Fans amaze me...
From all reports, no one works harder to get better at his craft than Cena. If you watched the obvious respect and affection Ric Flair had for John Cena in his goodbye appearance, fans should see that if the greatest WRESTLER and performer ever has respect for John Cena, so should they. Cena loves the business and respects the fans by giving his all when he could easily coast and probably get away with it.Cut the man some slack people!
I think Cena as a heel would almost be a relief for me. Only thing that will prevent this is in my mind is HHH's desire to return to heel status. He might feel that him and Cena both going heel is not a good thing. Let's face it, Triple H will want to be the monster heel, not share it with Cena. Unless they toy with another version of the 'Two-man Power Trip.' But I must admit, it will be an easy transformation if they decide to go down that route.
We shall see I suppose.

I totally agree that Cena needs a heel turn. I don't think that this would hurt WWE in the female demographic. Shawn Michaels had scores of lady fans when he was a heel, and a female friend of mine faithfully supports Randy Orton, no matter what his character (or his real-life self) does.

The children argument is more difficult to counter. Well, sometimes you have to give up something in order to get something, so I think all the heel heat that Cena would get would make the turn worthwhile.

I can't see Cena turn heel because of all the charity work he does especially with kids. What kind of effect would a heel turn have on him then? Even I do agree to an extent that a heel turn would do him good. If they decide to turn Triple H back into a heel, that would not be so much a surprise there. But I don't want Triple H as a World Champion because to me that would be like kissing Vince's butt. But in the end what would that do for Randy Orton? Have him stay heel and face the babyface or have heel vs heel for the title?
Letter s is for surprise me!

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: With the curtain being pulled back in wrestling in recent years, I don't see why Cena couldn't still do his charity work. I think people can separate entertainment from real life. Hogan, Rock, Goldberg and others all did charity work as heels. Plus, for things like Tribute to the Troops and Make-A-Wish, there are no faces or heels -- just talent.

Kevin, a Cena heel turn makes sense, but I have to disagree on a Triple H/Orton feud continuing. As over as The Big Show is right now, it'd be a waste to not put him in the title picture. Having him and Orton feud would REALLY put Show over, IMO and also play into Orton's legend killer gimmick (the legend of the Big Man). I'd put the strap on Show, have then have him take on all the top heels, including Cena if he turns. Let Show have a nice run, and what I'd do is have Triple H make a heel turn sometime around the SummerSlam or the Survivor Series, and let him and Show feud. Trips could get the belt at the Rumble, setting up HHH versus a babyface at next year's Mania. JMO.

I agree with what you say, but I don't think the WWE wants to break off the merch gravy train that Cena brings.

It looks like Batista might be going heel, though.

Whew ! Thank goodness the Nature Boy lovefest is over and I can go back to my regular Monday night t.v. I was actually starting to follow some storylines . Let me guess how anything involving anybody ends up ... Triple H & Kevins dad McMahon will shine . No matter how compelling Kev's blogging (favoritism) is , I just can't stomach WWE . I know somewhere , sometime , there will be more TNA coverage . One would think Kevin ranks TNA right down there with high school sports :)

I respect Cena for his in-ring work. I just hate his character. Whenever he goes for "intense" he comes across as "petulant 3 year old". And the faux-military camo and saluting crap really needs to end. You played a marine in a movie, Johnny, you aren't actually one of them.

But if you go with HHH-Orton, where does JBL fit in? I imagine he's not just gonna go away after that promo last week, and plugging HHH into another 3-way match just seems a bit much.

Interesting you said that, but I have one question: What good would that do? If people have already decided whether they like him or hate him and he turns heel, he could be booed for a lot of wrong reasons and I don't think the WWE could pull the trigger on a John Cena heel turn. Just a thought. Personally, I think they should keep him as a face, but revamp his character to have some sort of edge and the creative could be a bit more creative when it comes to scripting promos.

Cena may not turn heel if only because WWE has to promote him for his new movie next year. You can't get fans to hate him (more) in the ring and at the same time, pay money to see him in the big screen hero role.

I think it's risky...I could see the vocal Cena haters in the audience silenced by a heel turn, because I think it's not Cena that they hate, it's the fact that so many people around them love the guy. The current Cena fans would not be as outraged as fans were by, say, Hogan's '96 turn.

I think the turn could result in Cena's value dropping seriously, and repairing it could be difficult, if not impossible.

The only option is to find a way to keep going with the split audience reaction for now.

I guess I also don't see anyway to make the turn shocking and effective...if he attacked Hunter, it wouldn't be a big deal (the 2 already aren't exactly buddies).

A complete character re-working would be necessary.

i agree that Cena should be a heel. I just recently began watching WWE again after a few years and I think that RAW has too many face characters, so the fans have begun to turn on one to createe more conflict between the main contenders...and unfortunately (for me) that man is Cena.

I think also that he needs to reinject some fun and lightheartedness back into his character a la Jericho, Rock and others. Make 'em laugh Cena!!

BTW, I love Orton too no matter his heel status

I disagree that Cena should be a heel. I find Cena entertaining in his current role. However, WWE is in need of a top heel, so maybe it would be a good choice and my opinion is in the minority.

What I do find funny is that Cena is being treated by the fans virtually the exact same way the fans treated Randy Orton a few years ago when he broke away from Evolution. After the Evolution split, WWE tried to make Orton a face. If memory serves me correctly it worked for a little while. Then the male fans booed him vociferously while the female fans swooned for him. Fast forward a few years and now the same male demographic that booed Randy Orton now cheer for him, while they boo John Cena for presumably the same reasons they booed Orton. Ahh, the irony…

A heel Cena would be great! He could still cut intense, angry promo's, but the intensity would be a bit more believable, esp since he cannot seem to win the fans over.

Why not give it a try?
I agree, the saluting needs to go....

I think it's time to send Cena back to the mid-card after he leaves Backlash without the title. Batista, HHH, and Shawn Michaels have all done their time, so now it's Cena's turn. Then the WWE could start a program between Cena and Jericho--after all Jericho was fired after losing to Cena 3 years ago and there's got to be some bitterness. I think that would be a good opportunity to turn Cena heel since Jericho's probably more over than anyone else in the midcard. Plus, the motive behind the new feud would be believeable.

Very insightful. Yes a Hardy Cena angle might work, especially with the "real" approach to it you suggested.
If the WWE are going to turn Cena Heel, logically they would hope the 'face' character picks up the slack from the loss in Cena merchandise.
Batista could work. He seems to attract people, which surprises me. I don't know if mums would think Hardy sets a good example. How about a CM punk?

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I hear you on Hardy setting a good example, but, as far as Punk, I just don't think he's over enough for fans to really be upset at someone turning on him.

I agree a Cena heel turn would be a wise decision. I don't think there are many really hated heels on Raw anyway, Orton aside. I don't think people really care for Umaga anymore, and not really sure what is going on with Mr Kennedy. JBL portrays his character well but I don't really see him as hated.

That said, Raw doesn't have many top faces. Hardy was far and away had the loudest pops when entering the arena, Triple H's seem to have dropped slightly, so where and who do you see as becoming the biggest face?

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: I'd say top faces (if Cena turns heel) are Triple H, Undertaker, Hardy (when he gets back) and Michaels.

frist off people.
John Cena will never turn heel becuase hes way to nice=]
but i'd be so sick to my gut if he became heel again
he would never be able to be as hot as Randy orton is as a Heel

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Some of the nastiest heels are the nicest guys in real life.

i think John Cena is the best there is now. he really does have respect for the other WWE stars. Cena is very good at wrestling. He worked so hard to get to where he is now. i think he should have won the championship again. Randy Orton isnt nearly as good as Cena and i think he cheated. he wasnt really down so when Cena and Triple H were fightin it out he got up and beat them for the championship. i think its very wrong for him to do that . the only reason he had the belt in the first place is because of Cena's unfortunate injury. it is very messed up. he still should have gotten to keep the belt even though he got hurt. It wasnt right to take it from him because the doctors told him he couldnt go back. and against his doctors orders, Cena came back because of his passion for the WWE. it proves that he is very set on being there and that he deserves the belt. Cena worked so hard to get and keep that belt and i think if the WWE hadnt of given it to Randy Orton, Cena would have won at Wrestle Mania. i also think Cena is the HOTTEST wrestler there.... :) he is a hottie.. lol...
so this is how i feel about all this...

I agree Cena should probably turn heel. RAW is lacking in top-tier heels. However, the problem with Cena can be summarized in one word: stale. And because of that, Cena is generating X-Pac Heat. WWE needs to do something soon before this becomes a major liability.

I can't believe people are comparing Orton to Cena. Orton is good at two wrestling moves - RKO and anything that's a rest hold. The man is pretty lazy, and that comes across in his matches. He also is reported to be a pretty rotten human being. He's not good on promos. Cena works hard. His charactor needs freshing up. And his wardrobe, too. I don't think a heel turn is needed to accomplish this.

It's beyond time to turn Cena heel. His current gimmick is stale, and while he may be over with kids and women, the WWE's core demographic is still young males, and 99% of them hate Cena. Unfortunately it's not going to happen anytime soon because he does push a lot of merchandise and he has a new movie coming up But he should go heel and go back to his rapper gimmick. Ironically, it was that heel gimmick that made him popular, and his popularity started to sink when he went to the Marine gimmick, along with being overpushed, so to speak.

RESPONSE FROM KEVIN ECK: Yes, I remember when it was cool to cheer Cena when he was a heel rapper. Hard to believe things have gone so far in the other direction for him.

Turning Cena heel? That, IMO, is probably the best idea to come down the pike in some time. As has been stated by previous posters, Raw has a glaring lack of "credible" heels. A Cena/Hardy program would be huge if given a proper build up. Jeff Hardy, regardless of his out-of-the-ring shortcomings, will be VERY over upon his return. Cena turns on Jeff...instant heel, with no gray area.

And this will truly work. I seem to recall a fresh faced, blue chipper of a young man who was mom and apple pie and all the things that make a wrestling hero. But after sometime, the fans grew tired of his stale gimmick. When he turned heel, it was better than anyone could've imagined. Seems it worked for that Dwayne Johnson guy, didn't it?

All you Cena haters hate Cena for one reason. You hate yourself. The majority of you are Caucasian and no can't identify with hustle, loyalty or respect. You all would love John Cena to go back to being a parody of a stereotype cause that's what this country enjoys the most..ridiculous stereotypes. He has won many titles and has had legendary success with his "6 moves of doom" so obviously everyone else is doing something wrong.