the rock was not . Cena's popularity hasn't improved at all , hell many children in the U.K were wearing cmpunk t-shirt not cena ones .

Ye if anything I think cenas popularity is diminishing but it will be interesting to see how they go with storyline with Brock now. Let's just don't hope super cena defies the odds again and wins on Sunday!

 

[admiremyclone]

I might be in the minority here but I don't think Cena turning heel during his feud with The Rock would've worked at all.

It's not just money that is stopping WWE from pulling the trigger. Look how easy it was to turn a small number of people against Rocky during the Road to Wrestlemania. In Boston, there were more people on Cena's side than usual and the crowd was a little lukewarm towards The Rock. In Atlanta the week before Mania, The Rock got very noticeable boos.

Now, if they'd turned Cena heel at some point, all the kids and women would've been upset and they'd be booing Cena. But I feel like all the people who've been begging for a heel turn (mainly the males) would outright cheer for Cena if he turned. So, they'd still have a split crowd and The E would probably lose money because the kiddies wouldn't be buying his merchandise anymore.

 

[kieranwwe]

Surley turning him heel at WM knowing the Brock had signed would make no sence. Because Brock still needs to look like a beast and win at ER but if Cena was heel he'd need to build credibility through beating Brock at ER. As soon as i heard the brock rumours i thought a better trigger moment for Cena would be WM29 but hey thats just me.

 

[Therapy]

Cenas popularity in `non-smarky' towns has been slowly and surely diminishing. Sure he still gets pops but it is no where even remotely close to what he used to get. Also where as before his fans used to be dedicated now they're all riddled with ADD and as quick as they cheer him they'll be distracted by a butterfly and boo him as soon someone crosses their path who is doing something different.

WWE missed their oppurtunity to do something different with him. They're barely trying now but the want the same results "OMG LOOK CENAS DIFFERENT( But really the same) CHEER AGAIN!!! PLEASE!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!