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There are just three months left in John Cena‘s legendary WWE career after the superstar announced his retirement tour late last year.
Cena spent a significant portion of that tour playing the heel (bad guy) role after a stunning turn on the WWE champion Cody Rhodes. Cena turned heel in March at the “Elimination Chamber” show, siding with fellow legend The Rock to stand against Rhodes.
He later won the WWE Championship for a record 17th time at “WrestleMania 41,” but The Rock was curiously absent from that show. In fact, The Rock never did return to WWE television for a significant portion of Cena’s heel run, and Cena eventually turned back face (good guy) in August, explaining that he was pressured into being a bad guy by The Rock.
The Rock Left John Cena High And Dry During His Heel Run
Cena’s heel run was a disaster for the WWE. Fans never wanted to actually boo the retiring legend, and Cena struggled to play a convincing bad guy throughout the run.
Ultimately, however, it was a lack of support from The Rock that sank the angle, according to Cena’s father, John Cena Sr.
“Turning John Cena heel was a great idea; the shock factor was great, but I think the storyline was destroyed,” Cena Sr. said. “And that was a very poor move, in my opinion, because it was a big gamble for everyone that was involved. And to see how it started and then to see the characters who were involved no longer be present, well the heel turn almost became non-essential.”
In addition to The Rock, Cena also aligned himself with superstar rapper Travis Scott. Scott eventually made a bizarre guest appearance at WrestleMania, helping Cena defeat Rhodes. But the rapper was reportedly uncommitted to his time in WWE and eventually phased out of the story without any real explanation.
On the whole, the heel run was a colossal waste of Cena’s limited on-screen time remaining, a black spot on what should have been a celebrated retirement tour.