Like many wrestling fans, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin wasn’t impressed with John Cena’s heel turn, which occurred during the early portion of his retirement tour in 2025.
Cena spent his career as a “babyface,” or fan favorite, but he turned on the fans in the leadup to Wrestlemania 41. To many, Cena’s heel turn felt forced, and underwhelming, and that’s apparently how Austin felt about it too.
"Everybody - not everybody - a lot of people wanted to see at least one John Cena heel turn in his run," Austin said in an interview with with Chris Van Vliet, via Sports Illustrated.
"It was okay. It was okay, you know? I like him better as a babyface. I wanted to see him as a heel at some point during his career, the way that it was done, and I’m not knocking booking. I’m just like, 'Man, this far in, forget about it. Just let him do his thing.' F---ing kids love that guy.”
Cena’s retirement tour as a whole wasn’t especially well-received. It received an extremely unfavorable ‘F’ grade from Donald Wood of Bleacher Report last month. The heel turn was cited specifically by Wood as a main factor in the failing grade.
“… the heel turn doomed the tour's success, as mishandled matchups and rivalries marred it throughout,” he wrote.
There were probably many people out there who enjoyed Cena's heel turn, but it feels like there were far more who took umbrage with it. At the end of the day, some guys just aren’t meant to play the villain, and Cena probably falls into that category.
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