By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

1. R.K…Uh oh…
Oh jeez. Well, this isn’t good. Randy Orton, one of WWE’s two or three biggest draws, is now out for about six months with what is apparently an injured back.

Obviously it’s never good to lose one of your big name stars to injury, the loss of Randy Orton is particularly unfortunate when it comes to WWE’s B-Show, Friday Night Smackdown. Orton is Smackdown‘s most popular star. He’s not always in the most prevalent story beat on the show. But he’s the guy that consistently gets the biggest pops of the night, and is drawing the most money. Not having him around means WWE needs to find another big star to take his spot for the foreseeable future. They won’t match his popularity right away, but they can groom him to be Smackdown‘s next major marquee talent.

The only real choice for Orton’s spot seems to be Sheamus. Yes, Daniel Bryan is the World Champion on Smackdown right now, but that’s because WWE is still trying to build him into a big name, and they’re using the title as a means to that end. Sheamus has been steadily built up by WWE over the past few years, and even has his fair share of mainstream media experience to boot, having appeared on both Conan and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. He’s got a very distinct look, a decent amount of charisma, and has done quite well transitioning into a likable babyface. He’s even got a catchy new nickname in “The Great White.” The fact that he’s replacing Randy Orton in house show matches against Wade Barrett certainly seems to indicate that he’s the man for the job.

The Big Show is also more than capable of contributing, as he’s been doing a fine job working with Mark Henry these past few months. With any luck, Daniel Bryan will be able to build a bit of momentum and contribute. If all else fails, John Cena and CM Punk can always help hold down the fort every so often. But the focus should be Sheamus. His time needs to start now.

2. The Flames of Hate
Speculation has been running rampant these past few weeks about whether a heel turn is in John Cena’s future. The majority of grown male fans have been booing Cena for years, and the die-hard wrestling audience has been calling for it for the longest time. But Cena’s upcoming Wrestlemania match with the ever-popular Rock, combined with Kane calling for Cena to “embrace the hate” this week on Raw, not to mention the recent “Cena Sucks” shirt WWE put on the market, have added a good amount of fuel to the speculation.

WWE has kept Cena as the straight-laced hero for so long because he sells merchandise, pulls in TV ratings, and is WAY over with young kids. That being said, the majority of the fans (at least those at attend WWE events) are booing him. Watch him come to the ring on an episode of Raw. Initially, all you hear are boos. They’ve been playing with that a decent amount this year, acknowledging it more than they ever have. But the big question is, will they actually do it? Would WWE actually pull the trigger on turning their biggest hero into bad guy?

Personally, I think now is as good a time as ever to do it. I’m not one of those fans that always complains about Cena, but keeping him in the role he’s in now is a very safe thing to do. It’s been the safe thing to do for at least two or three years now. I think if WWE wants to continue to grow and evolve they need to try this, simply to freshen Cena’s character up a bit. I think it was Roddy Piper who once said that Cena is “too company,” i.e. he’s become WWE’s poster boy to such an extent that it’s putting a damper on his work. And he’s right. Cena’s promos sound like WWE press releases. He needs to reinvent himself as someone who’s not that guy, for his own longevity if nothing else. In recent interviews, Cena has talked about wanting to be around for several more years. That’s not going to work if he’s still doing all the same stuff. Huk Hogan, Bret Hart, Steve Austin and The Rock all went through periods where they turned to the dark side, if only for a little while, and they came out stronger for it. Now it’s Cena’s turn. If it doesn’t work, they can always transition him back into a babyface role.

I can certainly see how WWE would be concerned about merchandise sales if Cena turned, but I don’t think ratings would suffer at all, especially during those first few weeks. A Cena heel turn would likely garner a lot of attention from fans who’ve turned away from wrestling in recent years, much like Hogan’s heel turn in WCW did. That’s not to say it would usher in a new “boom period,” but it would certainly turn a lot of heads.

The ironic thing? I’ll betcha a hundred bucks all the adult male fans start cheering for Cena after he turns heel. It might take a few months, but it’ll happen.

Front page image from bleacherreport.com. Orton image from randyorton4u.com. Cena image 1 from 4shared.net. Cena image 2 from famouspict.blogspot.com.