The True Story Behind John Cena's WWE Heel Turn
Hogan swapping yellow for black had never seemed likely, but it was a necessity. The character young children had once idolised no longer resonated now they were entering teenhood, particularly with the lingering stench of familiarity and Federal investigation. The Hulkster might have been 42 when he made his beachside betrayal, but his wrestling age was instantly reset to zero. The novelty meant four additional years of relevance and remuneration.
Coincidentally, John Cena is 42. Wyatt's tease, though it likely went over the heads of neophytes at home, was designed to draw direct parallels between the arcs of two cross-generational WWE totems. The key difference - and the crux of the skit - was that, despite facing even more vociferous rejection during his unceasing time on top, the number one hero never once dipped his heel in the river of heeldom. The implicit message in the Hogan comparison was: "you should have done what fans demanded years ago, for the sake of your audience if not yourself."
Of course, there was no hint of selflessness in Hogan's switch; dying his goatee wasn't a prelude to ushering in the next era of WCW superstars, but a way of setting scythe to hay whilst the sun shined. The winds of wrestling had shifted, and Hulk was going to make damn sure the sails of his gravy boat pointed in the right direction. His cohorts soon jumped on, riding coattails as they'd done in the '80s heyday.
It made perfect sense for Hogan to take the New World Order route. Though Cena's Superman schtick was loathed by a subset of WWE's audience in a similar manner - particularly his propensity to prevail against all the odds time and time again - the same solution was simply never prudent. It may have satisfied a portion of the fanbase tired of a single man dominating the product, but there were precisely zero business reasons for John to abandon his key ethos of loyalty and respect. The face of WWE was still an icon to a demographic not angrily tapping away on Twitter: children. Learning how to withpart parents of their money has long been the goal of many entertainment avenues. Having cracked it, WWE weren't about to sacrifice their primary merchandise mover.
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