A heel turn for John Cena: Too little, too late
When John Cena beat Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 30, the cult leader's momentum came to a halt. Six years later at WrestleMania 36, The Fiend defeated the Cenation Leader in a Firefly Funhouse match to avenge the most important loss of his WWE career.
Firefly Funhouse match: A unique look at John Cena's WWE history
The psychological bout in question wasn't just about Wyatt getting his win back. In fact, the FFH match was a rollercoaster ride and covered different stages of John Cena's WWE career from a never-before-seen perspective.
Throughout the bout, the two-time Royal Rumble winner was criticized for various things that he did wrong in his career. Going over Wyatt in 2014, acting as the golden goose, not turning heel when there was a huge demand for it (the nWo reference), etc. were some examples.
When all was said and done, John Cena was exposed by Wyatt as the "most overhyped, overvalued, overprivileged WWE Superstar in existence." If that didn't indicate the end of Cena's superhero-esque character in WWE, nothing else would.
Thus, it wouldn't make sense for the 16-time world champion to make his WWE return as the same character that he has been portraying since 2005. The Fiend has been proving for over a year now that he changes the people he comes in contact with and makes them embrace who they really are. Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, and Daniel Bryan are some examples to support that claim.
So, a character change for John Cena in WWE could mean that he reverts to one of his old gimmicks. Or better yet, he could transform into a snobbish Hollywood heel character with shades of his reputation as the company's golden boy.
But the question remains - is the time right for John Cena to turn heel, or has WWE jumped the shark on something that could have changed the landscape of the wrestling industry eight years ago?
2012: The year John Cena should have turned heel
It's always recommended to strike while the iron is hot. Following WrestleMania 28, the timing and circumstances were beyond perfect for WWE to turn John Cena heel. The 16-time world champion kicked off 2012 by finding himself in a psychological feud against Kane.
During the said rivalry, the Big Red Machine was adamant about making Cena "embrace the hate." The Cenation leader was just a couple of months away from eating an embarrassing defeat at the hands of The Rock. Everything was perfectly aligned for Cena to pledge his alliance to the dark side.
But then, nothing happened and after his match against The Rock at WrestleMania 28, Cena was back to his winning ways and successfully rose above hate.
It turns out that there were actually plans in place for John Cena to turn heel in 2012. Former WWE writer Kevin Eck revealed that even though Vince McMahon was ready to introduce a new heelish persona of John Cena to the WWE Universe, he had to abandon any such plans.
“We were very close. We had Vince sign off on it at one point and Cena was on board to do it. We started making plans for it and then Vince got cold feet."
As per Eck, the reason why WWE didn't go through with the heel turn was because Vince McMahon couldn't find any Superstar credible or popular enough to replace John Cena as the company's top babyface. Moreover, WWE had signed an exclusive merchandise deal with Walmart.
"I'm actually the heel," says John Cena
Being fully aware of the compliments and complaints the WWE Universe directs at his character, Cena has stated that he considers himself a heel.
"It's weird with me because I am supposed to be the hero, but I'm actually the heel, and everyone's just like, 'Man, why don't you just turn bad so you can be cool again!' Wait, wouldn't that make me good? I don't even know."
John Cena's heel turn wouldn't be effective now
After missing the boat on turning John Cena heel on more than one occasion, WWE should be careful about executing any such plans now, if they are in place. There are a number of reasons why a heel turn for Cena now wouldn't work as better as it could have a few years ago.
For starters, John Cena's Hollywood career has taken off. From starring in multiple movies per year to leading a superhero TV series and landing hosting gigs, it's illogical to expect Cena to make regular appearances in WWE anytime soon.
A heel John Cena could have been a gamechanger for the business back in the day, but his limited availability may hinder the effectiveness of his villainous character.
Moreover, the Tribal Chief persona of Roman Reigns has almost everything that the fans wanted to see in a character that had changed from a top babyface to a snobbish heel.
And even if Cena signs a short-term deal with WWE to become a regular on-screen character for a couple of months, a heelish persona may not connect well with the fans. A few years ago, Cena had this to say about a potential heel turn (transcription credit: Comic Book.com):
"I have had a great career in the WWE and for that entire time I have been the good guy and that kind of went into my films so far, and now it doesn’t seem like my character in the WWE will ever evolve into that bad guy role that perhaps a lot of people have wanted; so this is kind of a way for my fans from that aspect of my career to see that side of me."
However, with the Cenation Leader portraying a villainous character in Fast & Furious 9, coupled with the events that occurred in the Firefly Funhouse match, it looks like he is now ready to introduce a different side to the fans.
Therefore, even though a potential heel turn for John Cena might not seem as big of a deal as it would have when he was in his prime, it would definitely be interesting to witness. Moreover, one should never resist change and wait to see how things play out in the end.
It is rumored that John Cena will make his highly-anticipated WWE return on the road to WrestleMania 37
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and don't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.