Who do you see being big in 2014?

[ShaneOfan]

Roman Reigns.

I hope he forms a tag team with his cousin Luther

[Str8Shooter]

The problem Cody Rhodes has hitting it big in 2014 is that he's clearly, at best, ranked #4 amongst WWE's top babyfaces. Cena/Punk/Bryan are all ahead of him, and I don't see any of those three guys turning heel anytime soon.

His best chance may be to turn on his brother and father and join up with Triple H's Corporation as a full heel member. That should get him some decent heat and there would be less competition amongst the heel ranks.

[Hanley!]

People want to like Cody though. Turning people heel just for the sake of it isn't good business and he hasn't even been a face for that long. There's room for him to be a face on the roster, even if it keeps him at upper midcard for the time being. There's nothing wrong with that, provided he still gets booked and gets story lines. Ziggler is kinda in that position too, though it seems he should be ahead of Cody if the company didn't keep stop/starting his push.

I know it's been beaten to death, but Cena as a face is ruining a lot of the potential dynamics in the company. Nobody wants to like the guy and there are a bunch of fresher talents that are getting hugely over as faces and being held down because of him. That's not me saying that he's using backstage politics to hold them down, I'm just saying that a side effect of him being kept in a position that doesn't suit him is that others are not being allowed to get as far as they can go.

There's nothing left for Cena to do as a face. He's held every title, run every kind of feud, exploited the "face that fans hate" gimmick to death, and competed against every major heel contender. To keep him as your number one face is to run your company backwards at this point. But turn him heel and suddenly you have a wealth of great new feuds. Heel Cena versus face Punk, heel Cena versus face Bryan, heel Cena versus face Ziggler, heel Cena versus face Rhodes, etc.

It'd provide fans with a credible heel that they'd be worried their favourites won't beat. It would allow them to invest in each story as intended - to root for the face and boo the heel and be satisfied by the pay off of a feud, rather than frustrated. It would make programming fresh and create goodwill among the fan base who would be happy they'd finally been listened to. It would help to drive things forward.

Which is why it won't happen. Because wrestling companies have been playing it irresponsibly safe for far too long.

The best Wrestlemania 30 main event they could probably have to kick off 2014 with a bang is a heel Cena playing the part of Corporate Champion facing off against Daniel Bryan. Punk or Rhodes would be acceptable substitutes, but I think Cena v Bryan is the best way they could go.

[Str8Shooter]

Steve send the entire post to WWE HQ and mark it for Vince and Stephanie's offices. I'd like to see them counter argue anything you said.

[prophet]

I hope Cody has a big year in 2014 - he really is on a roll right now and like Hanley said people want to cheer for him because he's likable. I see Goldust turning on him later down the road and the two of them having a match at Wrestlemania which has been a rumour for a while now.

They seem to really like Bray Wyatt too. He could make some waves if they actually find someone interesting for him to feud with.

[Str8Shooter]

I'm not sure I like the idea of Goldust turning on Cody leading to a Mania match. First off, people seem to love Goldust and I'm not sure people will buy him as a heel and a legitimate threat to Cody.

[prophet]

I'm not sure I like the idea of Goldust turning on Cody leading to a Mania match. First off, people seem to love Goldust and I'm not sure people will buy him as a heel and a legitimate threat to Cody.

Perhaps not Goldust - Dustin Rhodes though, perhaps!

[Locke]

People want to like Cody though. Turning people heel just for the sake of it isn't good business and he hasn't even been a face for that long. There's room for him to be a face on the roster, even if it keeps him at upper midcard for the time being. There's nothing wrong with that, provided he still gets booked and gets story lines. Ziggler is kinda in that position too, though it seems he should be ahead of Cody if the company didn't keep stop/starting his push.

I know it's been beaten to death, but Cena as a face is ruining a lot of the potential dynamics in the company. Nobody wants to like the guy and there are a bunch of fresher talents that are getting hugely over as faces and being held down because of him. That's not me saying that he's using backstage politics to hold them down, I'm just saying that a side effect of him being kept in a position that doesn't suit him is that others are not being allowed to get as far as they can go.

There's nothing left for Cena to do as a face. He's held every title, run every kind of feud, exploited the "face that fans hate" gimmick to death, and competed against every major heel contender. To keep him as your number one face is to run your company backwards at this point. But turn him heel and suddenly you have a wealth of great new feuds. Heel Cena versus face Punk, heel Cena versus face Bryan, heel Cena versus face Ziggler, heel Cena versus face Rhodes, etc.

It'd provide fans with a credible heel that they'd be worried their favourites won't beat. It would allow them to invest in each story as intended - to root for the face and boo the heel and be satisfied by the pay off of a feud, rather than frustrated. It would make programming fresh and create goodwill among the fan base who would be happy they'd finally been listened to. It would help to drive things forward.

Which is why it won't happen. Because wrestling companies have been playing it irresponsibly safe for far too long.

The best Wrestlemania 30 main event they could probably have to kick off 2014 with a bang is a heel Cena playing the part of Corporate Champion facing off against Daniel Bryan. Punk or Rhodes would be acceptable substitutes, but I think Cena v Bryan is the best way they could go.

Oh the money I'd have to pay if you booked.

[DBSoT]

People want to like Cody though. Turning people heel just for the sake of it isn't good business and he hasn't even been a face for that long. There's room for him to be a face on the roster, even if it keeps him at upper midcard for the time being. There's nothing wrong with that, provided he still gets booked and gets story lines. Ziggler is kinda in that position too, though it seems he should be ahead of Cody if the company didn't keep stop/starting his push.

I know it's been beaten to death, but Cena as a face is ruining a lot of the potential dynamics in the company. Nobody wants to like the guy and there are a bunch of fresher talents that are getting hugely over as faces and being held down because of him. That's not me saying that he's using backstage politics to hold them down, I'm just saying that a side effect of him being kept in a position that doesn't suit him is that others are not being allowed to get as far as they can go.

There's nothing left for Cena to do as a face. He's held every title, run every kind of feud, exploited the "face that fans hate" gimmick to death, and competed against every major heel contender. To keep him as your number one face is to run your company backwards at this point. But turn him heel and suddenly you have a wealth of great new feuds. Heel Cena versus face Punk, heel Cena versus face Bryan, heel Cena versus face Ziggler, heel Cena versus face Rhodes, etc.

It'd provide fans with a credible heel that they'd be worried their favourites won't beat. It would allow them to invest in each story as intended - to root for the face and boo the heel and be satisfied by the pay off of a feud, rather than frustrated. It would make programming fresh and create goodwill among the fan base who would be happy they'd finally been listened to. It would help to drive things forward.

Which is why it won't happen. Because wrestling companies have been playing it irresponsibly safe for far too long.

The best Wrestlemania 30 main event they could probably have to kick off 2014 with a bang is a heel Cena playing the part of Corporate Champion facing off against Daniel Bryan. Punk or Rhodes would be acceptable substitutes, but I think Cena v Bryan is the best way they could go.

If WWE had the balls to book a heel Cena I would actually be happy that he could win the WHC. A unification match at mania between a Heel Cena and Face Daniel Bryan would amazing.

[joegvo]

I can picture Cody first and foremost being a main eventer, but not going for the same title as Cena.
Titus O Neil would get a mid card push, but hopefully not at Darren's expense.
Mason Ryan would likely get another chance on the main roster.
Sami Zayn will probably be on the main roster eventually but won't get a big push right away.
I can picture Cesaro in a comedy role and do very well successfully.
Heyman will likely get another "guy", perhaps Leo Kruger.
The Ascension will likely fill a hole in the tag team division.
Paige, Emma, & Sasha would definitely get called up but all together in a heel stable along with a veteran to be signed later.
Charlotte is another Diva people have high hopes for.

[Kyle]

Hopefully Rhodes, Ambrose, Ziggler, will get pushed to the main event and Cesaro, Sandow, and Ohno have big years.

[The Legend]

People want to like Cody though. Turning people heel just for the sake of it isn't good business and he hasn't even been a face for that long. There's room for him to be a face on the roster, even if it keeps him at upper midcard for the time being. There's nothing wrong with that, provided he still gets booked and gets story lines. Ziggler is kinda in that position too, though it seems he should be ahead of Cody if the company didn't keep stop/starting his push.

I know it's been beaten to death, but Cena as a face is ruining a lot of the potential dynamics in the company. Nobody wants to like the guy and there are a bunch of fresher talents that are getting hugely over as faces and being held down because of him. That's not me saying that he's using backstage politics to hold them down, I'm just saying that a side effect of him being kept in a position that doesn't suit him is that others are not being allowed to get as far as they can go.

There's nothing left for Cena to do as a face. He's held every title, run every kind of feud, exploited the "face that fans hate" gimmick to death, and competed against every major heel contender. To keep him as your number one face is to run your company backwards at this point. But turn him heel and suddenly you have a wealth of great new feuds. Heel Cena versus face Punk, heel Cena versus face Bryan, heel Cena versus face Ziggler, heel Cena versus face Rhodes, etc.

It'd provide fans with a credible heel that they'd be worried their favourites won't beat. It would allow them to invest in each story as intended - to root for the face and boo the heel and be satisfied by the pay off of a feud, rather than frustrated. It would make programming fresh and create goodwill among the fan base who would be happy they'd finally been listened to. It would help to drive things forward.

Which is why it won't happen. Because wrestling companies have been playing it irresponsibly safe for far too long.

The best Wrestlemania 30 main event they could probably have to kick off 2014 with a bang is a heel Cena playing the part of Corporate Champion facing off against Daniel Bryan. Punk or Rhodes would be acceptable substitutes, but I think Cena v Bryan is the best way they could go.

Steve, you aren't wrong, but the problem is that the timing of it would suck. They have kept Cena as the top face for so long that for the most part anyone in their audience that can't stand him as the top face in the company has pretty much left and isn't watching. So you are making this bold move hoping to gain back audience members that have left and theoretically aren't even paying attention to notice the heel turn. The payoff of a Cena heel turn 3-5 years ago would have been huge for them, but at this point it would be a blind leap of faith to say that it would benefit them financially to make the change.

[Hanley!]

I'm not exactly watching much these days, but whenever I hear a Cena promo or hear about a Cena promo, people seem to be booing the crap out of him. I don't doubt that many people who hate him as the top face have stopped watching, but it doesn't seem to have shifted the overall fan base back in his favour. Probably because more and more people are getting sick of his current role over time.

Cena as their main face hasn't been a massive financial success - they've been slowly bleeding ratings, pay per view buys and overall profit since his run started. And with him stuck in the current position, it's going to be harder to get a new face over - one that might actually take the company to the next level. Bret Hart was really popular in the mid-90s, but if they hadn't heel turned him and let someone else take a run at playing the top face, the company probably wouldn't have made it through the Monday Night Wars in quite so good a position.

Hogan's turn in WCW shows that an old, resented babyface can draw big money with an effective heel turn. Cena turning heel is definetely something that can work.

[Viazon]

I would love for Cody and Dolph to finally solidify themselves as proper main eventers. Once Dolph starts to get going, they pull him back again. He will never get anywhere like that. I also hope that Antonio Cesaro will break away from Swagger and get a decent push as a singles wrestler.

On another note, I couldn't agree more with Hanleys views on turning Cena heel. It would indeed open up a hell of a lot more feuds for him. We know that just won't happen though.

[Kyle]

Steve really needs to book. His words are the words of legend.

[Daz]

I'm not exactly watching much these days, but whenever I hear a Cena promo or hear about a Cena promo, people seem to be booing the crap out of him. I don't doubt that many people who hate him as the top face have stopped watching, but it doesn't seem to have shifted the overall fan base back in his favour. Probably because more and more people are getting sick of his current role over time.

Cena as their main face hasn't been a massive financial success - they've been slowly bleeding ratings, pay per view buys and overall profit since his run started. And with him stuck in the current position, it's going to be harder to get a new face over - one that might actually take the company to the next level. Bret Hart was really popular in the mid-90s, but if they hadn't heel turned him and let someone else take a run at playing the top face, the company probably wouldn't have made it through the Monday Night Wars in quite so good a position.

Hogan's turn in WCW shows that an old, resented babyface can draw big money with an effective heel turn. Cena turning heel is definetely something that can work.

I pretty much agree with this, however, that being said, I don't think Cena as a "Face" is the problem. Cena not reacting to anything or having human emotion is the problem. There's no doubt Cena as an in ring performer is damn good, despite what some people might say. There's no doubt the guy has a good look and a great charisma. Whenever you see an interview with the guy outside of a WWE ring, he comes across as extremely likable, the kind of bloke you could hang out with.

The problem with his representation on WWE programming, is nothing effects him, ever. Kane can try making his life hell for months, he can have the Rock mock his failing marriage, he can have his boss treat him like shit for a full year, he can get fucked time after time, he can have his ass kicked time after time, he can lose as many titles or Wrestlemania matches as you'd bloody well like ... he'll come out on Raw the next night, smiling his goofy smile, say some cheesy line to the camera man, run to the ring and cut a promo where he pretty much says none of that stuff matters cause he's John Cena, he never gives up and the champ is still here. It's been rinse and repeat for 7-8 years now.

What makes TV characters like Walter White interesting, is they change, adapt and evolve over time. They're not the same at the end as they where when they started, at least if it's done right. And we evolve, adapt and change with them, because we've invested time into watching them. Wrestling, in theory, shouldn't be any different. You're still telling stories, just in a different way. And with Cena, why would I want to watch a guy who's never effected by anything? How can they create compelling stories or drama surrounding his character, if I already know the ending? The rematch with the Rock was predicated on the fact the previous loss had rocked him )pun intended) and shattered his belief in himself. Only, we'd seen no sight nor sound of that for the previous 9-10 months. For Christ sake, after the first loss to the Rock, he beat Brock Lesnar a month later. He was hardly having his worst year ever.

The same thing is happening to Sheamus too. Before he was injured, he was starting to get booed, despite having really strong matches, because every time he came out, he'd smile a goofy smile and came out with some bullshit Irish parable. The injury probably did him a favour, cause he'll be able to come back fresh in the fans minds

Turning Cena heel can and would work if they pulled the trigger, but if they don't want to do anything that drastic, they can simply use him better. Let him have emotions and react to things in a way that's relatable to people. No, children aren't people lol. They have Bryan and they have Punk. They don't need to position him as the top face anymore. They can drop him into a more relaxed, attraction sort of role.

... This somehow turned into a long ass rant. Apologies.

[Hanley!]

I think at this point they need to turn him heel for a couple of reasons. First of all, he has done almost everything he can do as a face already and his feuds will start to get repetitive (more so than they have already). And second of all, because fans are so pissed off with him at this point that any changes to his character that are even slightly subtle will still get booed. They could resolve many of the problems with Cena as a face, but fans have been putting up with the flaws for almost a decade already. There's a resentment in there that won't be easy to get rid of.

I do agree with your reasoning as to why Cena is so unpopular though. I've said it myself for years - the worst thing about Cena is that he doesn't sell. And that doesn't just mean that he recovers far too quickly from big moves in the ring. More importantly it means he doesn't act like anything that happens on television is important. He doesn't sell you on the emotions that are supposed to be involved in a story, or sell you on why a match is really important.

Every other pay per view they have him come down the ring to give a speech about why this is the biggest match ever, but it's clear he doesn't believe it. If he loses a match that is supposed to mean everything to him, he walks out the next week grinning like a fucking goofball. He doesn't seem to care about a damn thing and as a result he comes across as a corporate stooge that is in it for the money. When you add that to the fact that he's won every accolade in the company already, you will inevitably come up with a single question: "Why the fuck are we supposed to care what happens to this guy?"

[Everlong]

If they turned Cena heel, I'd start watching wrestling again. I'd have to see how they played it off.