According to Mike Johnson of PWINsider.com, production for DC's Peacemaker is currently scheduled to conclude on July 6. After that, Cena can come back to the United States and starting working WWE events, something he's said he's interested in doing.
The timing is perfect as WWE is heavily promoting they'll be taking their show on the road again and will be looking for big names to bring back onto WWE programming. The idea is to get WWE fans to pop huge after more than a year away from seeing their favorite WWE Superstars up close and personal.
There's one small catch... it's not clear how badly fans want to see the old John Cena and, after the political poop storm Cena found himself in this week by posting a video and apologizing to China for calling Taiwan a country, speculation is that WWE isn't taking the kickback all that well.
Still, Cena is a massive star. He's likely also a draw for WWE fans. If Cena is going to return and work any sort of angle or program that involves more than a one-off appearance, one has to wonder if all the negative press actually gives WWE the motivation they needed to pull the trigger on a move they contemplated making a long time ago but never did.
Cena Likely Wasn't Going To Be Cheered Anyway
Even if Cena hadn't posted a video and caught the ire of a number of outlets for, as some have phrased it, bowing to the Chinese Communist Party, the cool thing to do is boo John Cena. The initial buzz of his WWE return would have garnered some cheers, but within a week or two (maybe even on the same night) he would have been booed by just as many fans, probably more, than would have cheered him.
The reason WWE didn't turn him heel was because they felt he was too much of a "good guy" to do so. His message of "Never Give Up" was akin to the same messaging Hulk Hogan used to offer when he said "Say your prayers and take your vitamins." It was awesome for a while, but the whole 'Cena vibe' grew stale.
It doesn't do any of the parties involved here any good if the idea is to bring him back as a babyface and the fans totally reject him.
Cena Really Stepped In It
Regardless of whether or not you agree with what Cena did, the media attention he's drawn to himself almost guarantees that fans will go out of their way to boo him. Not only will he have those fans jeer him that were going to regardless, but now it's just a little tougher to support him if you wanted to.
I'm not suggesting, even for a moment, that WWE use this political angle as part of his heel turn. I think it would be critical mistake to go anywhere near this mess in the form of an on-screen character change. But, you can still find a silver lining and make chicken salad out of chicken s--t.
The idea of turning Roman Reigns heel worked, in part, because fans were bound to boo him. WWE decided to finally give the WWE Universe what they wanted and Reigns has been hitting it out of the park ever since.
Cena Can Pull It Off
If there's one thing we know about John Cena, it's that he can make a character work that few would have expected to get over. He turned into a rapper and became a megastar. He switched entirely to a PG persona before anyone else and became the face of WWE for years. He was open to being out there in WWE's first-ever Firefly Fun House match, and it was fairly well received by those who understood the subtle messaging.
If you give Cena some creative freedom to come in and really 'go for it' with a new character, a total overhaul and a fresh perspective, WWE might be surprised at how the fan base responds.
At this point, what does WWE have to lose? That foundation of fans that love Cena haven't seen him in months. And, those that have know he's playing the bad guy in an upcoming Fast and the Furious film. Cena going heel if he returns to WWE is no longer a reach and WWE might be best to give it a shot.
Hey, if it doesn't work, they can always go back to him being a babyface once the dust has settled on his apology.