John Cena has no regrets about the controversial heel turn that became one of the biggest talking points of his WWE retirement tour.
Cena shocked the wrestling world by turning heel during his final year, promising to leave WWE as Undisputed Champion and “ruin wrestling” in the process. The direction drew significant attention, but the creative follow-up also received plenty of criticism before Cena eventually returned to being a babyface.
During an appearance on WrestleRant with Graham GSM Matthews (see video below), Cena was asked whether he believes the heel turn ultimately worked.
“As far as, ‘Did it work?’ There are a lot of aspects to that,” Cena said. “From a business side, we didn’t have a seat left. People watched in numbers. I don’t know if it didn’t work from a business standpoint, but then there’s a creative standpoint.”
Cena compared the situation to a commercially successful movie receiving poor reviews, acknowledging that some fans simply didn’t get what they wanted from the storyline.
“Sometimes, blockbuster movies are poorly reviewed by critics,” he continued. “I understand where, critically, people are like, ‘This isn’t what I wanted.’”
Cena admitted that he would have enjoyed taking the heel character even further by deliberately making audiences desperate to see someone stop him. However, he recognized that such an approach wasn’t realistic from a business standpoint.
“Intrinsically, I would’ve loved to have a chance to literally ruin wrestling,” Cena said. “To wrestle so poorly that people just wanted to see me go and wanted to see a hero thwart me. We didn’t have that kind of time, and that would not have been good for business.”
Cena added, “That would’ve made people stop coming to shows and the numbers go down.”
The 16-time World Champion also revealed that turning heel wasn’t something he requested. Instead, the idea came from Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and Cena said it took him only seconds to agree.
“I’m grateful that I had good guidance and mentors. I’m also accountable for critiques,” Cena said. “Long and short, I’m glad to have done it. I never asked for [the heel turn]. It wasn’t my idea. It was Paul’s idea. He asked me, and two seconds later, I said yes.”
Cena compared his willingness to make the turn with other major decisions from his farewell run, including working with Brock Lesnar and tapping out to Gunther in his retirement match.
“Just like facing Brock or tapping out to Gunther. ‘Yes.’ That’s how I do business,” Cena continued. “Yes, just let me tell the story my way. If we never did it, I would’ve been fine. In reflecting, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
For Cena, experiencing the criticism firsthand has also given him something he can pass along to younger WWE talent about taking creative risks.
“I’m glad we got to do it because it helps me now when I speak to younger talent and say, ‘Be bold. Take chances. Don’t worry about failing,’” he said. “I come from a place of activity, not a place of privilege where I’m in some sort of protective bubble.”
Cena is willing to accept the argument that his heel run didn’t work creatively, but he doesn’t regret taking the chance.
“A lot of folks will say, ‘The heel turn failed.’ Okay, I accept that as a failure, but I swung boldly,” Cena said.
He feels similarly about the criticism surrounding his final match, which saw Cena submit to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event in December.
“A lot of folks were upset with the finish of the last match,” Cena added. “I accept that critique, and I feel great that I swung boldly in my final moment.”
Cena turned babyface less than six months after his shocking heel turn and ultimately wrapped up his in-ring career by tapping out to Gunther in his final match.
Despite retiring from competition, Cena remains connected to WWE. The company is also expected to hold the previously announced John Cena Classic at some point this year.
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