WWE Discussing Major Character Change For John Cena When He Returns From Injury

Republished from Forbes

Even though the WWE is intensely focused on building a powerhouse ‘WrestleMania 32′ card it appears at least one post-Mania discussion is being discussed. According to sources, WWE Creative is kicking around multiple ideas for the return of the injured John Cena and one of the ideas in consideration is a major character shift.

(Credit: WWE.com)

This news comes just a day after John Cena posted s short video to Twitter showing him doing squats with a bare bar as he recovers from shoulder surgery to repair a complete tear of a small portion of the rear rotator cuff tendon. Cena, who is an impressive athlete, is showing a quicker-than-normal recovery.

Let there be #squat weekly goal accomplished. Time to raise the stakes. @TapoutFitness #nevergiveup #StayFearless pic.twitter.com/ETBEPLxcB8

— John Cena (@JohnCena) February 2, 2016

 With thin roster due to a string of injuries to top superstars including Cena, WWE is looking to shake things up and has at least kicked around the idea of a Cena character change more than ever before. As most of you will recall, I posted an article back in November of 2015 right here on $ports Money discussing a possible Cena heel turn.

At the time, WWE was at least starting creative conversations for a possible character change but was looking “long term” because of Cena’s popularity. Hesitation to change Cena’s character was due to a fear that there was no viable superstar who could replace Cena as the top face/good guy of the company.

With RAW ratings again suffering and lacking to show any consistency, WWE is looking at a major shake-up and that could include shifting the most popular and lucrative superstar of this generation.

WWE won’t rush any creative decision and is confident they can eventually find the perfect scenario to successfully turn Cena heel. The goal is to successfully turn Cena heel in a way that Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, CM Punk and D-Generation X did where he would remain popular and lucrative from a merchandise and marketing standpoint.

WWE is a bit more confident this time around because they feel that characters like Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and a returning Daniel Bryan (if medically cleared by WWE) have shown they can carry the WWE as faces.