When John Cena turned heel at Elimination Chamber, it was the biggest moment in recent pro wrestling history.
Fans had cried out for the 48-year-old to turn heel for in and around a decade.
The ‘Super Cena’ gimmick beloved by Vince McMahon wore thin on fans who knew the man who used to be the Dr. of Thuganomics had much more in his locker.
Finally, during his retirement year, Cena did turn and the moment itself was absolutely fantastic.
What followed? Not so much.
Speaking on the Bill Simmons podcast, Cena addressed the failed run which, despite its critics did feature his record-breaking 17th world title.
“I think a lot of people were wondering, ‘What would happen if John Cena turned heel?’ Then when I did, it left a taste in people’s mouths that they didn’t like it. They wanted other stuff — ‘I wanted a music change, a uniform change, I wanted him to act like this.’”
The turn itself featured The Rock and, for some reason, Travis Scott. The link was never addressed and people struggled to understand what Cena was going for or what his character’s motivations were.
Cena claimed he was finally fighting back in a toxic relationship with the fans, but that never seemed to wash.
In the end, it came down to Cena not having enough time to flesh out the change and WWE changed course.
“I got 11 months to do this, 36 TV appearances. It takes five years to get a guy over, regardless.
“If you turn him, it’s gonna take a year or two on television for it really to sink in, especially if you really want to get into it and be able to flip, and then get a performer to get a nice flip on the other side when it’s time to turn again.
“I don’t have the time to tell the right story,” said Cena.
Going into his match with Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam where he dropped the title, he reverted back to the beloved Cena fans had come to at the very least respect.
It’s been the right move. Cena’s retirement tour – one full year in action before never performing again – had to have him depart in the good graces of fans.
That seems to be what will happen, but will it be after a match with LA Knight or Gunther? The answer to that question lies on Monday Night RAW next week.
Then, Cena will say goodbye for the last time after facing one of them – widely believed to be Gunther – on December 13 at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
