10 Most Shocking 2023 Wrestler Transformations
4. John Cena
In 2021, John Cena returned to a deafening, all-timer of a pop at Money In The Bank.
He was the Cena of old in the build towards and at SummerSlam: a huge megastar with the bit between his teeth. He savaged Roman Reigns on the microphone and, while he wasn't the 2015 workrate cosplayer in Paradise, Nevada, he worked a worthy, traditional WWE-style main event. He returned as a megastar and did business for his megastar successor.
In 2023, he returned twice - and became a parody in the process.
It's still a bit surreal, given how long Cena maintained his old physique and workaholic zeal to remain top dog. This year, Cena transformed overnight into the uncanny version of himself who guests on Raw Legend's Night and says "You can't see me!" as he shares a backstage segment with Ivory, Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine and some random dressed as Doink.
This version of John Cena is thoroughly bizarre. He was always an incredibly broad wrestler, but he's somehow even more over-the-top now. He's clunkier than ever. His working punches are a disaster, and his facial expressions are, in a word, insane. He reacts to everything in the most intense way imaginable, treating LA Knight's decision to tag with him like he'd scored a last-minute winner in the World Cup final.
Between his movement and expressions, 2023 John Cena is like a broken action figure put back together with magic glue that has turned him into a real boy experiencing life for the first time.