The HUGE John Cena Tease You Totally Missed At Backlash 2025 (WWE News)
A long-term character arc is in play...
WWE fans spotted a potentially intriguing development at Saturday's Premium Live Event.
After successfully defending the WWE Undisputed title at Backlash 2025 in a wild, excessive match against Randy Orton, the fans in St. Louis, who may have watched Cena perform live in the ring for the last time, awarded him with chants of "Thank you, Cena" after the PLE broadcast. Cena looked visibly moved by the reaction, which fans on social media platform inferred was a deliberate use of body language. Many believe this was the first tease of a long-term redemption arc.
This tracks with an interview Chris Van Vliet conducted with Cena last year. Cena revealed that he came close to turning during his prime as a full-timer in 2012. The idea then was to use the heel turn as a platform for a redemption angle. "We all turn heel at one point," Cena said. "It's just a matter of if you see the light". Cena elaborated, saying stories of "redeemable" characters are "beautiful".
Is he telling one of those stories right now?
Opinion - This Is Ambitious
There's a problem with this potential story, and it's the same problem that has plagued Cena throughout virtually his entire run as a headliner - if drawing massive houses and earning millions and millions of dollars can even be considered a problem.
Since turning heel at Elimination Chamber, Cena, currently reigning with his "record" 17th World title, has continued to command duelling chants of "Let's go, Cena" / "Cena sucks". Whether it's a result of his inability to play heel, or his divisive essence, Cena is receiving the exact same reactions he did between 2005 and, what, 2017?
It doesn't matter what Cena does. The reaction to him will always be performative, rendering the intention of his work dissonant or lost entirely. This has the potential to flatten any genuine emotional resonance to the long-term character arc.