25 Things You Didn't Know About John Cena
6. WWE Nixed A Heel Turn In 2012
WWE finally turned Cena heel again during his retirement tour in 2025. More on that to come. They'd actually contemplated having him go rogue countless times before that during his peak run, but strong merchandise sales, John's own unwillingness to turn his back on the babyface gig, and changing creative plans elsewhere always stopped it from happening.
Celebrated ex-WWE writer Brian Gewirtz once said on the Cheap Heat podcast that Vince McMahon nearly turned Cena heel heading into WrestleMania XXVIII’s match with The Rock. Come the show itself, he would have debuted new music, went with a boxing robe and singlet look with boots, and wouldn’t have kept going with his Make-A-Wish stuff outside the ring.
Ultimately, it was scrapped, but Cena himself confirmed this on Chris Van Vliet’s ‘Insight’ show and said he got cold feet about the whole thing. He hadn't been heel since going baby in late-2003. Back then, fan sentiment had helped turn him. His bad boy rap gimmick had been purring away nicely since 2002, and John was gaining momentum as a breakout star.
People turned him organically, and the face run stuck. After batting away suggestions he mix it up and go heel again for years, Cena seemed destined to do so in 2012. He recorded a new track especially for the turn, but WWE didn't go through with it in the end. It doesn't sound like anybody was really up for it - they halfheartedly pitched it, got some things rolling, then nixed the change once push came to the shove.
It was in the pipeline though.