Bray Wyatt Secretly Foreshadowed John Cena's WWE Heel Turn 5 Years Ago (WWE News)

Bray Wyatt warned us all about John Cena years ago.

Bray Wyatt John Cena
WWE.com

As the pro wrestling world gets accustomed to a landscape where WWE's John Cena has finally turned heel, this is something that the greatly missed Bray Wyatt actually predicted some five years ago.

Of course, Cena and Wyatt went one-on-one at two separate WrestleManias, and it's in the lead to WrestleMania 36 in 2020 that the Eater of Worlds lambasted the 16-time World Champion with some words that ring incredibly true after what went down at Elimination Chamber over the weekend.

In case you've been under a rock - no pun intended - Elimination Chamber saw John Cena align with The Rock and put a beating on Cody Rhodes that left the American Nightmare battered and bloodied as the PLE went off the air. That came after Cena won the eponymous men's match, cementing himself a spot at WrestleMania 41 against Cody for the WWE Championship.

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Back to Bray Wyatt, then, and a Reddit post from user @itsmekelsey_x highlighted some of Bray's promo work in the build to that 'Mania 36 match.

That post first shows Wyatt saying:

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"You don't really think we think you care about the future, do you? I mean, John Cena cares about John Cena, right? It doesn't matter who he has to smash or bury along the way, as long as he gets his spotlight. Spotlight, yeah, that's what it's all about. You crave it like an addict; you fiend for it."

Then there's another exchange between the two, where Bray says:

"How dare you talk to me about chances, John Cena. I have had to earn everything I've ever been given in life, and still they're taken from me. You, you're the golden goose, John. Your chances, they're unlimited, you're untouchable. But you're not a hero, John. You're a bully. You're a horrible person. You take the weaknesses of others and you turn them into jokes. You do anything for fame, John. Congratulations, you're the man now, John. Poor, lonely John Cena. This is your last chance, man."

As for WrestleMania 36, that was infamously the 'Mania that played out in front of no fans due to the dark days of the global pandemic. Still, Wyatt and Cena made the best of that unique scenario, putting on an entertaining Firefly Fun House bout that ran through plenty of bizarre, nostalgic, what if scenarios - including a heel Cena as part of the nWo.

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When looking back at those Bray Wyatt words, though, they certainly ring true for the John Cena we saw at the end of Elimination Chamber. Cody Rhodes is very much the present and the future of WWE, and Cena certainly had no problems "smashing" Cody to maintain the spotlight for himself. And as for chances, by the fact we're in the final year of Big Match John's legendary career, he's now got his final chance to headline a WrestleMania and a final chance to win a record-setting 17th World Title.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.