The Last Days Of Heel John Cena

Was McMahon angry that Cena had sexualised his daughter with a rap? Was he livid that he'd landed a couple of significant blows on his current meal ticket Brock Lesnar, or even that Cena had accepted a spot on a Survivor Series team opposing 'The Beast'?

Was he f*ck.

But he was absolutely raging when some young punk interrupted him talking about himself, and the rancid sex he planned to have with Sable. Seriously. The opening of the November 20th, 2003 edition of SmackDown finds a barely-mobile McMahon selling and celebrating his ill-gotten victory over The Undertaker at the Survivor Series, and how said win has empowered him more than ever before to put any rival in his or her place. He was "unstoppable", "invincible", "untouchable" and wanted nothing to do with anybody other than the former Playboy cover star keeping him...ahem, upright.

The opening strains of Cena's original theme subsequently drew a huge pop. Commentators questioned his wisdom as cameras cut kids holding up "Word Life" and "Basic Thuganomics" signs, making it abundantly clear which way the wind was blowing on the gimmick. He acknowledged the Houston locale, made some horrifically dated references about Sable and McMahon's relationship, and threw the microphone up in the air at the end to let the crowd say "f*ck".

He may have still been trying to play it ice cool, but these weren't the final days of 'Big Match John' as a heel, they were the first ones of him as a babyface. Having won the aforementioned Survivor Series match for his side (with an F-U on The Big Show, no less) and now this, he'd had an eventful week. And yet, just over a month earlier, he was suffering the effects of a beating from 'The Deadman'.

How had things changed so fast?

CONT'D...