John Cena has been told that he can’t play a good heel and that his villainous run during his WWE Farewell Tour was just an “experiment” that didn’t work out.
The 17-time world champion turned babyface on the SmackDown before SummerSlam (August 1), admitting that he’d flushed everything he believed in down the toilet. He suggested that his heel turn was forced on him by The Rock as he reconnected with WWE fans.
WWE Hall of Famer Tells John Cena He’s Not A Heel
John Cena’s issues while trying to work as a heel stemmed from the decades spent playing the company’s top babyface. While he’s established a successful Hollywood career, he failed to play the bad guy in WWE because it came off too forced.
That was a stance echoed by two-time WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, who worked both as a face and heel during his illustrious career. He explained on his Hall of Fame Show:
“I really think this is all about John Cena not being a heel. John Cena is not a heel. He can’t even play a good heel. He tries to make his face look like he’s bad, and you know it’s not real. You know that is nowhere near … that’s just not him.”
Some were expecting Cena to pull a fast one on Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam and continue his heel run but that wasn’t the case. He instead encountered a returning Brock Lesnar who hit him with an F-5 to close the show:
“So I thought the babyface turn was John Cena just saying, ‘Hey man, let’s just of course correct and get back on pace. We know Brock Lesnar’s coming back. I’ll be able to do something with that on the way out.”
Cena had been a babyface since around 2003 when he underwent a character transformation after previously using a cocky rapper gimmick. He became one of the most beloved wrestlers the bussiness has ever seen and Booker T felt that his recent heel work was just an experiment on the way out:
“I don’t think it was a heel run, you know? I mean, I thought he was messing around. I mean, he was experimenting, you know? I mean, he was trying something, but everybody’s just not meant to be a heel. That’s just the way it is.”
Cena will soon be retiring from in-ring competition when his Farewell Tour is up in December 2025. There were fears of him ending his career while still trying to get the heel persona over but his recent face turn has given the tour a fresh lift especially regarding potential opponents.
Triple H Praised John Cena For Challenging Himself
Triple H was full of praise for Cena when his shocking heel turn took place at Elimination Chamber in March, commending him for looking to challenge himself with his retirement in sight. WWE’s chief content officer spoke on the PLE’s post-show press conference:
“When you get to a place in your career, when you know you have months left on the thing that launched you to the rest of the world, it puts you in a different perspective.”
He added:
“It puts you in a place of, it’s now or never, and you can ride that out, and you can rest on the things that you have done, and you couldn’t really blame John for doing that, for just saying, ‘I’m gonna come in and I’m gonna ride the nostalgia wave for the next ten months. Or somebody like him can double down and say, screw it, I want to be challenged right to the last moment.”
John Cena’s heel run saw him reignite feuds with former rivals but with the roles reversed following his victory over Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41. He beat Randy Orton at Backlash courtesy of an R-Truth run-in before defeating CM Punk at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia.
The heel turn itself will forever be one of the most shocking moments in WWE history, but the story told thereafter left much to be admired. His babyface turn gives fans the chance to see him ride off into the sunset against the younger generation, including Logan Paul, whom he faces at Clash in Paris on August 31.
