John Cena: I Didn’t Explore Being A Heel Because WWE Didn’t Feel Confident They Had An Alternative
John Cena spent the majority of his WWE run, and his entire run at the top, as the face of WWE.
The face and a face.
Cena and WWE were criticized at various points of his run for not turning heel and always portraying the “Super Cena” character. Cena will have a role switch in the upcoming Fast & Furious movie Fast 9 where he plays the anti-hero to Dominic Toretto.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Cena was asked if this is as close to a heel turn that fans didn’t see in WWE.
“I think this is a beginning to showcase the fact that it’s possible. Now as WWE invests and builds its roster and has a wealth of talent, it truly has many different anchors to the ship. Certainly Roman Reigns being a very marketable and definitive star. I think the reason for me not exploring that side is because WWE didn’t feel confident that they had an alternative. I respect that business choice I really do. But now with them really laying the foundation for their future, I mean even for life in the next decade or so, maybe but I don’t know. But what I do like about Fast is that it shows I am a human being like everyone else. I experience anger, sadness, bitterness, resentment. All those emotions like we all do. I’m given a form to display it, just like with Trainwreck. I’m always known for my childish comedy in WWE because it’s a PG show! Then if I’m put on an R rated comedy, everyone is like ‘Woah! He actually cusses!’ Yeah of course, it’s an R rated comedy. So it’s kind of being given a new set of tools and work with those tools,” he said.
Cena’s heel turn was explored to a degree during the Firefly Fun House match against Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36, which is the last time Cena appeared on WWE television.
Elsewhere during the interview, Cena praised Roman Reigns’ work during the pandemic era and confirmed a WWE return is coming. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
Thanks to Chris Van Vliet for sending in the quotes above.
