There aren’t many human beings who represent moral good more than John Cena. He’s the star of multiple family movies, the record-holder for Make-a-Wish charity appearances, and his wrestling character has been a flag-waving do-gooder for at least the last 20 years. But at WWE Elimination Chamber this weekend, in front of the whole world, he smashed the kids’ new favourite wrestler in the face with a Rolex watch and left him bleeding in the middle of the ring.
It’s difficult to explain just how momentous this was. Most wrestlers change between the good guy (babyface) role and villain (heel) role multiple times throughout their careers. It helps to keep their characters fresh and open them up for new rivalries and storylines. John Cena, though, hasn’t turned heel since 2003, when his obnoxious rapper character first started aiming diss tracks at villains instead of the heroes. That’s 20 years of stasis interrupted in one incredible segment.
Cena has always represented something of a culture war in the wrestling world. On the one hand, he’s a dream for the corporate side of the business – a hero for the kids to adore, while encouraging their parents to buy all of his multi-coloured merchandise. But for older fans who have grown up watching his rise to the top, he’s lame, stale, and representative of a sanitised, kid-friendly version of wrestling that, quite frankly, isn’t very cool.
All of that changed in the final moments of Elimination Chamber.
Cena is currently in the midst of a retirement tour for his wrestling career. He has told fans that this is his final year in the ring, now that most of his focus is on his successful work as a Hollywood actor. He has expressed his desire to win the WWE Championship one more time, which would make him the outright record holder for the most reigns as champion. But everybody assumed he would do this as his usual slightly goofy, ultra-earnest good guy. It would have been a proper farewell tour for his long-term persona.
That still appeared to be the case on Sunday night when Cena won the Elimination Chamber match, setting up a title match between himself and Cody Rhodes – the beloved world champion. He embraced the current champion in the ring in a show of respect before, after receiving a signal from The Rock – who has incorporated his real status as a member of the WWE board into his fictional storylines – he allowed his smile to drop and attacked Rhodes with a Rolex watch and the championship belt, leaving him bloody in the ring.
This whole segment had echoes of another classic wrestling moment – Hulk Hogan’s heel turn in 1996. Much like Cena, Hogan was a babyface whose long tenure made him stale when eras passed him by. He might have been the perfect red, white, and blue hero for the 1980s, but the 90s called for something darker and more complex. Cena carried WWE through the transition from the blood and sexuality of the “Attitude Era” into the more family-focused era it has existed in since the late-2000s.
Cena’s heel turn completely changes the stakes ahead of WrestleMania, which is the WWE’s next big event in April. Last year, Rhodes won the title by beating Roman Reigns – who had held the title for more than three years and had the backing of The Rock, as well as the other members of his Samoan wrestling dynasty. In order to win, Rhodes had to overcome arguably more odds than any other babyface in modern wrestling history. That was always going to be a tough act to follow.
John Cena has been one of WWE's biggest heroes for decades
(Credit: Ed Webster)
By turning Cena into The Rock’s latest hand-picked fighter, WWE has found a way to pit Rhodes as the underdog again. In order to preserve his status as champion, he has to beat the most dominant WWE star of the 21st century, who comes with the backing of The Rock and his associated corporate status. Wrestling is often about raising the stakes as high as possible before finding a way to match that in future. The John Cena heel turn is the ultimate example of that.
This is a devotee of the wrestling business going all-in on a darker final chapter in his career. Cena has always maintained that he won’t grant Make-a-Wish charity meet-and-greets if he ever turns heel, so presumably all of that is on hold for now. If he’s doing this, he’s going all the way – and that’s to be respected. He won’t be shaking kids’ hands by day and beating up their heroes by night. He’s committing to his new character.
John Cena becoming a bad guy is monumental. It’s the equivalent of Superman joining Lex Luthor or Mr Tumble swearing at the smiling kids watching his shows. In an era of wrestling where the fiction is front and centre, there aren’t many moments like this left – and it makes WrestleMania fascinating. When wrestling’s biggest modern day hero has another man’s blood on his knuckles, all bets are off.
WWE Elimination Chamber is streaming now on Netflix in the UK.
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