Hiya!

It’s finally happened! John Cena, who everyone thought would be the WWE‘s eternal babyface, turned and sold his soul to the Devil The Rock, betraying Cody Rhodes as he punches his ticket to Wrestlemania for one more shot at the title.

Yes, in a very surprising turn of events, John Cena, after winning a hard-fought battle at this year’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, attacked Cody Rhodes after the current Unified WWE Universal Champion declined to “sell his soul” to The Rock as he already gave his soul to the business and the WWE Universe. As this happened after the Men’s Elimination Chamber match, John Cena was in the ring while this confrontation happened. Cena then seemingly hugged Rhodes in solidarity but it was just a ruse. Cena then brutalized Cody Rhodes on The Rock command, making it known he finally became a heel.

Fans have been asking for the WWE to have John Cena turn heel and, after years of being denied and despite him being booed for being too much of a goody two shoes, we accepted this wasn’t going to happen. So, seeing John Cena assault Cody Rhodes, on The Rock’s orders, someone he had a long- standing feud with previously, this was shocking and did make this upcoming Wrestlemania match a whole lot more interesting.

However, as someone who has been a longtime WWE fan, I do have to question the timing of it all. Is it actually a good idea to turn John Cena into a bad guy at time moment in time? Is it wise to make such a momentous change just as he’s slated to retire? Well, that’s what I’m about to debate with myself with right now!

First, although a lot of WWE fans think John Cena has always been the WWE’s perennial good guy, he wasn’t. The really hardcore wrestling fans have very fond memories of the more uncouth version of John Cena before he was more about “Hustle, Loyalty and Respect.” No, we remember him as the Doctor of Thuganomics, who would come out with a silly rap against fan favorites like the Undertaker. This was actually his big break and how the WWE Universe got to know him.

So, being a heel isn’t actually alien to him. In fact, he did such a such a good job at being a rapping heel, fans started to cheer for him! It was only after he became so unlike the gimmick which got him into the big time when the fanbase started to sour towards him. Basically, I’m saying I have no qualms about John Cena turning heel because he is pretty good at time.

On the other hand, I do have to question his reasoning for turing heel. Right now, there isn’t any explanation as to why he turned and sold his soul to The Rock. We can safely assume it’s all linked to him stating he’s going to retire soon and, before he does, he wants one more title run. In his quest for that, he made the deal. However, did he really need to make the deal in the first place? Sure, he lost the Royal Rumble but he did win the spot at Elimination Chamber… without The Rock’s help! So, if he earned the spot fair and square, I don’t really see the need for him to shake The Final Boss’ hand, do you?

Then again, the deal might just be an insurance policy. If John Cena really wants to end his career by getting another championship, he would want assurances. After all, as I mentioned before he lost the Royal Rumble despite being on the verge of winning. I’m not sure if it was overconfidence which caused him to get eliminated but he was looking across the ring from Jey Uso. I highly doubt it was on anyone’s bingo card for Jey Uso to win the Royal Rumble. If I were in John Cena’s position, I wouldn’t want this mishap to happen again. So, in this aspect, it does make sense for him to go to the dark side, so to speak.

On the flip side, despite John Cena turning heel being a big thing, he’s not going to be the heel for this feud. No, that would still be The Rock. He would still be the so-called Final Boss to Cody Rhodes. John Cena is essentially a foot soldier to The Rock in this sense. It does make his switch to being a heel rather anti-climactic as he was the top guy in the WWE for the longest time. It’s utterly underwhelming how, when he did become a bad guy, Cena is essentially just a pawn to The Rock’s grand plan. It would’ve made much more impact if he was the top heel instead of just the subordinate to the top heel.

Then again, it does make Wrestlemania a whole lot more interesting. If it was your regular ol’ good guy John Cena vs. babyface Cody Rhodes, it would have been a good Wrestlemania match and the buildup would just be okay. With John Cena turning heel, the match does get elevated a whole lot. This isn’t just a match between good friends. This becomes a match where one man desperately wants to retain his dignity and the opponent who was desperate enough to throw away his dignity to get what he wants. It’s now about a battle about if good can win over evil.

Ultimately, I do think turning John Cena heel was unnecessary. Like I said, the match would’ve been fine if he didn’t. However, a heel John Cena does lead things into unknown territory. It’s been a while since he was a heel. He’s also been such a goody two shoes for so long. So, it is going to be refreshing to see what this heel John Cena will be like. It does make me want to watch all of the buildup to Wrestlemania and, if they can really draw me in, then I can only assume it’ll be the same for others. Even those who have kind of given up on the WWE and professional wrestling in general have taken notice as a John Cena heel turn is on around the same level as Hulk Hogan joining the Outsiders and turning against the WCW as a whole. It’s not something you would expect!

So, as of now, a whole lot more people are interested in seeing how this will all pan out. If it builds anticipation, then it will bring viewers. If it will bring in viewers, it’ll bring in speculation. If it brings in speculation, it can only lead to hype for the match. So, yeah. It’s great how John Cena is now a heel.

Byee!

What do you think of John Cena turning heel at the end of Elimination Chamber? Let me know in the comments section below!