Cody Rhodes and John Cena were once again under the same roof for a highly anticipated promo battle. The reason for the most pivotal heel turn in the modern era definitely needs to be explained in more detail. Quite frankly, his explanation so far has been rubbish.
Cena, who is renowned as a polarizing figure in professional wrestling, explained that he was in a toxic relationship with the fans and had to break up with them. He felt that the fans loved to take and receive but did not want to give back as an appreciation for all that Cena did for them in the world of professional wrestling for the past twenty years. This was an entire 180 from what Cena wanted his farewell tour to look like, as he did say that he actually wanted to give back to the fans in the final year of his career. This was as basic as any trope utilized for a heel turn and looked like a lazy execution.
Granted, Cena has impeccable delivery, can gaslight the fans, and can spin any story he is given to fit his narrative. However, this explanation did not hit home. Most heel-turn explanations come down to turning their backs on the fans due to a lack of appreciation. This explanation by Cena did not make his heel turn feel special or unique. He also said that he would not come out to a new theme song or dress in new merch because the fans don't deserve that. WWE portrayed this as heel heat, but what it really came off as was a lack of foresight in storytelling anda lack of creativity in character development.
Furthermore, his explanation had nothing to do with why he sold his soul to The Rock and attacked Cody at Elimination Chamber. WWE is almost three weeks away from WrestleMania, and they still have not sold to the fans why Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena matters as a top rivalry for the World Title. There is no solidified heat between the two superstars, and WWE has not yet established why the fans should care about these two wrestling in the main event of WrestleMania. All the fans know is that Cena turned heel and wants to win #17. They have no idea why he has beef with Cody Rhodes.
John Cena versus Cody Rhodes need more of a story
The fact that there were no important seeds planted for what should be one of the biggest title matches in recent memory is a mere exemplification of shoddy storytelling and lazy booking. John Cena's obsession with winning #17 should actually be the true motivation behind his actions. For someone who is so acquainted with winning big matches in his career, the fact that he has lost matches continuously in the past five years during his part-time Hollywood stint should incentivize him to do whatever it takes to win, no matter how immoral those actions could be in his last year.
Turning John Cena heel was a good idea for his farewell tour, as it adds something new to the table, especially since most fans were getting bored with his stale babyface character that has been run to the ground for the past twenty years. Granted, keeping his face was a good PR business decision for merch sales and all the kids who looked up to Cena. Now that this is his final year, WWE has nothing to lose, and a heel turn is worth exploring. However, the way WWE executed this heel turn was poorly planned and was as generic as a heel turn executed in WWE 2K 25. This was absolute rubbish.
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