John Cena breaks character after huge WWE controversy

Since turning heel earlier this year at Elimination Chamber in Toronto, John Cena has portrayed a different on-screen persona than the one fans are used to seeing. While he has made appearances outside of WWE, he has done well to keep up with his drastic character change.

In his promos, he has targeted the fans, and his actions in the ring have been a significant departure from the all-conquering babyface we had grown accustomed to. Despite this, there have been moments where we get a glimpse of the man behind the performer playing this new villainous version of John Cena.

During an appearance on UK's This Morning, Cena had a casual conversation about his new action-comedy Heads of State. He also opened up on his retirement tour, saying he will be hanging up his wrestling boots for good and won't be stepping back in the ring. During the show, the legend was asked how he would feel after his last match, to which The Champ had a heartfelt admission.

"Honestly, I feel great. I think I'll be able to tell you how I felt when it's January and it's all done. But gosh, I'm looking forward to the next appearance and the next one. We got 15 dates left, I had 36 for the whole year. So, we're halfway there and the audience has been great. We've been making some compelling TV. I'm really excited to see how it ends," John Cena stated.

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Cena is slated to next appear on the July 18 edition of SmackDown. With a limited number of dates left in his WWE stint, Cena will look to leave a lasting impression on the fans.

While his last match might still be some time away, it will be interesting to see if he will turn face one last time before calling it a day.

Despite being on a heel run, his popularity remains strong as ever.

Saudi Arabia honored John Cena with a special gift

During the Night of Champions weekend in Saudi Arabia, a heel Cena was completely embraced by the WWE fans. Moreover, the 17-time world champion was honored with a special gift to commemorate his last year as an active wrestler.

Turki Al-Sheikh, Saudi Arabia’s Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, shared a video on X/Twitter of Cena receiving an engraved sword and plaque.

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The gift carried Cena's name and had the words "THE LAST TIME IS NOW!" engraved. John Cena will continue his retirement tour and is scheduled to defend his title at SummerSlam in August, with Cody Rhodes set to challenge him.

About the author

Sherjeel Malik is a writer at Sportskeeda and covers pro wrestling. He was hooked on the product from the moment he saw The Hardy Boyz jumping off ladders during the Attitude Era. While he comes from an engineering background, Sherjeel’s love for pro wrestling and content writing led him to pursue a career in sports journalism. Before assuming his current role at Sportskeeda, Sherjeel worked at other reputable organizations for five years.

While writing articles, he ensures that he only relies on credible sources for information and covers relevant subjects that do not project an agenda against a particular person or association. WWE legend Paul Heyman once shared Sherjeel’s work on his social media handle.

Sherjeel’s earliest memory of pro wrestling is watching Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker square off for the WWE Title in the main event of a pay-per-view in 1998. His favorite wrestlers are Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. While he admires Orton for his character work as a heel, he looks up to Jeff because of his unique wrestling style and risk-taking ability.

If he could go back to the Attitude Era, Sherjeel would like to manage Ken Shamrock and be his mouthpiece. He feels Shamrock’s promo skills prevented him from becoming a main event-level act in WWE. Hence, he would like to help the UFC Hall of Famer get over with fans.

When not writing about pro wrestling, he likes to read classics and fiction books.

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Edited by Brandon Nell