John Cena addresses the crowd during Monday evening gross at the OVO Hydro on March 24 in Glasgow, in Scotland.
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For most of John Cena’s career, you couldn’t see him being a villain on television.
Cena has won a record for 16 WWE World Championships since its beginnings in 2002. He took the biggest names in the fight, including The Rock, The Undertaker, Randy Orton and CM Punk. His heroic performances have earned him the nickname of “Supercena” often at the head.
Against all the apparent dimensions, during the critical matches, Cena would go up, hit her finishing movement and pinned her opponents.
And he did most of this as “Babyface” or the good guy in the ring. The Cena gadget attached him to the youngest fans of the fight over the years to the point that he has become the famous Wish Granter of the famous Foundation of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 2022, he established the world record Guinness for most of the wished wishes.
But this weekend, Cena is heading for what should be her last Wrestlemania – the largest showcase in the fight – as heel. He assumed the defending champion of WWE, Cody Rhodes and, if he wins, Cena would break the record for most of the WWE World Championships.
Cena announced last year that he would retire from the competition in the ring at the end of 2025. He shocked fans in March by attacking Rhodes, after obtaining a match for the title, and made his heel turn official.
Since then, Cena has castigated WWE crowds for their romantic relationship with him and has promised to “ruin the struggle” for everyone.
“I’m going to win this championship and get with that. I bring it home with me!” Cena proclaimed a crowd during the March 24 episode of WWE RAW. “I will be the last real WWE champion.”
So, has his time really spent? And why does Cena’s heel become so important for wrestling fans?
Morning edition explored these questions and the evolution of Cena with David Shoemaker, writer for the website of the culture The Ringer and host of his wrestling podcast, The masked man.
This interview has been modified for more clarity and length.
A Martínez: The world of struggle has a word for that, the Talon of the heel. So what is the size of an agreement when John Cena did it?
David Shoemaker: It was really a big problem, one, because John Cena, as you said, had not been a heel for 20 years of his fame. He is just known as the most coherent babyface, as we say in the company. It was also a big problem from the point of view of a fan because we were going to turn the heel for most of these 20 years. We are used to seeing our wrestlers coming and coming on the spectrum. And John Cena was a faithful, refusing to kiss the dark side for all this time.
Martínez: Now, on WWE RAW Last month, Cena sounded as if he liked to play the bad guy. Why would you like to go out like that? I mean, is that something that fans really like? I mean, you said you claim, but does everyone feel it?
Shoemaker: I’m talking to wrestlers all the time. Most of them prefer to play heel. It’s more fun. You can also ham for fans. They all know that hoots are as good as cheers in their workline. Will he get out like a heel? It’s his last year. I guess his last month will probably be as a fans’ favorite because you can always go home. But for the moment, he also does the thing he has always wanted to do too. I mean, it’s not just fans. He spoke openly to want this opportunity, to want to play the bad guy. And I think you can say that from his monologues in the ring, he really appreciates it.
John Cena (left) in Ring and Cody Rhodes during Monday evening gross At the O2 Arena on March 31, 2025 in London, England.
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Martínez: Now, last month, there was another star of the big screen in the ring, Cajolant Cena to go to the dark side. And it was the rock. So, I mean, what does this mean that these two mega movie stars play bad guys of struggle? Does he follow the traces of rock here?
Shoemaker: It is in many ways. The rock returned last year and teased a match of the main event of Wrestlemania, and he was a hero and he thought that everyone was going behind him. But after taking the place of Cody Rhodes, the fans have turned around and said, “No, we don’t want that. We want Cody. It is the guy we followed all this time.” And the rock played it on the fly and turned the heel. And he turned out to be the best movement he could make. I think there was a lot of conventional wisdom that a Hollywood star, the level of the rock, could not play heel because it would endanger its consumer appeal. This would make these interviews with clumsy or other rope line. But he turned out to be the best commercial decision he could have made. It is more famous from time to time than it could have been. Everyone took him in stride. And I think you see the same with John Cena.
Martínez: Do you think he will really retire?
Shoemaker: Well, professional wrestlers are really bad for taking their famous retirement, just like boxers, you know. I mean, you usually retire at the end of a match when everyone looks at you because you want this moment in the sun, right? And then two months later, you sit at home and you have nothing to do and you change your mind. But of all the wrestlers who have already said that they were going to retire, John Cena is the one who, I believe. He is a man, it seems that it is, real conviction outside the ring and would not do it without having really thought it.
Treye Green has published this digital story. The radio version was published by Adam Bearne and produced by Kity Kline and Taylor Haney.
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