Hiya!

We are a couple of weeks into what should be the most groundbreaking heel changes in the modern WWE era. Every wrestling fan should know by now the impossible happened at Elimination Chamber: the WWE finally turned John Cena into a bad guy. The man who used to espouse the tenants of “Hustle, Loyalty and Respect” finally turned his back to the fans after winning the aforementioned Elimination Chamber match by siding with The Rock and unexpectedly attacking Cody Rhodes.

This sent shockwaves throughout wrestling fandom with multiple people saying it was one of the biggest heel turns ever. However, I’m of a more tempered mindset and I would like to wait how it all works out before I include it in the pantheon of the best heel turns ever. Even so, I will admit seeing John Cena beat on Cody Rhodes and be the bad guy at Wrestlemania did more than just pique my interest.

The biggest problem is, despite it being the biggest story in professional wrestling and the most noteworthy thing the WWE has done in recent memory, they are flubbing it. The WWE took too long to strike and now the proverbial iron isn’t hot anymore.

You have to understand how, in professional wrestling, timing is everything. In the ring, things have to fire off in the right order and at the right time. If it doesn’t, then you’re immediately taken out of the moment and you’re just not in the flow anymore. A good example of this would be if a wrestler sets up a table in the ring. Even if they don’t use the table immediately, you know it’s going to be used later on in the match. Maybe it’ll be used in the finish when you least expect it.

This is okay in a match… but it isn’t good for storytelling in the world of professional wrestling. When it comes to crafting a tale in wrestling, you have to keep things moving at a brisk pace. If something big happens at a pay-per-view, well, you have to tune in to RAW or Smackdown to check out the immediate aftermath. This is especially true when it comes to surprise character changes like heel turns.

Let’s take a look back at what I would call the greatest heel turn ever: Hulk Hogan joining the Outsiders, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, and forming the New World Order at Bash at the Beach 1996. Like with John Cena, it was virtually unthinkable to foresee Hulk Hogan becoming a bad guy as he’s been a good guy, nay, the good guy of pro wrestling. Having him betray WCW and join this invading force was a shock, to be sure.

Now, when did Hulk Hogan explain why he decided to side with the Outsiders and backstab WCW? He didn’t wait for Monday to explain himself on Monday Nitro. No, he did it at the very end of Bash at the Beach 1996! He did it when tempers were flaring and people were seething at their former hero! Emotions were raw and, at this time, some pro wrestling fans probably believed this was all real! This is probably why some fans started throwing trash at Hulk Hogan while he was explaining his reason for turning heel! Heck, there was a fan who rushed the ring and tried to attack Hulk Hogan. That’s how big of a heel turn this was!

What does the WWE do with John Cena’s heel turn? Practically nothing!

Okay, if I’m being fair, they did do a few things. They had CM Punk, who has no connection to this storyline, mind you, come out and verbally attack The Rock and John Cena. Sure, it was an awesome promo but, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really add anything to the current situation. They also had Cody Rhodes come out during the RAW and Smackdown shows after Elimination Chamber and did a promo focused on The Rock and John Cena.

The problem is The Rock and John Cena weren’t there!

They are the one who are behind the John Cena heel turn. They are the ones we want to hear from. They are the ones who are in the best position to explain why John Cena made a deal with The Rock. We didn’t get that. We got radio silence from them. Then, two whole weeks after Elimination Chamber, we finally got John Cena face-to-face with Cody Rhodes. Took you long enough!

What makes things ever worse is how John Cena’s reasoning comes off as very vanilla. It was a good promo with a lot of intensity. The problem is it’s the classic “I became bad because of the fans” story. Boo hoo! This also doesn’t make a whole lot of sense because, if you’ve been watching from the start of John Cena’s farewell tour, the fans are actually behind him! We were glad to see him have one more year in the WWE! The fans were actually cheering for him by this time because we knew this was going to be his last stint with the WWE! We might have booed him before. We weren’t doing that when he announced his retirement tour!

Also, the WWE wasted a golden opportunity by giving a new dimension to John Cena. If the explanation was he wanted to ensure his getting one more run as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and he needed to side with The Rock to do that, then that would give John Cena a more human side. He’s desperate to get one more title run and he had to make a deal with the devil to get it. Wouldn’t that have been more interesting than the overused “the fans hate me” schtick they opted to go with here?

Not having either The Rock or John Cena come out to explain their side of the story immediately just took the wind out of this story’s sails. Instead of building the intensity and, more importantly, the anger towards them, they let it all subside. While they were mentioned here and there, it’s just not enough in the world of pro wrestling. When John Cena finally came out, his reasoning just didn’t echo in any sort of truth. So, all this buildup was for a lame and boring explanation.

They are trying to salvage this humungous lull in active storytelling with that RAW segment. They did try to make us hate John Cena and why he turned his back on the fans. However, like I said, this wasn’t a satisfying answer. I can only think how much better it would have been if they did it on the RAW or the Smackdown right after Elimination Chamber while everyone is talking about it. Hopefully, the WWE can course correct this by upping the intensity during this long road to Wrestlemania and make this feud white hot. Make John Cena and The Rock do something truly despicable to show they mean business. I can’t help but think how much better this feud would be if they did it when everyone’s tempers were flaring at John Cena. Instead, we got a very long delay and a lame explanation. What a waste of a good heel turn, WWE!

Byee!

Do you think the WWE is doing a good job with John Cena’s heel turn so far? Let me know in the comments section below!