ECW legend Tommy Dreamer recently offered his analysis on John Cena’s current run as a heel, explaining why he believes the turn hasn’t been fully effective at generating boos from the audience. Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Dreamer discussed the match between Cena and CM Punk at Night of Champions and the complex nature of being a villain in modern wrestling.
While Dreamer enjoyed the match, which he felt had several believable false finishes, he pointed out that fans continue to cheer for Cena despite his villainous actions. “I still don’t think the heel turn has worked because they just cheer for him,” Dreamer said. “But it does work for… it has given him different opponents. He is going out there and doing his best, and it’s you, the fan that continues to cheer for him.”
Dreamer argued that for a top star like Cena, fully committing to being a heel in today’s media landscape is nearly impossible. “Here’s a difference, the thing that John can’t do that I would do… Like I would stop doing the things that I do,” he explained. “If somebody approached me in a grocery store, I would heel them. I would go 100% all in on social media. I even said this, I probably would quit this show, because why would I want to talk to people?… I couldn’t say, ‘John Cena, stop doing all these commercials.’… His social media is still uplifting. I don’t think he can do that.”
Dreamer then compared the current era to past generations, using Randy Savage as an example of a star who remained dedicated to his character in any public setting. “I grew up in the era of Arsenio Hall, when it was the hottest show on television, and here came Randy Savage and in full gimmick… cutting promos about stuff that’s going on, and whether he was a heel or baby face, he still was being 100% the Macho Man because… he’s on mainstream,” Dreamer recalled.
The conversation also included post-match comments from Triple H, who noted the immense pressure both Cena and Punk felt before their main event match. “The level of energy, the level of excitement, the level of nervousness. I’ve never seen either of them in that position before,” Triple H said. “There was just something different about today.”
Following his victory over CM Punk at Night of Champions, which came after interference from Seth Rollins and others, John Cena is now looking ahead to his next challenge. Cody Rhodes, who won the King of the Ring tournament earlier in the night, has earned a championship match against Cena at SummerSlam.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Busted Open Radio with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
