One MIND-BLOWING Secret From EVERY WWE WrestleMania
1. WrestleMania 41 | Steve Austin’s Secret Message
At Elimination Chamber, in one of the most stunning angles ever, John Cena finally turned heel.
In a way, you can’t blame WWE for the decision. The timing was questionable, since the most amount of WWE fans watching in decades had never been more prepared to cheer John Cena - and, given that he was retiring, never had less time to get behind him. Still: everybody wanted to see it at least once, and equally, it was a case of now-or-never. WWE went with now, and the sheer face-melting shock factor was so awesome that very few people debated the wisdom of the decision. It was too heady and exciting to care about the long-term repercussions. One person seemed a bit apprehensive, and that person was one of the most prescient in wrestling history: Steve Austin.
Austin was interviewed by Sports Illustrated in the immediate aftermath of the PLE. He was asked if he had any advice for Cena. Austin said he could not offer any, which was advice in itself: he basically said that Cena might be doomed to fail whatever he tries to do. Austin stressed that his turn at WrestleMania 17 - his idea - was a mistake. Austin said that people weren’t ready for it, and they didn’t want it.
People weren’t ready for Cena’s turn, which had not been foreshadowed, and while they did want to see the heel turn, just to see what it would look like, they didn’t want to see the heel character.
Austin knew the thing was never going to work before Cena cut his first heel promo.