John Cena retirement tour megathread

[Dale]

WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts has shared his thoughts on John Cena’s recent heel turn at WWE Elimination Chamber: Toronto, stating that while the twist was surprising, Cena never quite had the “oomph” that would make the turn impactful.

During the latest edition of his “The Snake Pit” podcast, Roberts expressed his belief that Cena’s character lacks the necessary intensity and edge to fully resonate as a heel. He said,

“Yeah, absolutely. Sure, why not? It’s time for it for a couple reasons. Number one, Cody’s your top babyface now. So you gotta get those other guys out of there, so he’s the only one. To turn him heel, he’s gonna wind up putting Cody over, which is what they want.”

When asked if he thought Cena had the “it” factor, Roberts replied with the following,

“I don’t think he did. I don’t feel it. Nothing personal. But I just always struggle with him. He just doesn’t have that magic in him, man. His interviews are okay, and his work was good, very good. But he didn’t have that oomph. He had to work really hard.”​

Never thought i'd read Cena not having the IT factor or any magic in him.​

 

[Shane]

 

[Kairi HoHo]

Such a Masterclass if you want to talk about Promos I hope all the young talent in WWE were watching this Segment with Cody and Cena. Right now we've got the Ramen on a Low Temperature and we are upping the levels as Weeks go on.

 

[Chris]

John Cena Sr. shares his opinion on John Cena’s heel turn

“Enjoy what you’re seeing: you’ll never see him in a wrestling ring again”

undisputed.substack.com

John Cena stunned the wrestling world when he turned on Cody Rhodes at Elimination Chamber.

But the shock of his turn ran deeper. He even surprised his own family, especially his father.

“Talk about a swerve,” said John Cena Sr. “I was pretty well taken aback by that. That’s what makes this business so entertaining–when you think you know, somebody always changes the play.”

As for whether he enjoyed it, there was no hesitation in his approval.

“I most certainly did,” said Cena Sr. “It was very, very well done. I’m a big fan of Cody Rhodes, and I think everyone knows how I feel about John. I can’t wait for their match at WrestleMania.”

Cena flipped the industry upside down when he turned, then 15 days later, he cut a scathing promo justifying his actions. No different from when he was playing Pop Warner football, his father watched his every move.

“He was direct, he was to the point, and he gave us his reason for his actions,” said Cena Sr. “I thought it was extremely well done. I’m still amazed he and WWE kept this all under wraps.”

Cena Sr. is no stranger to WWE programming. He has cut memorable promos defending his son, directing his attack toward those who chanted “Cena sucks”.

Of course, Cena Sr. is protective of his son. He is also incredibly proud, watching with awe as John crafted a legendary career in the ring–and became an inspiration out of it.

“John’s done so much to give back,” said Cena Sr. “There is Make-A-Wish and there is a lot more no one knows about it. I’m very proud of what he’s accomplished and how he’s accomplished it.”

Cena, who turned 80 last spring, remains as active as ever. He is a Justice of the Peace, a long standing fixture on the New England wrestling indie scene as Johnny Fabulous, and an entrepreneur.

He is also a dedicated wrestling fan, first falling in love with it more than a half-century ago while watching Bruno Sammartino battle Killer Kowalski. An encyclopedia for professional wrestling, he has one favorite above all else: his son. Say he is biased all you want, but he’ll happily argue the merits of Cena’s career–which is coming to an end at a rapid speed, with the 16-time WWE champion set to retire from wrestling at the end of the year.

“I get a tear in my eye thinking it’s coming to an end,” said Cena Sr. “I don’t think people really believe it, but I know my son. If he says this is the end, then this is it. We’re only a few months away from the last time we see John in jorts in a wrestling ring. So enjoy what you’re seeing: you’ll never see him in a wrestling ring again.”

 

[Shane]

Papa Cena is my GOAT. Idc what anyone says.

 

[Chris]

Ric Flair Reacts to John Cena's 'Raw' Shade, Glad I'm Alive to Hear It!

Ric Flair tells TMZ Sports he's not irked one bit by John Cena's comments on "Raw" this week -- admitting he's just happy to be alive to hear it!

www.tmz.com

"They've been trying to get rid of the 'woo' for 50 years. The 'woo' ain't going away, and neither is Ric Flair."

Flair added he's thankful he's still breathing amid the whole Cena chatter -- especially after the life he's lived ... which included a health scare back in 2019.

Despite catching a stray in Cena's promo ... the 76-year-old believes turning the leader of the C-Nation heel "was the coolest thing they could have done."

In fact, Flair says he hoped Cena would have won the "Royal Rumble" earlier this year ... and certainly seems to be on board with watching him continue to succeed during his last run.

If WrestleMania is the night history is made, Flair will be in attendance to see it with his own eyes -- he'll also be there cheering on his daughter, Charlotte Flair, and will hit up a pool party with TMZ Sports' very own Mojo Muhtadi, too!!

 

[Chris]

Triple H reveals John Cena's brilliant reaction to turning heel

Most WWE fans thought they'd never see John Cena turn heel, but under Triple H's leadership and on the Hollywood star's retirement tour, that's exactly what has happened - but how?

www.dailymail.co.uk

John Cena turning heel seemed like something that just wasn't meant to be.

The 16-time world champion, gunning for his record-breaking 17th at WrestleMania vs Cody Rhodes, was last a bad guy way back in 2003.

Between then and now, Cena has become the poster boy for WWE, a hero to millions of children and, importantly, holds the title for the most wishes granted by a single individual for the Make-A-Wish foundation, at an incredible 650 wishes.

Vince McMahon was never willing to compromise his ultimate good guy. But, with Triple H running the show now and Cena embarking on a retirement tour, it was now or never.

Most fans still assumed the latter. But WWE pushed in the boldest direction possible by having Cena turn heel at the close of the Elimination Chamber event and side with The Rock.

Mail Sport caught up with Triple H at WWE's European tryouts held at their UK Performance Center and we asked the chief content officer if the idea for the heel turn was top of the to-do-list when dreaming up Cena's final run.

'For me? For sure,' Triple H said. 'You always want to approach things like the 'what ifs'. You have a blank slate and John's amazing.

'John comes in and goes "I'm gonna come in for that year and then I'm gonna be done. Whatever we want to do in there, let's go." So you begin to have those conversations.

'What is the absolute biggest possible thing we can do? And then work with the reality of what everything is. People forget about that. All these people are people. Reality, jobs, all these other things. John is wrapping up a movie now.

'But that opportunity is the biggest thing we can do. Would have been very easy - and I'm sure John, at some point, will talk about this - would have been very easy for him to come in here and say, have us roll through all these dates, I'll do my greatest hits - everyone is going to love it.

'I'm going to wave at the fans, kiss babies, sign autographs. Do the same stuff I've been doing for 20-plus years and everybody is going to love it, it's going to be great.

'Or... we can blow people's minds and go in a different direction and make the whole world go "wait, what just happened?"'

And that's exactly what happened. Cena's heel turn was mainstream news the next day leaving fans stunned and children upset in equal measure.

Cena, who turns 48 towards the end of April, has always prided himself on 'hustle, loyalty and respect' and always promised to 'never give up'.

So how difficult was it to convince a perennial good guy with over two decades of good will in the bank to turn to the dark side? Was he difficult to convince?

'No," Triple H instantly answers. 'It was a conversation - without getting into the details - it was a conversation that when it was brought up, everybody... I think in John's mind he was like "wow, I didn't think you were going to say that. I love it."

'It's a challenge to him. John's not a complacent person, right? I think he would have done it and he would have done it happily and he would have done it for fans, but I think there would have been a piece of him that would have been like "alright, I'm just going to go through my day here."

'This now, I guess it's no different than if a Hollywood role for any actor where they say "we'd like you to play the character you've played in 20 other movies pretty much and just do the same thing."

'It's like "OK." At a certain point in time they come and they give you something way off something you've ever done and you're like "Wow, alright, that's a challenge I've never done before."

'That energises you and gets your creatives juices going and excites you, it lights you up as a performer. This is going to be special because John is lit up about it. We're lit up about it. It's going to be incredible.'

It's believed Cena has around 35-40 dates on his contract for the retirement tour and has only made a handful of appearances at the time of writing.

The Hollywood star will appear at the O2 Arena opposite his WrestleMania 41 foe tonight for the final televised night of the European tour.

 

[Chris]

John Cena Promises 'More Unpredictability on the Way' After Shocking Heel Turn (Exclusive)

John Cena exclusively tells PEOPLE that 'more unpredictability' is on the way for WWE fans after his shocking heel turn.

people.com

John Cena’s heel turn last month was one of the biggest swerves in WWE history, but just wait, because the 16-time world champion says there’s a lot more ‘unpredictability’ coming.

Cena, 47, recently spoke with PEOPLE while in Budapest and opened up for one of the first times publicly about the historic moment.

“I'm going to say that there's more unpredictability on the way,” Cena says of his next WWE matches, during an interview about his role in Neutrogena’s new ad campaign surrounding its SPF products and the importance of UV protection.

Cena shocked WWE fans when he joined sides with his longtime rival Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and attacked WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at the end of the Elimination Chamber event last month, turning heel for the first time in 22 years — the longest any WWE character has ever gone without a soap opera-esque change of heart.

The moment made headlines around the world and set up a highly anticipated one-on-one world title match between Cena and Rhodes, 39, at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas on April 20.

Cena politely deflected when PEOPLE asked him for more details about what to expect from his character in the coming weeks leading up to the match.

“Here's the stance I'm going to take on it, and I think hopefully I can put it in terms you can understand: We're in the middle of a very riveting season of episodic television and you are kindly asking me to give you spoilers, and I can't do that,” Cena says. “What I did really enjoy about your question is you expressed the unpredictability of WWE programming, and I think that's one strong point of the current state of WWE is its unpredictability in its programming.”

Last year, the Fast & Furious star announced his plans to retire from professional wrestling in 2025, telling fans next month’s WrestleMania “will be the last I compete in.”

"I know, I know, that's a lot to take in, right? Probably a lot of questions out there," Cena said upon the announcement.

The two biggest questions now: Will Cena have a change of heart at WrestleMania? And will he win a record-breaking 17th world championship, breaking his tie with Ric Flair for the most all-time in pro wrestling history?

Cena, who first debuted in WWE in 2002, also opened up about what his decades-long career in the ring has meant to him and whether there’s anything left for him on his WWE bucket list.

“Gosh, I think if anything, if you get to that point ... man, I don't know,” Cena wonders. “I want to be careful by not spoiling the cool moments that we have, but this is something that goes beyond WWE programming. I just love it, and I think that when I can no longer compete, I will always be a member of the WWE family in some capacity, whether I can pass on my wisdom through mentorship or be an advocate and a spokesperson for the brand. They certainly will have to shoo me away, because I'm like you, I'm a fan first and I love it so much.”

 

[Butters]

Cena gonna manage cody by the end of this

 

[Kairi HoHo]

I like hearing those words because it frustrates me to no end where I know where Feud/Match is going two or three steps ahead of some people. I liked to feel man I didn't see that happening it makes me feel like a first time watcher again.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

Last night's promo was so good. Cena said he makes billionaires and Cody takes from their children which had in my stitches . Cooked each other to bits last night.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

Here's one of the coolest ideas I've heard about Cena turning Orton. Check it out and let me see what you think.