John Cena: WWE's Problem with His Dwindling Appeal

John Cena will not turn heel. It just wont happen.

For all the boos and abuse, Vince McMahon will not budge.

Rest assured, the WWE has tried its darndest to spin it into something positive with the cute "Rise Above Hate" campaign on the T-shirts and the caps and the sweatbands.

But as pigheaded as Vince can be, the crowd can be equally as stubborn.

That's not to say that there will be a shortage of fans donning the full, nauseating lime green "Salute the Nation" outfit at every arena and stadium in the weeks and months to come.

If they sell it, people will buy it.

But the boos will always drown out the cheers—booing is much more fun anyway.

The return of The Rock and Brock certainly hasn't helped, the WWE universe delighted with the homecoming of its former heroes whose reputation has only grown in their absence.

And it has been Cena who has been fed to the wolves.

His endearing speech on Raw before Wrestlemania about "having to win" and the match "meaning everything" to him was certainly powerful stuff. Certainly, Cena is a powerhouse on the mic, but the crowd weren't buying it.

Nevertheless, the heel turn will still not happen—sorry.

It would be hypocritical of the WWE to have Cena abuse the fans one night then visit the troops or the children's hospital the next. They are too far committed to the 'Rise Above Hate' campaign anyway.

Which is why the problem they are facing is all the more great.

For all its impact, Brock's F-5 seemed to many to be the final nail in the Cena coffin.

Debuting the new outfit, preaching the peace, congratulating the Rock—the ensuing image of him held motionless above the flabby Lesnar will live as long in the memory as the final Rock Bottom he succumbed to the previous night.

I suppose, in his own way, Vince is giving the fans what they want—the humiliation of his former number one guy—the poster boy of the PG era.

If CM Punk's now fabled shoot of June last year is anything to go by, its that the majority of fans, at least those who can remember, long for a return to the days of the "Attitude Era."

And if that means the death of the brand that is "John Cena," then Vince will not hesitate to pull the trigger.

Maybe the problem is that the fans still haven't forgotten the cringing rap gimmick.

Maybe the problem is that the fans still haven't forgotten "Legendary."