MR. TITO: John Cena Must Be All-In With the Heel Character in WWE and for Wrestlemania 41
After pondering over WWE Elimination Chamber 2025 late last night and having a great night’s sleep, I’ve thought about John Cena’s heel turn. For one, congrats to the WWE for pulling it off well and they are being HEAVILY talked about on Social Media because of it. I’m laughing, though, at the comparisons to Hulk Hogan’s heel turn from 1996 because that turn was massive and grew virally without the aid of Social Media back then. Hogan’s heel turn was the best ever because of how it caused WCW to explode in growth, but Cena’s heel turn is probably the 2nd best ever… Maybe?
But for John Cena’s heel turn to work, he needs to be 100% all-in with the turn. Complete 180 turn on who his character has been since 2003 and really needs to ham it up being a corporate pawn for the Rock. Everything needs to change, such as his look (maybe a haircut around the bald spot?), the tights (no more jeans), and the music (make something darker, utilize Travis Scott?). And then when John Cena gets on the mic, he has to SHRED the fans in attendance. That’s why Hulk Hogan’s heel turn was extremely effective because of that promo he cut AFTER his 1996 heel turn to join Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. Hence why the fans threw garbage into the ring.
And I expect that John Cena will be committed… I’m sure for the last 22 years, he’s probably been tired of playing the squeaky clean babyface whereas in real life, he’s a neat freak and a control freak and slightly introverted. When the lights are on or the fans are around, he flips on the character switch and that’s what we’ve seen on camera. A CHARACTER. Many public speakers will tell you that when they are on stage, they are speaking through a character… But I’ve seen them after the speech immediately hide into a dark corner and not want to be around anybody.
All of those years of heating “John Cena Sucks” during his theme music or “Let’s Go Cena” from the kids and the adults yelling back “Cena Sucks”, it’s time to unleash. Use that “retirement tour” as a method to get revenge on all of the fans who have taunted him with “Cena Sucks”. Used to be a “retirement tour”, but it’s now a “REVENGE TOUR”.
Hold nothing back and show no mercy.
The upcoming TV shows where John Cena appears are going to be very important with how he looks, acts, and how he speaks. If he does well, tickets are going to sell extremely well in Las Vegas for Wrestlemania 41 and if he wins the WWE Title, the WWE has HUGE ANGLES to push throughout the Summertime. Heel corporate John Cena as WWE champion with CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Cody Rhodes chasing him. Money will pour in throughout 2025 with that angle. Cody Rhodes has something to do again as a chaser, too, which is his strength to gain sympathy with the fans. Amazing how Cody Rhodes has seriously lucked into these amazing angles since returning to the WWE. Gee, he made the right decision to leave AEW.
John Cena HAS TO WIN at Wrestlemania 41 unless he gets screwed by only one man… If we saw a situation where The Rock interfered and was helping John Cena win the title… Seems like everything was going to plan, as poor Cody was getting badly hurt in the process of possibly losing his title. Then, *GLASS SHATTERS* and Stone Cold Steve Austin arrives and actually helps Cody Rhodes retain the title, what an angle… Then, Corporate John Cena could steal the WWE Title at the next PLE and the money gravy train described above can continue.
I also thought about maybe turning CM Punk instead, but I understand the business side of him… Punk is moving a ton of merchandise and has essentially become the new John Cena. WWE isn’t going to turn him for a while because he’s drawing too much merchandise money, which is the main reason why John Cena was never turned during the 2010s. We’re hearing stories about an almost-heel turn from 2012, but WWE was still loving that merchandise and houseshow money and passed. So thus, CM Punk should honestly be honored that WWE wants to keep him as a babyface. Ditto for Cody Rhodes, who didn’t turn as well. Him telling the Rock to “go F yourself” was epic and probably won over a few more fans.
Remember my phrase from George Santayana: “Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it”
Let’s talk about the past heel turns and why some worked, while some didn’t work. These are just the ones that I’m remembering off the top of my head, so thus big turns from the Territory Days, I’m not going to recall because I was a child or not around yet.
CM Punk’s heel turn from 2012
He just joined Paul Heyman one day… As WWE Champion, he switched from face to heel and it just wasn’t effective other than guaranteeing every babyface would defeat him during 2013. That said, it set up Punk for his best in-ring year ever as those matches with Undertaker and Brock Lesnar were epic (turned babyface for that Lesnar feud). Punk’s year-long title reign was a THUD because of how poorly his character was executed, including his heel turn.
Steve Austin’s heel turn from 2001
After 3 years of battling with Vince McMahon, he suddenly joins him at Wrestlemania 17? To me, Wrestlemania 17 isn’t the best Wrestlemania because of that ending and the declining business that followed proved why turning Austin heel was a big mistake. For one, he didn’t change up his character, look, or his music at least not for a while. It was never made clear WHY he changed and they did stupid mistakes like having him violently attack Lita or joining Triple H to be his heel friend. Then, the WCW/ECW Invasion arrived and things became more stupid. Austin was still over as a babyface and it just wasn’t the right time. That and Austin wasn’t in the best place in his life to fully commit, either.
Christian turning heel on Edge from 2001
When should you not do a big heel turn? When you have another big angle going on… Christian turned on Edge during September 2001 and while the execution was great with the turn and the brutal single-person Conchairto, it just didn’t benefit Christian long-term for the WWE. He mostly stayed in the midcard, with some upward flirtations, before his exit to TNA. I’d argue that the heel turn helped Edge long-term more than it did Christian.
Kevin Owens turns heel on Chris Jericho from 2017
“Why is my name on the list?” is still one of the heartbreaking statements that I’ve ever heard and was said by Chris Jericho when Kevin Owens gifted him a new list. This led to them wrestling at Wrestlemania, which was fine… Long-term, it wasn’t as effective because Kevin Owens looks the same with every version of the character that he has, along with similar music.
The Rock turns heel during 1997 and 1998.
I’m still amazed at how he pulled off 2 heel turns in 2 years… First one was joining the Nation of Domination during 1997 when he returned and that unleashed “the Rock” character on all of us. Then, throughout 1998, the Rock was getting more cheers as a heel character and was kind of turned babyface by the fans. Watch that SummerSlam 1998 match with Triple H, where HHH was the babyface and Rock was supposed to be the heel, and Rock is getting cheered. Then, the great Survivor Series 1998 happened and the Corporation screwed everybody to help Rock win the WWE Title tournament and it was epic. Rock was a brutally vicious heel towards Mick Foley and get him completely over as a babyface and then the Rock headlined Wrestlemania 15.
I could argue with the Rock that his 2024 heel turn was also epic to become the “Final Boss” and we’re still riding in the wake of that one.
Bret Hart turns heel at Wrestlemania 13 during 1997.
Best match ever happened at Wrestlemania 13 where Austin and Bret creatively found a way to switch babyface and heel roles. It was magnificent. Then, Bret reforms the Hart Foundation and are a menace to society for American venues. Best work that Bret Hart ever did, which is a real shame because it ended all abruptly with the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997 which ultimately turned Vince McMahon heel.
Shawn Michaels turns on Marty Jannetty during 1992.
In contrast to Christian’s turn mentioned above, this heel turn made Shawn Michaels instantly become a bigger star. He took that heel character to the moon through 1995 and then returned to that character during 1997 to 1998 to make himself into an even bigger star. Michaels was born to play a heel, at least the 1990s version of the human being. Speaking of HBK…
Shawn Michaels turns on Hulk Hogan, 2005, brother.
This heel turn on Hogan worked at first based on how it was pulled off (surprise superkick after celebrating) and then the Montreal promo. However, it became comical rather than leaning on generating more heat with the Larry King parodies and then the SummerSlam 2005 match itself with Michaels over-selling. Maybe this turn was ruined by Hulk Hogan refusing to do more matches with Michaels, beyond the 1 match where Hogan was going to win?
Macho Man Randy Savage at the Main Event, 1989
Wrestlemania 5 was the most bought Pay Per View for over 8 years for a reason… Savage was jealous of anything involving Miss Elizabeth and Hulk Hogan and Savage snapped like a Slim Jim on the Main Event show where Hogan took an injured Elizabeth backstage while Savage had to endure an arse beating at the hands of Hakeem and Big Bossman. Savage attacked Hogan in the backstage First Aid area and the rest is history. Savage was an incredible villain for the next 2 years until redeeming himself at Wrestlemania 7 with the retirement match and reuniting with Elizabeth. Truly, my favorite storyline of all time.
Roman Reigns turns heel during 2020
Roman disappeared just before Wrestlemania during 2020, thanks to concerns over the pandemic, and then he returned at SummerSlam 2020… But then he began appearing with Paul Heyman. Suddenly, Roman Reigns was acting differently, looked different (ditched the damn bullet proof vest), and eventually began forming the Bloodline stable. This changed his character forever and with the help of Paul Heyman, he had a good agent to help him shape his matches to generate the maximum amount of heat. I could see the argument of this being the best heel turn ever based on how much WWE has grown since.
Hulk Hogan joins the NWO, 1996
This is the best heel turn ever, though, because of how much WCW grew exponentially because of it and forming the New World Order afterward. Hulk Hogan completely changed his image and went all-in with the heel turn… New music, cutting scathing promos, became extremely arrogant with his character, changed the look going from red & yellow to black & white, had the stubble of beard to go along with his trademark mustache, and was completely dirty in the ring, which was a huge contrast from his super hero character. THIS is what John Cena needs to become to pull this off, particularly as a main eventer who just turned heel. Hogan was able to run with this character for almost 3 years, though the last year was riding on the previous 2 years’ fumes.
Those are just a few examples and I could go on and on about other heel turns.
Do you see the pattern?
As a newly turned heel you have to consider:
– How you cut promos, in terms of talking down other wrestlers and the fans themselves.
– Change your look completely. That includes hair, facial hair, tights, and entrance gear. And remember, all heels grow chest hair. Remember that rule!
– MUSIC – You HAVE to change your music to something darker and effective. Notice how the Rock reverted back to his Hollywood Rock music from 2003? Uh huh.
– You have to wrestle differently… Heels rely on rule breaking and being scared of the babyface. Why, in my opinion, that Triple H had issues as a heel is that he was never scared of the babyface beyond the year 2000. Heels shouldn’t dominate or win cleanly. Cena needs to beg for his life, at times, at Wrestlemania 41 against Cody.
– Don’t be afraid of violence, but it has to be the right kind of violence. Austin attacking Lita was wrong and ineffective… Attacking Macho Man Randy Savage and then spraypainting a yellow streak on his back was with the NWO and Hogan.
– Personality must change. You’ll be part of the corporate structure that the Rock wants to create, so lean into that. Wear suits and talk about how the fans want to be him with all of the money showering in. Lots of real life stuff happening right now with income envy, so lean into that hard with Cena.
It’s all up to John Cena now, along with the WWE Creative Team to allow him to go all-in as a heel in the WWE. These next few weeks are going to be critically important to how effective Cena, as a heel, can become throughout 2025. If WWE can build Cena into a monster heel, then WWE is in for some major business throughout 2025 that should exceed what was seen last year following WrestleMania 40 that was kinda lackluster. Now, it’s top babyfaces having to get through John Cena and likely other corporate members who join him before getting to the “Final Boss”.
If this storyline links us to Rock vs. Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 42, then I’ll have ZERO complaints about it.
And I’m confident that John Cena can pull this off.
This could become a fun year, as just before 2 weeks ago, things were looking kind of dire with how Wrestlemania 41 was shaping up.
And many of you were complaining about the Rock’s promo 2 weeks ago. It was 100% worth it just to hear Cody tell the Rock to “go F yourself” on live television along with seeing John Cena’s epic heel turn afterward. Life is good in the WWE now.
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