Earlier this year, John Cena did a shocking heel turn when he sided with The Final Boss against Cody Rhodes at Elimination Chamber. This led to a WrestleMania match between him and Rhodes over the Undisputed WWE Championship. The match received criticism from fans when Travis Scott showed up to cost Rhodes his title. By the time Cena turned babyface again, his heel turn had already failed, according to many fans.
John Cena recently had a conversation with Bill Simmons of The Ringer, where he discussed his heel turn and if he regretted the way things turned out.
John Cena Says He Didn’t Have Enough Time To Make His Heel Turn Work
Cena explained that he didn’t have much time to tell the story he wanted. His retirement was announced a year in advance, and he turned heel only a few months before his final match.
The Cenation Leader said it takes 5 years for a wrestler to get over with the fans, and another year or two if they want to turn them.
“I think a lot of people were wondering, ‘What would happen if John Cena turned heel?’ And then when I did, it left a taste in people’s mouths that they didn’t like it, and they wanted other stuff. ‘I wanted a music change, I wanted a uniform change, I wanted him to act like this.’
I got 11 months to do this. 36 TV appearances. It takes five years to get over a guy, regardless. If you turn him, it’s going to take a year or two on television for it to sink in, especially if you really want to get into it and be able to flip and get a performer to get a flip on the other side when it’s time to turn again. I don’t have the time to tell the right story.”
Cena later said that he overprepared for his heel turn. He tried his best, and the WWE fans simply didn’t like it.
You can check out John Cena’s full interview with Bill Simmons below:
Nevertheless, WWE fans only have a few days to see Cena wrestle again. He will be hanging his wrestling boots on Saturday Night Main Event this month, and will never wrestle again.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Bill Simmons and provide an H/T to LastWordOnSports.com.
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