John Cena Reveals His True Feelings On Heel Turn During WWE Retirement Tour

John Cena finally opened up on what his thought process was about the heel turn during the WWE retirement tour last year.

John Cena began his retirement tour by entering the men’s Royal Rumble match last year. Cena failed to win the Rumble despite being one of the final two in the match along with Jey Uso. Nonetheless, The Leader of Cenation entered the Elimination Chamber weeks later and ended up winning it. Following his Chamber win, Cena shocked the world by turning heel and joining forces with The Rock and Travis Scott.

At WrestleMania 41, John Cena won his 17th WWE Championship as a heel and continued his heel run for months. Although Cena’s heel turn after nearly 22 years was unexpected, the majority of fans found his run as a heel underwhelming. Following massive backlash, Cena eventually listened to the fans and turned babyface again a few days before SummerSlam last year.

John Cena spent the rest of his retirement tour as a babyface until his final match against Gunther in December. Meanwhile, the 17-time WWE Champion has finally addressed his controversial heel run during the retirement tour.

John Cena on a lot of fans not liking his run as a heel

During his appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, John Cena admitted that many fans didn’t like his heel run despite doing it in a realistic way and not changing his old uniform and entrance music:

A lot of fans (didn’t like it). When I did, I tried to do it in the most realistic manner. There are many different ways that could have gone, but I kinda stayed as myself. I didn’t change up the uniform, I didn’t change up the music, and I started to try to find a real place of why I would choose a non-virtuous path.”

Cena further opened up on him being frustrated with the fans in Kayfabe during his heel run while also admitting that the fans wanted his old version back:

Me being frustrated with the audience, of all these years of being such a polarizing character, seemed like the strongest connection. The audience got a taste of it and they were like, ‘Nah, we want the you back,’” Cena stated. [H/T WrestleTalk]

Meanwhile, John Cena has made sporadic WWE appearances at WrestleMania 42 and Backlash 2026 after his in-ring retirement. He also announced ‘The John Cena Classic’, which is coming soon.

Also read: John Cena Drops Major Surprise About Retirement Tour & New WWE Tournament