One of WWE’s biggest “what ifs” concerns the biggest star of the PG Era, John Cena, and the fact that he didn’t turn heel during the period in which he procured some of the biggest heat out of everyone on the roster. Cena’s time as a WWE superstar is coming to an end, with him just having four televised matches in three years, with that amount winding down as time goes on. Time is certainly running out on his career as a whole, and even more so on a potential heel turn. Of course, you can never say never in WWE, but what are the chances of a villainous John Cena in today’s WWE?
John Cena Is The Ultimate Babyface, Despite Fans Wanting A Heel Turn
Out of all the biggest babyfaces in WWE history, Cena may top the list of the best “good guys”. He preaches positivity, hard work, and overcoming the odds, with his charity work being nearly unmatched, and his accomplishment list is one of the biggest in WWE history, with a record 16 world titles to his name. During his time as the number one babyface, which stretched from 2005 to around 2016, when his full-time career was winding down, he was one of the biggest draws in the company, with merchandise sales being clear proof of that, only being briefly ousted from that spot on a couple of occasions by the likes of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.
Due to Cena being the ultimate good guy, fans turned against him, which usually happens with clean-cut and goofy babyfaces in WWE. This resulted in a desire from many WWE fans for a heel turn by Cena, giving in to the hate and negativity, but Cena overcame this due to being the ultimate hero, with the fans eventually missing him now that he is gone, and giving him a warm reception every time he returns. There are several occasions in which a heel turn would have worked though.
Cena’s feuds with The Rock, CM Punk, and Bray Wyatt were all instances in which a turn to the dark side could have been interesting, but WWE never pulled the trigger. It would have perhaps helped in building the next big face had Cena turned heel too. He remains one of the only top names to never turn heel, with the likes of The Rock, Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, and more recently, Roman Reigns, all going down the dark route eventually, but Cena remains an anomaly – but could that change?
John Cena’s Returns To WWE Will Be Less Frequent As Time Goes On
Cena is now working as a Hollywood actor, consistently being featured in big movies, taking up most of his schedule, which made it even more surprising that he found time to spend a couple of months in WWE in 2021, wrestling on live events regularly and appearing on TV. However, going forwards, his schedule is likely to become much fuller, taking away the chance of the odd match here and there in the fear of injury – which is something that has largely kept The Rock away from one more return match.
However, Cena is someone who has a lot of love for the wrestling business, with a longer tenure than the likes of The Rock, so is more likely to find time to fit in a return to WWE. When it comes to returning, he is more likely to have a run as a heel now more than ever. With him not having the same ties and commitments he had whilst in WWE, he may be more inclined to experiment and try to be a bad guy for a feud or two. It would certainly freshen up the Cena character, and it would provide some great content.
It Is Too Late For A John Cena Heel Turn In WWE
In all likeliness, despite it having a higher chance now that he isn’t a full-time member of the roster, there is a very low chance of him shedding the bright colors and positivity in favor of becoming a heel, with this perhaps even being confirmed within his Firefly Funhouse Match. Cena has been the same character for so long that he is a brand now, and his entire image surrounds the good work that he has done both inside and outside the ring, and he may not want to muddy that reputation.
If he were to turn heel, then it would have to result in a longer commitment to WWE for it to play out and make sense, and at this point in his career, he won’t be having stints that last longer than a couple of months here and there. There is also a chance that a heel turn doesn’t pan out successfully, and both WWE and Cena may not want to risk his marketability as a draw if he is to be brought back for a major program around a big four PPV.