Cena tells Chris Van Vliet what fans would’ve seen from him as a bad guy.
John Cena is easily one of the greatest babyface characters of all time. Despite having been a polarizing character who elicited an equal amount of boos as he did cheers at one time, Cena remained faithful to his fans and himself, staying true to his motto of Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect. That professed level of dedication over so many years could have made a Cena heel turn especially biting, with the potential to rival or overtake Hulk Hogan’s trip to the dark side in 1996.
During a recent interview with media personality Chris Van Vliet, Cena said he got word ahead of his 2012 showdown with The Rock at WrestleMania 28 that WWE was turning him rogue. Upon hearing the news, Cena immediately began crafting a new persona.
“I heard Rumblings of we’re going to do it, and in 48 hours, I had a new track, a new studio mixed theme song, Final Mix,” said Cena. “I had seven new singlets, low-cut singlets with boxing-type robes. I already had the boots in storage, so I dusted them off. I was I was ready to go.”
Cena explained that rather than focus on moves, his goal was to do a 180-turn from the character people were familiar with and to change everything fans loved about him into something they hated. In addition to new gear, Cena was ready to adopt a new attitude that went against everything he stood for.
“So, I would begin to not work as hard. I would show up less. I would be untrustworthy, unloyal. I would lack respect in what I did,” said Cena.
Cena’s description of what his character would’ve been sounds like it would’ve kept him at the head of WWE’s table, perhaps turning fans’ desires to see him go dark against them. Cena said his vision also saw someone else taking the torch from him regarding Make-A-Wish appearances and merchandise sales. But considering how invested WWE had become in hero Cena, the conversation turned to how it would be a bad idea to make Cena a villain.
Regarding heel turns, Cena was asked his thoughts about The Rock embracing the bad guy role in his latest return to WWE. Cena reserved judgment on WWE’s pivot, saying he has to see the end result first. It’s Cena’s opinion that fans aren’t upset with Rock but unhappy with WWE’s shift from the audience’s expectations after the unpopular plot twist before the WrestleMania press conference.
Cena’s conversation with Van Vliet, which you can watch here, also covers his upcoming movie, Ricky Stanicky, who he considers the GOATs in pro wrestling, and what his match with Bray Wyatt would have looked like at WrestleMania 36 before the pandemic hit.
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