John Cena knows what can save WWE. But he isn't sure the company can produce the savior due to the current landscape of wrestling.
Cena was the face of WWE for the better part of the decade and helped usher in the Ruthless Aggression Era while leading the PG Era and Anti-Hero/Reality Era.
Speaking to Corey Graves on WWE After The Bell, Graves wondered which era is next for WWE. And Cena is unsure there will be a new era as the eras have typically been defined by the man at the top of the mountain.
"It needs what I'm not sure it can produce and that's just the state of where everything is now. It kind of always corrects itself. We're in a day and age where it needs a frontman. And that's what will be able to define what the era is because it takes on the personality traits of the top star. I don't know if, all things considered, the crowd is so mixed that if the company puts its faith behind an individual, the knee jerk reaction of the audience, even if they liked the guy last week, is to say 'fuck you, you're not going to tell me who I like.' The audience is also tipping the scales of this not being able to happen. Universal popularity will never happen because someone will see it, get onto it, and be like, 'He seems to be getting popular. Let's stop this right now.' I've seen it happen with guys who are darlings of that underground crew, make it, and as soon as they make it, the rugs pulled out from under them," said Cena.
Cena mentioned Roman Reigns as the potential frontman, believing Reigns is close to where he was at in terms of drawing the audience in. Graves singled out Seth Rollins as a wrestler who the fans were behind but then turned on once he won the title.
Cena continued, "It's really difficult to get one definable figure to stand at the front. Usually, when it pushes too far one way, the pendulum finds a way to come back, but I really don't know because the program is so socially active and your social emotions are not what they are in the arena. The keyboard and social sentiment, which I love because it's driving the business forward, often can cause that chain reaction of 'now we're not going to like this guy.'"
Elsewhere on the podcast, Cena discussed how WWE has a segment of wrestlers who attract different audiences but don't have that one wrestler who draws in everyone. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
If you use any of the quotes above, please give a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
