Is Sheamus The Next Cena?

It’s undeniable that John Cena is the “face of the WWE”.  Being the WWE Champion, his responsibilities extend beyond the ring.  He does the talk show circuit.  He represents the WWE in special events.  He does guest appearances on various TV shows.  As it is right now, no one on the WWE roster does as much marketing outside the ring for the WWE than John Cena.  That is why the championship belt continues to fall on his lap.  It’s good business that he is the “face of the WWE”.

Now, take a look at the WWE roster and we will see that the only active faces who are main event worthy (aside from Cena and Orton) is CM Punk and Sheamus.  If anything were to happen to Cena or Orton (like an extended injury), CM Punk deserves to be the WWE Heavyweight or the World Heavyweight Champion.  He’s been with the company since 2006.  He’s won numerous titles both as a heel and face.  It was only when he threatened to not return after his contract was about to expire that they started to really pay attention to what he can bring to the company.  As a result, he’s in the top main non-title storyline every week.  But to be the face of the WWE is more than just holding the WWE Heavyweight or the World Heavyweight Title.  There’s a certain look and presence that the face of the WWE must have to represent the company beyond the squared circle.  Though I do like CM Punk and I think he has a great personality in doing interviews outside the WWE, he doesn’t have the look that Vince McMahon would want as a representative to do the talk show circuit and guest appearances.  CM Punk prides himself in being the “anti-establishment” type of guy, and no one else since Austin has been able to pull that character to much applause.  I wouldn’t change a thing about CM Punk, but there’s a sense of a “professional” look that he will never have and that will hinder him in being that “face of the WWE”.

Randy Orton is great in the ring.  He has developed one of the best in-ring psychology in the WWE, but he has a very, very dry character when on the mic or in front of a camera.  He reminds me a lot of Bret Hart.  Bret Hart had great technical skills and good in-ring psychology, but the problem with Bret was that it took him a long time to look comfortable on the mic.  But people loved his wrestling matches so much that they didn’t care about how mediocre his mic skills were.  It was only toward the end of his stint with the WWE when he looked comfortable handling the mic.  That is how I view Randy Orton.  He is mediocre at cutting promos.  So, for him to do the talk show circuit would not be exciting because I don’t think he’s an exciting character outside the ring.  This is why he won’t be the “face of the WWE”.

One person I didn’t mention earlier but is worth mentioning is the Miz.  If you ever seen Miz do a talk show, or be a special guest on a morning show, or even hear him be interviewed on radio show, he is very entertaining on the mic.  The Miz will give the viewers 90%-Michael Mizanin and 10%-Miz.  Michael Mizanin is a funny, smart-ass character that is ready to crack a joke at any time, while the Miz is a heel that believes he is AWESOME.  He will be funny and entertaining and pull glimpses of being a heel, which makes everyone laugh.  He can possibly be a future “face of the WWE” but he has yet to be commanding character in the ring for him to hold the title for a extended period of time. 

This all brings me to Sheamus.  Only until a couple months ago did Sheamus turn from a heel to a face.  As a result of his turn, he has been getting more cheers as a face than boos as a heel.  Every time he defeats a heel, the audience is getting louder and louder, which means they are slowly accepting him as a face.  For a person who is 6’6”, he moves very well inside the ring.  He has a huge physique and is powerful in the ring.  He has a smirk-like smile that he knows he bigger and stronger than his opponent that leads to say, “I’m gonna hurt you now, fella!”.  In his promos, he sounds like a big that’s trying to be friendly, but still hold the demeanor that you shouldn’t piss him off.  Though he is as pale as mayonnaise, he doesn’t have any tattoos, so this subliminally sends a message to kids that you don’t need a tattoo to be tough.  With his Irish accent, hearing him call people “fella” is actually pretty entertaining.  When you hear him say it, it makes you want to imitate him, which kind of leads toward a form of a catch phrase.  Now how is he outside of the ring?  I’ve only seen him twice doing an interview.  He dresses well in non-ring attire.  He’s my not be quite exciting on the mic, but you can tell that he’s comfortable chatting with anyone.  With more practice, he can fluid while talking on a podium or with an interviewer.

As a recap, unlike CM Punk, he doesn’t have any tattoos or piercing.  Unlike Randy Orton, he has a more appealing character.  Unlike the Miz, he has a dominating presence in the ring.  As it is right now, aside from John Cena, there is no face-wrestler on the WWE roster that is in the same position as Sheamus.  If Sheamus continues on the path that he is in now, within a years time, he could be in the same spotlight as John Cena.  This why I believe that Sheamus can be the next John Cena.  He can be the next “face of the WWE”.