Let’s be honest, if you are a fan of WWE wrestling you’ve missed John Cena. For more than a decade Cena has been the WWE franchises favorite baby face. The 15-time world champion dropped out of the WWE blue team to concentrate on other projects, and without Cena around things have been pretty quiet. As was recently reported in the Inquisitr this week’s WWE Monday Night Raw was somewhat on the dull side . The wrestling may have been of good quality, but some fight fans are concerned that the WWE Creative team may have imbibed in a little too much Christmas spirit.
Thankfully, for Chicago fans, last night’s edition of WWE SmackDown had more fire in its belly, and John Cena set the scene. Cena took the mic and announced that he was back and, as reported by the Inquisitr, he told the assembled masses that he would take on AJ Styles for the World Championship at the Royal Rumble 2017.
To be fair, rumors have been circulating for weeks, that Cena would take on Styles at next month’s big PPV event. There is no doubt that Styles has been 2016’s main attraction in the WWE Universe, and having beaten Cena three times, the chance of this matchup was always high. A big doubt crept into the equation when The Undertaker reappeared. WWE watchers speculated that the big matchup at the 2017 Royal Rumble would be between Styles and The Deadman. Next up came claims that Styles would face The Undertaker and Cena in a three-way winner-takes-all bout.
While a match between Cena and Styles now seems a certainty for the Royal Rumble , the WWE Universe think that The Undertaker might just have a role to play.
The Undertaker returned to WWE SmackDown claiming that he was far from done, but then he disappeared again. At present, there is no confirmed information as to what The Deadman’s role will be at either the 2017 Royal Rumble or Wrestlemania 33. Forbes claims the scene is set for The Undertaker to win the 30-man Battle Royal, while Cena beats Styles for the World Championship. That, they claim, sets up the match that everyone wants to see, The Undertaker vs. John Cena at Wrestlemania 33 .
So, Is John Cena Set To Turn Heel?
At one time the very idea of Cena turning heel would have been preposterous. At last night’s WWE SmackDown Cena was a little more bombastic than is usual for him. The Forbes article, mentioned above, suggests a scenario that could see Cena do a heel turn. Imagine a scenario where Cena is just about to take the world title from Styles. The Undertaker appears on the scene to distract Cena long enough for Styles to land his Phenomenal Forearm, snatching the title from Cena’s grasp.
It may seem far-fetched, but this is WWE wrestling, and it would certainly give Cena reason to turn heel for a grudge match with The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 33 .
Metro takes a much more straightforward line when it comes to John Cena turning heel. They argue that it is high time he did so. Cena’s Saturday Night Live episode show that he is now a “bonafide comedic actor.” Between SNL and his role in Trainwreck, Cena has shown that he has made the crossover from sport to becoming a “mainstream entertainer.” Cena follows the likes of Hulk Hogan and The Rock into a brand of entertainment that has little to do with WWE wrestling.
By making that transition, Cena has set the scene for him to turn heel and become the man that the WWE Universe loves to hate. There is no doubt that Cena can bring WWE storylines to life. He is smart and articulate on the mic, and he could just become the WWE’s favorite bad guy. When you look at it in that light, the prospect of John Cena turning heel might not be so far-fetched after all.
WWE fight fans will just have to wait for the 2017 Royal Rumble to find out if Cena is about to turn heel.
[Featured Image by John Palmer/ MediaPunch/IPX/AP]