John Cena's face turn to be delayed due to 39-year-old fan favorite star's actions? Potential explored

John Cena is halfway through his retirement tour. The Last Real Champion narrowly escaped with the Undisputed WWE Championship at Night of Champions against his arch-rival, CM Punk, after a chaotic bout. Interestingly, we saw a glimpse of 'Super Cena' during the match. The Never Seen 17 refused to use any underhanded tactics for the majority of the contest and even listened to the fans on one occasion.

It seems like Cena's eventual face turn could happen soon. However, not if a controversial star has something to say about it. We're talking about former NXT Champion Karrion Kross.

The Herald of Doomsday is known to use psychological tactics to manipulate and influence his opponents, as seen in his rivalries with AJ Styles and Sami Zayn. When it comes to mind games, the 39-year-old knows what buttons to push to stir the pot. In an interesting possibility, he could do the same with John Cena.

As The Franchise Player has slowly started to show signs of his old self, Karrion Kross could intervene and make sure John Cena stays on the dark side. Kross recently commented on the 17-time World Champion's heel turn in an interview, where he claimed to be glad that Cena was being true to himself.

John Cena will lock horns with Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at SummerSlam. With The Cenation Leader facing one of the biggest babyfaces in the company, the creative team might want to keep him a heel for a little longer, which is what interacting with Karrion Kross could accomplish.

Kross could play devil's advocate by speaking against the WWE Universe and preventing Cena from seeing the light. The Cenation Leader may succumb to The Doom Walker's mind games and double down on his villainous side. This would make his rematch against The American Nightmare even more interesting.

Additionally, having Karrion Kross involved in a storyline with John Cena could elevate his spot on the card. Fans have been firmly behind the former NXT Champion and want him to be featured in a prominent role. This could even lead to a match between Cena and Kross before the former's eventual face turn down the line. That said, it is worth noting that this scenario is only speculative.

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John Cena comments on his future after his farewell tour ends

On his quest to "ruin wrestling", John Cena has vowed to leave the Stamford-based promotion at the end of the year with the Undisputed WWE Championship.

While speaking on the UK's This Morning show, Cena talked about his decision to call it a day and revealed that he would be retiring from in-ring competition for good once his farewell tour is completed.

"I promised the audience when I felt I lost a step, it was time to step away. The company has so many stars. They’re in great hands... No WWE superstars ever really retired. So this is for sure the end for me. My last match is in the middle of December," Cena said.

Cena still has around six months left before hanging up his boots in mid-December. It will be interesting to see how the remainder of his farewell tour unfolds.