Hulk Hogan Explains Why John Cena's Heel Turn Fell Short
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Hulk Hogan recently shared his perspective on major happenings within his former company, particularly John Cena's significant character shift. Hogan's own last appearance before a WWE crowd, at the Raw on Netflix premiere, saw him receive a negative reaction while promoting his beer brand.
However, his name became relevant again in fan discourse when John Cena turned heel at WWE Elimination Chamber earlier this year. Cena adopting a heel persona for the first time in over twenty years immediately sparked comparisons to Hogan's own landscape-altering heel turn in 1996, which launched the New World Order (nWo) in WCW.
Speaking with Forbes, Hogan offered a nuanced take on Cena's turn, beginning with high praise for Cena the performer and person. "First off, John Cena was my favorite wrestler. Let me start there," Hogan stated. "Because I grinded for years, brother, and there was no Rock, no Stone Cold. There was only me for 20-plus years. I saw all the Make-A-Wish kids.
I've met with all the station producers, everybody. So John stepped up and really ran with the ball, and he did a really great job. I think he saw more Make-A-Wish kids than anybody's ever seen."
Despite holding Cena in such high regard, Hogan felt the storyline execution following Cena's turn didn't capture the magic or momentum of the nWo's formation. "And at the end of the day, when he turned heel—like the [nWo] storyline, like Eric said—we set it up, we set up, we set up, then we delivered."
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 09: WWE Legend Hulk Hogan attends the 2015 Susan G. Komen D.C. Race for the Cure at The National Mall on May 9, 2015 in Washington DC.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 09: WWE Legend Hulk Hogan attends the 2015 Susan G. Komen D.C. Race for the Cure at The National Mall on May 9, 2015 in Washington DC.
Kris Connor/WireImage/Getty Images
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"And then not only did we deliver, we rolled out with me, Hall and Nash. And that story kept snowballing and snowballing, and we kept getting more evil and more evil."
Hogan explained where the Cena storyline lost him, pointing to the lack of immediate follow-through after The Rock's involvement in the turn. "And so for me, watching that story with John Cena, when The Rock did the throat thing, cut his throat, and John Cena turned heel, I expected more of the same.
And then John Cena came out and there was no Rock, and I just got disconnected at that point, 'cause I was expecting the characters to keep rolling out like we did," Hogan elaborated.
He felt it lacked the overwhelming impact of his own faction's debut: "So I know everybody's got movies and obligations and stuff, but it didn't feel like that big tidal wave coming at you.
Like when the nWo took over, man, I even hate to say the word, we just cleaned house and beat everybody's a**, and we just killed it. All the babyfaces were crying and complaining, and it got really ugly. We were so powerful with that trio."
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