John Cena has reflected on his heel turn and the fan reaction that drove WWE to return him to babyface status during his retirement tour, telling The Rich Eisen Show that the audience response was the central factor in the storyline shift.
Cena’s heel turn was the central creative moment of his 2025 retirement run. The turn came at Elimination Chamber and represented Cena’s first heel run in nearly two decades. He held the WWE Undisputed Championship as a heel for several months before turning back to babyface in the lead-up to SummerSlam 2025, where he lost the title to Cody Rhodes in their second feud match. Cena’s final WWE match came at Saturday Night’s Main Event in December 2025 against GUNTHER.
“A lot of fans didn’t like his heel turn, and honestly, in talking about that, when I did, I tried to do it in the most realistic manner. The true heel turn of, I mean, there are many, many different ways I could have gone, but I kind of stayed as myself. You know, I didn’t change up the uniform. I didn’t change up the music. I started to try to find a real place of why I would choose a non-virtuous path, and me being frustrated with the audience of all these years of being such a polarizing character seemed like the strongest connection, and the audience got a taste of it. They’re like, ‘no, we want the real you back.'”
Cena stated the eventual face turn as another in a series of creative risk decisions across his WWE career.
“I always like new creative challenges, and that’s why, I mean, very rarely, I honestly don’t think I’ve said no to any sort of creative decision in WWE. I’ve always tried to embrace it and do the best I can, and right up until my final moment of tapping out with fulfillment on my face, which was very mixed reviews on that as well. I always enjoy a creative challenge. I’m not afraid to take those risks.”
Cena is now in his post-retirement WWE role as a brand partner and special guest. He hosted WrestleMania 42 in 2026 and announced the John Cena Classic at Backlash earlier this month. The John Cena Classic is targeted for the end of 2026, lining up with the one-year anniversary of his retirement match against GUNTHER. Netflix has reportedly expressed interest in hosting the event on its platform.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit The Rich Eisen Show and include a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
