John Cena salutes the crowd at WWE SummerSlam 2015. (Photo : Getty Images/JP Yim)
John Cena has been the face of the WWE for more than a decade but many diehard wrestling fans want him to turn heel. The latest rumors suggest that the WWE is currently planning on finally turning Cena heel to boost the ratings of both Raw and SmackDown.
The 39-year-old WWE superstar last played the bad guy role in 2003 when he introduced to the world the Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick. It was a Vanilla Ice-like character that freestyle raps before his matches.
During his heel run in 2003, Cena faced off with babyface superstars like Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker before turning face at the end of that year. He eventually became the face of the WWE when he won the WWE championship at WrestleMania 21 in 2005.
The 15-time WWE world champion has become a polarizing figure in wrestling since 2005 as half of the audience cheers for him while the other half boos him out of the building. His work outside of the WWE, especially for Make-A-Wish Foundation, is one of the reasons why he has not turned heel.
However, the time for a Cena heel turn today might not be a bad idea after all. According to Anthony DiMoro of Forbes, the WWE creative team is currently planning a big angle where Mr. HLR finally turns into a bad guy to boost the ratings of the product.
"WWE creative has been talking, more than ever, about a potential John Cena heel turn. As it currently stands there has been ideas floated around that would put John Cena in position to make a turn, similar to that of Hulk Hogan did in WCW in the 90s, but they have been consistently shot down by Vince McMahon," DiMoro noted.
The Monday Night Wars back in the late 90s eventually blossomed when Hogan turned into Hollywood Hogan and formed the nWo with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. A Cena heel turn will surely break the internet and fans will tune in to see him beat up some good guys.
In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine back in April, Cena talked about the possibility of turning heel before his career is over. He mentioned that his job is to manipulate the audience and tell the story in the ring.
"I'm a good guy because of all the kids and parents who like me, and a bad guy because I won't turn heel, which actually makes me both good guy and bad guy in one person," Cena said.
It should be noted that these are just purely rumors at this point and should be taken with a grain of salt. Cena will only turn heel if Vince McMahon wants him to be. Check out the video below to see Cena joking to the WWE universe about "turning heel."
