Smackdown is currently in the “reality era” business. Three of the top storylines on Smackdown LIVE are on fire thanks to infusing real life drama into the onscreen action. The formula is working so well that last week’s episode beat RAW in the ratings for the first time ever. The overwhelming success is why now is the perfect time to turn John Cena and Nikki Bella into the greatest onscreen heel power couple in WWE history!
While this may seem far fetched, last night’s episode of Smackdown leads me to believe the WWE may seriously be considering it.
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For the past few weeks, we’ve seen Natalya get real personal with Nikki Bella; telling her John Cena would never marry her and, oh yeah, that Nikki would eventually die alone. The WWE has been great about sprinkling in little nuggets of truth with their promos over the years, but making Nikki’s relationship with Cena a consistent part of the storyline will be fruitless without an eventual payoff.
In the case of John Cena, the leader of the Cenation has been rumored for more heel turns than I could possibly recount, but it seems as if this might actually be the year the WWE finally pulls the trigger. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve clearly noticed Cena’s promos have taken on a different tone since his return.
From saying he’s “sick of this new era BS” to last night addressing the “Cena Sucks” crowd by saying, “they all know they could never be me”, to suddenly finishing all his promos with a cocky “Because I’m John Cena … Recognize!”, John Cena is showing clear heel tendencies. In the past, Cena would simply smirk off insults and talk about respect, but last night he flat out called AJ Styles a bitch!
When Cena accesses his dark side, the results are amazing. “Serious John Cena” promos are one thousand times better than “happy go lucky John Cena” promos. If Cena does finally go heel, pairing him with his real life girlfriend will draw an immense amount of legitimate heat from the WWE universe.
Right now, The Miz and Maryse are the WWE’s heel power couple, but they would pail in comparison to what Cena and Nikki could accomplish. Cena and Nikki are the epitome of every star quarterback and head cheerleader high school couple that everyone loved to hate. Together, they could easily turn our jealousy for their accomplishments into a loathing distaste for their existence. After years of being disrespected by the fans, the “they hate us because they aint us” mantra that Cena alluded to last night would easily fuel their motivations.
One of the problems with Cena turning heel is that the fans have been asking for it for so long, the WWE likely feared it wouldn’t garner the proper amount of heat when he eventually did turn. That problem would be solved with Nikki; someone the crowd can easily turn on.
Cena is on the verge of tying Ric Flair’s record for 16 world championships and while many fans believe he deserves the honor, there will be many longtime fans furious to see Flair’s longstanding record fall. A heel Cena would be perfect for tying the record while still giving him time to return to his old self to break Flair’s record in a year or so.
If Smackdown is going to go all the way with the reality era, the time is right to flip the switch on John Cena and let he and Nikki Bella rule the blue brand in 2017.
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