WWE Hall Of Famer Thinks John Cena’s Heel Turn Wasn’t Like Hulk Hogan
A WWE Hall of Famer thinks that while John Cena’s heel turn was massive, it wasn’t as big as when Hulk Hogan did it.
The ending of WWE Elimination Chamber in Toronto had an all-time memorable moment as John Cena kicked the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in the groin to become a heel for the first time since 2003.
After Cena kicked Rhodes, his WrestleMania 41 opponent, he was joined by The Rock and Travis Scott in a five-minute beatdown of the WWE Champion.
There was a lot of booing inside the Rogers Centre for Cena’s actions while kids at the show were in tears and many fans were crying watching at home as well. That’s because many of them grew up with Cena, idolized Cena, and respected Cena for never turning their back on them until the Elimination Chamber PLE.
Eric Bischoff is a WWE Hall of Famer who knows a lot about booking a major heel turn. That’s because Bischoff was running things when Hulk Hogan turned heel at WCW Bash at the Beach in July 1996. It was Hogan’s first time as a heel in over 12 years after he was the top babyface in WWE and in WCW as well.
After Hogan turned on the fans to form the New World Order with Kevin Nash & Scott Hall, the NWO was pelted with garbage by an angry crowd.
While speaking on his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff credited John Cena and WWE for pulling off the turn very well while addressing the Hulkster’s turn that would launch the “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan character.
“Different time, different—everything was different. Here’s the thing, though—structurally, let’s reverse engineer this. If we go back and watch the turn, the moment—the kick to the balls. Before that, if you go back, The Rock did the slit-throat thing, the whole thing. If you watch it play out, and when it’s all over, watch the people standing around the ring. Got a great reaction, don’t get me wrong—it wasn’t the reaction that Hogan got.”
“If you go back, put those two finishes side by side—forget about what’s going on inside of the ring, just watch the crowd. Oh yeah, and then there’s all the garbage that came with the crowd [in WCW]. The reaction to Hogan’s turn on an emotional scale of 1 to 10 was probably a nine. I think on an emotional scale, the Cena turn was probably around an eight, maybe seven and a half.”
As he continued, Bischoff made the claim that the Cena turn won’t get the same kind of reaction that Hogan did.
“What it comes down to, Conrad, is shocking—no one expected it. I don’t think I heard any chatter. Now, granted, I’ve been busy the last few weeks, busier than usual, and I haven’t stayed close to what’s going on in wrestling… But I just don’t think this will get the kind of reaction that the Hogan turn did.”
“I don’t think it’s as big as the Hogan turn in terms of overall impact. I agree with whoever made the comment. But it’s not because it wasn’t extremely well done—it’s just because of the timing. The audience’s taste is different. It’s bigger, for sure, but it’s different. Just like it is for movies and television.”
Hulk Hogan Was Impressed By John Cena’s Heel Turn
In an interview with Undisputed’s Justin Barrasso, Hulk Hogan called John Cena’s turn one of the greatest of all time.
“It’s one of the best heel turns I’ve seen in a long, long time. All the major players were involved. I can’t say enough about The Rock, too–he was incredible. They did it right, I’ll tell you that.”
Regarding the future, Hogan said it was up to Cena to put in the work to make it work.
“It’s going to work as long as John wants to stay plugged in. I don’t know his schedule or how many days he’ll work, but he definitely has everyone’s attention. Plus, The Rock is involved, too. This could heat up more than anyone is expecting. It could be so hot that it’s crazy, which will lead to a WrestleMania match you’ll never forget.”
WrestleMania 41 takes place on April 19 & April 20 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas with Cody Rhodes defending the WWE Title against John Cena as the likely WrestleMania Sunday main event.