John Cena Reflects on the Shortcomings of His WWE Heel Run

John Cena looks back on his heel run ahead of his retirement.

John Cena | WWE

John Cena's heel run sparked plenty of controversy in the wrestling world, as it left many fans feeling disappointed, and he ultimately turned babyface for the last few months of his final year. The former world champion recently discussed the criticism surrounding this chapter of his career.

Cena shockingly turned heel on Cody Rhodes at WWE Elimination Chamber 2025. He then beat Rhodes to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41. Cena's heel run continued for the next few months before he turned babyface again ahead of SummerSlam. The 17-time champion then retired after he lost to Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event last December. Since then, he has made it clear that he will not come out of retirement.

In a new interview, Cena opened up about his lackluster run as a heel and detailed his mindset about how it was beneficial.

John Cena | WWE

John Cena accepts his heel run as a failure

Speaking with Graham "GSM" Matthews for Bleacher Report (via WrestleRant), Cena was asked whether he was happy that he was able to try a heel run before he retired. Cena noted that everyone involved did the best they could with the time they had. He highlighted how his run was successful from a business standpoint, but received plenty of criticism.

"As far as did it work or not, there’s a lot of aspects to that," Cena said. "From a business side, we didn’t have a seat left, and people watched in numbers. I don’t know if it didn’t work from a business standpoint. But then there’s the creative standpoint. Sometimes, blockbuster movies are poorly reviewed by critics, so I understand where, critically, people are like, that’s not what I wanted to see."

Cena went on to state that he would have loved to actually ruin wrestling, but that wouldn't have been good for business. The former champion pointed out that they didn't have that kind of time, and he expressed his gratitude for having food guidance around him.

"Intrinsically, I would have loved to have a chance to literally ruin wrestling, to wrestle so poorly that people just wanted to see me go and then wanted to see a hero thwart me," Cena said. "We didn’t have that kind of time, and that would not have been good for business. That would have made people not come to the shows, and that would have made the numbers go down. So, I’m grateful that I had good guidance around me and good mentors, and I’m also accountable for critique."

SPEECHLESS. 💔

JOHN CENA just viciously TURNED on CODY RHODES at #WWEChamber! pic.twitter.com/jSyaCud7Wz

— WWE (@WWE) March 2, 2025

Looking back on his heel turn itself, Cena said that the moment was "crazy," but plenty of things changed regarding the plans for the fallout. He emphasized that, in situations like that, talent have to make do with what they have.

"Stuff changes in WWE all the time. Well, a bunch of stuff changed for us," Cena said. "So, with high-level plans like that, where you think you got eight chess pieces and find out you got one or two, you gotta make do with what you got. And that’s also okay."

Reflecting on his heel run as a whole, Cena stated that he was glad to have done it, but he said that he would have been fine if it had never happened, as he did not ask for it. He noted that it was Triple H's idea, and he agreed to it. Cena added that while he accepted that his heel run was a failure, he would not change a thing.

"I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m glad we got to do it because it helps me now when I speak to younger talent and say, ‘Be bold, take changes, don’t worry about falling. You gotta fail.' A lot of folks will say the heel turn failed. Okay, I accept that as a failure. But I swung boldly. A lot of folks were upset with the finish of the last match. I accept the critique, and I feel great that I swung boldly in my final moments."

It's over.

Gunther taps out John Cena. pic.twitter.com/0O2lTpl3p1

— WWE (@WWE) December 14, 2025

Cena has made multiple appearances for WWE since his retirement, and he is expected to be involved with the upcoming John Cena Classic. It's clear that he remains committed to giving back to the wrestling business, and the event will give him another chance to do so.