The abrupt end of John Cena’s heel turn just days before SummerSlam has been one of the most debated creative decisions in WWE this year. Wrestling legend Matt Hardy shared his perspective on the storyline, calling it a worthwhile “experiment” and applauding WWE for being willing to “course correct” when it became clear the angle wasn’t working as intended.
For months, John Cena’s turn to the dark side, influenced by The Rock, was a central storyline on WWE programming. However, on the final SmackDown before the biggest party of the summer, Cena turned back into a babyface, a move that surprised many but one that Hardy sees as a smart business decision.
An Experiment Worth Trying
On his podcast, The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the veteran performer explained that in wrestling, you have to be willing to try new things, and not every idea will be a home run. He defended the company’s choice to try the heel turn, given how polarizing Cena had become over the years.
“It was an experiment. It was it was an attempt to do something, and I, I applaud him for trying it. Who knows if something is going to catch on fire or not. You know, he’d been such a polarizing figure, where he was cheered and he was booed, but they attempted it, and I can’t I can’t wrong them for attempting it. I can’t wrong John for doing that.”
Course Correcting
Hardy believes that ultimately, the fans’ deep-seated love for the John Cena character and his two decades of equity as the company’s top hero made the heel turn an uphill battle. He praised WWE for recognizing this and making the switch back before the major showdown with Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam.
“At the end of the day, people still love him. They know he’s a goat. They know he’s one of the greatest ever do it. They realize how passionate he is, and they know there’s so much equity in John Cena. He is the ultimate entity that it comes through, that they give a s–t about. They’re emotionally connected to him, whether it is good or bad, one way or the other. But most importantly, they are connected to him… The fact that they rolled the dice and they tried this whole thing, I applaud them. And I say kudos for giving it a shot when it was all said and done, it didn’t, it didn’t work out how they hoped it would have but then they course corrected and made things right.”
The pivot allowed for a classic babyface vs. babyface main event at SummerSlam, where Cody Rhodes defeated John Cena. The turn also set the stage for Cena’s confrontation with the returning Brock Lesnar, establishing a new creative direction for his ongoing farewell tour.
Matt Hardy’s podcast drops every Friday at ExtremeHardy.com. If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit ExtremeHardy.com with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
