AEW broadcaster Jim Ross recently discussed The Rock and John Cena’s legendary rivalry on a recent episode of his Grilling JR podcast. The feud ran for two years and culminated with main-event clashes at WrestleMania 28 and 29.
Jim Ross says he still struggles to understand why Vince McMahon didn’t turn Cena into a heel during that run. As a wrestler, Cena was primed to be a big heel. The crowd were booing him resoundingly, wherever he went. The stage set for an epic face vs heel feud. Yet, it never happened.
“The thing that’s always been funny to me is that Cena never turned heel,” Ross confessed. “There’s where my brain fart starts. Why didn’t we do that? Why was that not done?
The decision to stick with Cena as the companies leading babyface is one that baffles many fans even to this day.
Jim Ross Draws Parallels Between John Cena and Roman Reigns
There are a lot of parallels that can be drawn between Cena and Roman Reigns. Reigns was also the proud face of the company, despite being booed by everybody. He had no spice or character as a face and looked set to go down as Cena II. However, the voice of the fans won out. Roman is now a dominant heel in a character that seems to be a far more natural fit for him.
“Cena getting booed was a lot like Roman Reigns getting booed whenever he was just getting rolling, and now there’s a reason to boo Roman Reigns because thanks to Paul Heyman he’s become a significant antihero. He’s a heel, and he’s a damn good one.”
Jim Ross has been the voice of wrestling for several generations now and has echoed what we have all been saying for the last decade. WWE missed the boat with Cena, and it does leave you wondering just how different things would have been had they pulled the heel trigger when the time was right for it.
