John Cena’s Raw Heel Rant: 3 Wins, 1 Big Miss

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For weeks, wrestling fans have waited for answers from John Cena regarding his shocking heel turn, and they finally arrived live from Germany for fans with Netflix subscriptions. The Champ said a lot on Monday Night Raw about why he broke his 25-year streak as the golden boy of WWE, and while there were a few things I definitely loved, there’s one detail I was upset about.

In just a few weeks, it’s clear that we know what John Cena’s villainous phase at WrestleMania 41 will entail. Although his Instagram posts hinted at Joker-like character, I picked up on several details suggesting this may be the climactic event of his extensive professional wrestling career.

I Love The Longterm Storytelling Tied To Cena’s Career

Too often, the WWE treats wrestling fans like they have the memory of a goldfish. Earlier this year, I criticized The Rock for all but abandoning his promise to challenge Cody Rhodes for the WWE title when he kicked off the first Monday Night Raw, but in truth, that’s par for the course when it comes to storylines that run longer than a year. It was reassuring and appropriate that John Cena’s storyline for his final run will tie into the entirety of his career, making for a climactic endcap to his run.

I Love That John Cena Was ‘Pushed’ To This By Fans

Many professional wrestlers turn heel and face at the drop of a hat, and sometimes there’s no explanation. John Cena, however, has been the top face of the WWE for decades, so from a creative standpoint, there needed to be a reason for him to finally turn his back on the values he’s upheld his entire run. Putting the blame on ungrateful fans who booed him was fantastic. It’s continuing the WWE’s trend of giving heels valid reasons for their motives, which only deepens the storytelling and hopefully will give it more legs as it continues.

I Love How He Played Off The Crowd

Doing promos that rely on crowd work is risky in the WWE because it often relies on the crowd playing along. The good thing is that wrestlers seem to know how fans will respond, perhaps because we’re terribly predictable and will even boo Dominik Mysterio at his wedding. In any case, John Cena seemed to anticipate every response the crowd may have to his promo and managed to work it into “proving his point” they are as awful as he said they were. No one does this better than Cena, but I’m surprised it happened all the same.

I Hate That He Doesn’t Have A Heel Theme

While this was explained by John Cena, I still don’t like that they’re keeping his usual WWE theme for his heel run. It would’ve been a great chance to switch things up and give us something as iconic as the Hollywood Hogan theme, but alas, it looks like “The Time Is Now” will remain the heel theme for Cena. I guess it tracks since Cena is more of a man scorned and lost his way, and maybe I’ll learn to love it as this storyline continues.

Catch John Cena being a heel at upcoming WWE events as he prepares to face Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed title at WrestleMania 41. For more on Cena, be sure to read our story about his aborted heel turn from many years prior and how it could factor into this new run.

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2025-03-18 23:15