John Cena discusses how he had to make big changes during an era shift in WWE
John Cena recently reflected on the evolution of his character during WWE's transition into the PG era.
In 2008, WWE made a strategic shift towards a more family-friendly approach, aiming its content at a family audience and children. Prior to this, John Cena had enjoyed considerable success portraying "The Doctor of Thuganomics." This persona was characterized by his bold demeanor, adept freestyle rapping abilities, and hip-hop-inspired style.
During a recent appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast, Cena disclosed that the decision to move away from his "Doctor of Thuganomics" persona was his own. He explained that although WWE hadn't fully embraced a PG rating by 2006, he chose to evolve his character to better resonate with and appeal to a younger audience.
"WWE moved towards PG, they weren't quite PG yet but they wanted to move in that direction ... you see little kids wearing your stuff and your stuff is pushing the boundaries and then I was like, you know what? I want to stop doing this ... It was my choice," Cena said. [ H/T Wrestling Inc ]
He further explained that this transition enabled him to align his character with his personal ethos of "hustle, loyalty, and respect," values he believed the audience associated him with.
"I had built a relationship with the audience enough where they kind of knew my value system too ... so my thing became like, take a bunch of punishment, never give up ... I wanted to put hustle, loyalty and respect, which really, hustle, loyalty and respect are right in my value lane. So as a young man I got to take my background, and it was a slow change," Cena said.
John Cena recently made a triumphant return to WWE
After assisting Cody Rhodes in his battle against The Bloodline in the main event of WrestleMania 40, John Cena made an unexpected appearance on Monday Night RAW the following night.
He teamed up with the Awesome-Truth duo of The Miz and R-Truth to take on The Judgment Day. All three superstars executed the Attitude Adjustment on their opponents, and Cena secured the victory for their team by pinning JD McDonagh.
It will be interesting to see when Cena will make his next in-ring appearance.