Fixing John Cena's Heel Turn, A New Member of Rollins-Heyman Stable, More Quick Takes

For the first time in over eight years, WWE fans live in a world where John Cena is champion, though much more needs to be done to ensure this reign lives up to its full potential following the abysmal ending to Night 2 of WrestleMania 41.

Cena capturing the Undisputed WWE Championship and embarking on a lengthy run while threatening to retire with the title was the correct call, but his heel turn has left a lot to be desired so far.

The presentation in particular has been a problem along with his hollow promos that largely feel forced.

A few tweaks to his heel persona can go a long way in ensuring this last leg of his career is a success.

Raw also received a significant shake-up over WrestleMania weekend in the form of Paul Heyman's new faction, led by the nefarious Seth Rollins. The addition of Bron Breakker on the subsequent edition of Raw was also eventful and left fans wondering what direction WWE intends to take them in.

Heyman recruiting top talent shouldn't end there, as there's one notable name in particular that should soon find themselves in his ranks.

This installment of Quick Takes will tackle who Heyman's next client should be, why Gunther's next steps without gold will ultimately define him, MJF's recent dealings with The Hurt Syndicate, and more.

The quality of John Cena's matches for the remainder of his retirement tour remains to be seen, especially after his less-than-stellar showing against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41.

Thankfully for Cena's sake, nostalgia sells and that alone will make his match with Randy Orton in the main event of Backlash on May 10 a must-see attraction, along with all of his other upcoming defenses.

The biggest criticism of his turn up to this point has been his uninspiring mic work. His promos have primarily seen him at odds with the audience instead of his WrestleMania opponent, and his logic for turning his back on them has yet to make sense.

WWE's best bet at this stage of the storyline would be to ditch The Rock's involvement all together and stray away from acknowledging The Last Real Champion "sold his soul" to The Final Boss.

Cena should instead shift his focus to fleshing out his heel run by toning down the over-the-top anger in his mannerisms and mic work and taking the less-is-more approach, as seen toward the end of his exchange with Orton on Friday's SmackDown.

Throughout his career, the 17-time world champion has always been at his best when speaking authentically, often coming across like a heel masquerading as a babyface.

That's been the biggest piece of the puzzle missing since Cena started embracing the hate at Elimination Chamber and what he needs to bring back as part of his repackaging.

WWE scored big-time by landing the likes of The Lucha Brothers, Ricky Starks, Rusev and Aleister Black immediately following their departures from All Elite Wrestling and wasting no time in getting them on television.

Penta has had a hot year, Rey Fenix made his WrestleMania debut within weeks of surfacing on SmackDown, Starks is already the NXT North American champion, and Rusev and Black both returned to the main roster in the days after 'Mania.

That's in addition to Roxanne Perez, Nathan Frazer, Axiom and everyone else who appears to be on their way to the main roster from NXT.

Although roster cuts have been made in the last several months, most of them were lower-level stars who were rarely featured on WWE TV to begin with.

Midcard mainstays such as Santos Escobar, Andrade, Carmelo Hayes, The Miz, Sheamus, Shinsuke Nakamura and Ludwig Kaiser should all be concerned with their spots at the moment, as they're in jeopardy of losing even more television time as a result of WWE's recent acquisitions.

It's virtually impossible to showcase everyone simultaneously, but there can be a better balance between getting these fresh and familiar faces over and maintaining the momentum of the crop of competitors that came before them.

AEW has hit its stride again as of late with a string of strong television shows, but of all the storylines that are developing heading into Double or Nothing, MJF's pursuit of The Hurt Syndicate has been far and away the most entertaining.

A majority of the segments have been similar, but everyone involved has played their respective roles remarkably well and they're progressing the story ever so slightly week after week.

The obvious endgame is The Hurt Syndicate accepting MJF into their ranks, but the question is why he would want to join them in the first place instead of simply chasing after the AEW World Championship on his own.

It's been well-established in the lore of AEW that The Salt of the Earth can't be trusted. After all, he's betrayed or been betrayed by everyone he's ever been aligned with, and The Hurt Syndicate are likely no exception.

Other than Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin being the AEW world tag team champions, MJF has little to gain from being a member of the stable from a storyline standpoint.

Infiltrating the group just to attempt to destroy it from within would be almost an exact repeat of his angle with The Inner Circle four years ago, so MJF should remain in their good graces for as long as possible.

It's akin to Sami Zayn being an "Honorary Uce" of The Bloodline in that MJF simply wants to feel accepted, which is what's been implied with his character since his feud with "Hangman" Adam Page.

AEW should know when to progress to the next chapter of this story with MJF and The Hurt Syndicate or run the risk of wearing out its welcome before it can evolve into something special.

Coming out of WrestleMania 41, Gunther finds himself in the same spot he did a year ago: without gold around his waist.

It's an unfamiliar feeling for The Ring General, who has spent a majority of his six-year stint with WWE as a champion. He lost the intercontinental title after a historic 666-day reign last year at 'Mania, but it was clear he was headed for a win in the King of the Ring tournament and eventually the World Heavyweight Championship.

This time around, it isn't quite as obvious what's next for him. That's why it was wise of WWE to book him to get his heat back on the post-WrestleMania Raw with an assault on Pat McAfee, which should set up a bout between the two when Gunther returns from his storyline suspension.

From there, he can settle into a storyline with an established star on the Raw roster such as AJ Styles, Sheamus or CM Punk. This will be a pivotal period for him when he'll be defined by what he can do when he isn't holding gold.

Gunther will inevitably work his way back into championship contention and by then he could be a babyface, but it won't be imminent. He can remain a fixture at the main event level with the proper booking and character development.

Paul Heyman finally has the chance to lead a modern-day version of his Dangerous Alliance, and having stars the caliber of Bron Breakker and Seth Rollins under his thumb is extremely promising.

It shouldn't be long before Rollins is holding the World Heavyweight Championship, and while Breakker feels finished at the Intercontinental Championship level, he could join The Visionary toward the top of the card and work non-title feuds with main event talent.

Fans are already speculating other names they could recruit, and Becky Lynch would eventually be an ideal fit for the group.

Her obvious ties to Rollins aside, The Man would have good reason to want to be backed by Heyman. She just returned on Night 2 of WrestleMania 41 and quickly lost the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship on Raw before betraying Lyra Valkyria, so she's ready to leave the fans behind once again and be represented by someone she feels respects her.

Heyman has never managed a female before on WWE TV, and Lynch would be a fantastic first choice. She can already hold her own on the mic and dominate the Raw women's division while occasionally appearing alongside his other clients.

Her impending program with Valkyria over the Women's Intercontinental Championship should sell itself, but tying it back to Heyman's lust for complete control of the entire show should give Raw's new top story that much more juice.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.