"Stone Cold" Steve Austin Gets Brutally Honest About John Cena's WWE Heel Turn

If anyone knows anything about an unexpected heel turn in WWE, it's "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. That's why he is plenty qualified to talk about John Cena's controversial heel run of 2025.

Cena shocked the world when he turned his back on his loyal fan base at last year's Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event, seemingly "selling his soul" to The Rock and turning heel for the first time in more than 20 years. His heel run would last until the end of July, when he suddenly went back to being a babyface ahead of SummerSlam.

Austin also stunned fans at WrestleMania X-Seven, aligning with Vince McMahon in order to beat The Rock in the main event. Speaking with Chris Van Vliet in a new interview, Austin gave his thoughts on the decision to turn Cena in the final year of his career.

"Everybody - not everybody - a lot of people wanted to see at least one John Cena heel turn in his run," Austin said.

"It was okay. It was okay, you know? I like him better as a babyface. I wanted to see him as a heel at some point during his career, the way that it was done, and I’m not knocking booking. I’m just like, 'Man, this far in, forget about it. Just let him do his thing.' F***ing kids love that guy.”

Parallels between Austin and Cena

Heel turns for both Cena and Austin were always widely fantasy booked by fans for years, and arguably, both may have been better without giving in to the pressure.

Cena's heel run in his retirement year was a sudden change that had little creative thought put into how it would play out ahead of time, and what followed were controversial and divisive programs with the likes of CM Punk, Randy Orton, R-Truth, and Cody Rhodes.

Cena won the Undisputed WWE Championship from Rhodes at WrestleMania 41, becoming a 17-time world champion in the process.

However, with the retirement tour on the back nine, Cena suddenly turned babyface on the SmackDown prior to his SummerSlam Street Fight against Rhodes. The two would go on to have one of the top matches of Cena's career, and he would spend the last few months of his run as the company's top good guy.

MORE: Stone Cold Steve Austin Reveals How Kevin Owens Became His WrestleMania 38 Opponent

Austin, meanwhile, was WWE's top draw during the Attitude Era. He had returned from a lengthy injury absence in 2000, and slotted back in as the company's most popular babyface instantly. However, after the purchase of WCW, McMahon needed a major story to carry the company past WrestleMania, and Austin had long pushed to go heel once again.

The turn at WrestleMania X-Seven was shocking, and it saw Austin carry the mantle as WWE's top heel as the Invasion angle went down over the summer of 2001. It would ultimately run out of steam, though, with Austin turning back into a babyface the night after its conclusion later that fall.

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