AEW Figure Felt Bad For Michael Cole During John Cena Heel Turn

John Cena had the world watching Elimination Chamber.

Genuine shock is a difficult emotion to conjure up in modern wrestling, especially with the prevalence of social media, but on March 1, John Cena and WWE managed it.

After years of dominating the wrestling landscape as a beloved babyface, Cena turned heel with one swing of his right boot into the crotch of Cody Rhodes. In aligning with The Rock as he prepares for WrestleMania 41, Cena left fans stunned, with most feeling his retirement tour would be centred around thank-you waves rather than bloody beatdowns.

As Cena looks out at a brand new WWE landscape, people across the industry are still trying to come to terms with the aftermath of a crazy night in Toronto.

Jim Ross Shares Thoughts On John Cena

Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross said it was nice that fans would have liked for him to call the moment, but at the same time, he admitted it made him feel bad for Michael Cole. Ross is synonymous with many of the biggest moments in WWE history, with his screaming indignation or passionate endorsement sticking with fans for decades.

“Yeah, it’s nice. I saw the same thing. It’s nice. I feel bad because it takes away from Michael Cole, and that’s not the objective, but everybody’s got their taste. My delivery and my presentation in moments like that are different, and I don’t think that you can replicate them. That’s just me.”

When discussing the heel turn itself, JR said it was incredibly well done. Ross has a long history with Cena, signing him to WWE his first WWE contract back in 2001.

“I liked the hell out of it. I thought it was timely. I thought it made sense. I thought it added to the show. It was a jaw-dropper, to say the least. So, I had no issues with it at all. I thought it was fabulous.”

Ross went on to confirm that several people had tried to get Cena to turn heel in the past, but Vince McMahon was always reluctant.

“A lot of people wanted it to happen, but Vince was always very, very reticent in pulling the string on that deal. One of the reasons is what you mentioned, Cena’s merchandise numbers were astonishing.”

According to Guinness World Records, John Cena now holds the record for the longest WWE babyface run before turning heel.

H/t to Fightful