The WORST Wrestling Story Every Year (1989-2025)
2025 - John Cena’s Heel Turn
The Rock wanted to turn Cody Rhodes heel. Nobody else wanted to do that because it was a stupid idea. However, since the Rock is a very powerful figure, and nobody wanted to tell him that, somebody was going to have to turn.
John Cena, whom the fans had finally embraced as the living ‘G.O.A.T.’ - who was about to embark on a retirement run, during which the fans wanted to passionately get behind him - was selected. As the back-up plan!
The initial angle at Elimination Chamber was so utterly fantastic that everybody was too lost in the shocking fiction to assess whether or not it was a good idea.
It wasn’t, as became clear 24 hours later. On Raw, John Cena explained his actions and blamed each and every one of you for turning your back on him - even though he had been universally beloved for around five years. Cena didn’t acknowledge this, by saying he waited for years to make it really hurt. He just pretended, for some reason, that it was 2012.
Triple H deserves a kicking for his terrible creative here, but Cena enjoys a degree of creative control. His promos were atrocious; the content nonsensical, the delivery hammy even by his standards. John Cena is a very close friend of Vince McMahon. This was very much evident when he explored the full, dire range of Vince heel tropes. Cena hated “you people” and played a chicken sh*t. And for what?
Cena spouted his usual worked shoot nonsense and drew a mixed reaction. Maybe it was 2012 after all.