I used to screw my nose up when people told me of the raucous reception Bruno Sammartino used to receive.
It was before my time, you see? And whilst I could imagine Madison Square Garden popping for Bruno, it wasn’t something I was too interested in exploring.
And when those same people told me that Hulk Hogan was just an updated version of Superstar Billy Graham, I didn’t take them seriously. These old blokes, right? How had everything been done before, and done better? Superstar was still on my TV, and his involvement revolved more around his bung hip than anything he could in the ring.
I was living in the now, and they were dwelling in the past. In 1985-87, I was but a child, and was entranced by the WWF. Front and centre as part of that period was the run at the top of arguably the greatest babyface the business has ever seen. Irrespective of what you think of Hulk Hogan, his sustained success over the years
And now… things are different.
Old men were young once, too, and the way we see wrestling, and the world in general, changes with age. Sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. But, always with the benefit of experience to back up the views.
I should have listened a little more intently when I was younger instead of dismissing what those old blokes said. Turns out, they were right. They’d seen this stuff before, as I now have.
A couple of months ago, after flittering in and out of WWE programming, as I tend to do, I was told I had to watch what went down at the 2025 Elimination Chamber.
“Groundbreaking,” I was told.
“Must watch!”
And so I did. I went in unspoiled and watched most of the show (except the women’s matches… I always skip them. Not because I am against women’s wrestling – good luck to them – but because it doesn’t interest me. To each, their own).
Anyway, we came to the moment I “had to watch”, according to my circle of various wrestling friends. The moment John Cena finally turned heel.
This was the event that shook the wrestling world. After decades on top as a babyface, Cena finally turned to the dark side in pursuit of his record-breaking 17th World Title.
It was well done, I admit. The WWE does a lot of things right, and this was another of them. Great timing. Great theatrics. And finally, the beloved hero turned on Cody Rhodes, and more importantly, his fans.
Cena sold his soul to The Rock, gave Cody Rhodes a kick to the balls and beat him to a pulp.
And… the crowd cheered.
They loved it.
So, when I finished watching, and returned to converse with my WWE friends, I was immediately told that it was (not asked if it was) the greatest heel turn of all time.
Aaaaand, that’s about where they lost me.
You see, to me, when someone turns heel, for it to be completely effective, the crowd does not cheer like they’ve been longing for it for ten years. They don’t jump up and down with excitement because it’s something they’ve been waiting for. They don’t rejoice in the villainy of the heel.
No, when someone turns heel in a situation of this magnitude, it is supposed to be met with hatred, disdain, and disgust.
Not cheers.
Never cheers.
The arguments commenced.
How could you possibly consider John Cena’s heel turn the biggest in history when the crowd was cheering him on? Even during his first public appearance on WWE programming after the heel turn, he had to work hard to get the crowd to dislike him, with many of them continuing to chant “Let’s go Cena.”
That does not sound like hatred to me. That sounds like a crowd enjoying the fact that their hero was showing a darker side. It was everything a heel turn shouldn’t be – it made his die-hard fans like him more. His heel turn was supposed to turn fans against him.
If that’s what was meant to happen, it simply did not work.
My argument was that you cannot assess the “in the moment” reaction of the Cena heel turn on what you want it to mean. You have to assess it on the way the fans in the building reacted. And when doing that, you can only compare it to one other big turn.
Hey, if people are going to spout that Cena’s heel turn is the greatest of all time, then it would have to be better than that of Hulk Hogan, back in 1996.
No wrestling fan worth their salt needs that turn explained to them, but in case you’ve forgotten, the ring was pelted with garbage as Hogan and his new NWO buddies stood in the ring and lorded it over their opposition, WCW. Hogan told the fans what he thought and told them to “stick it, brother”, and they erupted in a chorus of boos. One fan even tried to jump in the ring, such was the level of passion.
Yet, Cena was cheered.
And then there was the aftermath.
In the week that followed Cena’s heel turn, the WWE received an initial spike in ratings.
If we use the Raw episode on the February 24, 2025, as our baseline, and for reference, it was the lowest-viewed episode of Raw since the Netflix debut back in January, we should get a relatively clear picture.
That 24th of February edition of RAW had 2.6 million global views.
Immediate Impact of the Cena Heel Turn
(March 3): +19.23% (from 2.6M to 3.1M views).
This is a great result, and WWE execs would have loved the initial response to the turn. An additional 500k people tuning in is a win.
Short-Term impact of the Cena Heel Turn
(March 31): +11.54% from baseline, but -6.45% from March 3 peak.
A few dropped off, but that is to be expected, I suppose. WWE would have been hoping that it was a dip, rather than a continued decline, though.
Mid-Term impact of Cena Heel Turn
(May 12): +3.85% from baseline, but -12.90% from March 3.
Uh oh…
Long(ish)-Term impact of Cena Heel Turn
(May 19): +3.85% from baseline, 0.00% from May 12
And here we are. In short, there is no long-term impact. People have gone back to their lives, and the wrestling world keeps turning. This is likely as good as it is going to get.
Shall we have a look at the comparison between this and the Hogan turn?
Oh yes… yes, we shall.
Immediate impact of Hogan’s Heel turn
(July 15, 1996): +26.67% (3.0M to 3.8M).
800K increase. Now, that already outperforms the Cena turn.
Short-Term impact of Hogan’s Heel Turn
(August 1996): +40.00% from baseline, +10.53% from July 15.
A continued upward trajectory is evidence that there is interest continuing to be generated by the turn and the associated angles
Mid-Term Impact of Hogan’s Heel Turn
(October 1996): +60.00% from baseline, +14.29% from August.
Further interest, and further increases across the board as Hogan and the NWO run riot
Long-Term impact of Hogan’s Heel Turn
(January 1997): +56.67% from baseline, -2.08% from October.
Six months down the track, it slowly starts to stabilise, but the impact on the wrestling world is undoubted.
Answer me this – other than Cody Rhodes, who else did Cena’s heel turn impact?
Randy Orton? R-Truth?
Is this the extent of this “greatest heel turn of all-time”?
The remainder of the WWE has gone about their business, yet, when we compare it to the Hogan turn, the entirety of WCW was turned upside down. Hogan’s turn impacted all, and gave the entire company something to focus on.
“You’re either with us, or you’re against us.”
Most of the WWE has barely acknowledged Cena’s heel turn as he counts down the days to his retirement.
John Cena came out on Raw following his turn in a half-assed attempt at being a bad guy. He wore the same stupid, goofy colours, used the same music, and even with a “screw you” attitude toward the fans, couldn’t pull off a convincing heel gimmick.
It was more on the level of Sting’s WCW heel turn than Hogans\’s, and to compare the two is laughable.
He was let down by WWE creative, the Rock and his continued absence, and by his own performance. Even now, we are seeing the seeds sown that’ll turn him babyface to end his “Last Time” run, as he hawks his location-based merchandise at every stop.
If you believe that this last couple of months is the be-all and end-all of wrestling turns, I am deeply sorry to inform you, you’ve been misled.
And if the numbers aren’t enough to convince you, watch the crowd reactions. They don’t hate Cena. He cannot make them hate him. And really, he barely tries.
In terms of great heel turns, it’d be lucky to make the top ten, let alone be anywhere near number one.
And no amount of hate for Hulk Hogan will change that.
Keep trying, though.