John Cena shocked fans by turning face on last week on WWE SmackDown, just days before his highly anticipated match at SummerSlam.
Following his unexpected turn, many fans questioned whether Cena’s face was part of his plan. However, Cena stayed true to his babyface role during his SummerSlam match against Cody Rhodes. After the loss, Cena showed respect by shaking hands and hugging Rhodes with many seeing it as a passing of the torch moment.
While John Cena did receive strong support from the fans throughout the night, his return to the good side came with face to face with an old foe. Cena’s longtime rival, Brock Lesnar, made a shocking return and launched an attack on him.
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer Radio have weighed in on John Cena’s recent babyface turn. According to Meltzer, WWE’s creative team dropped the planned heel storyline because it wasn’t working.
He said, “They dropped [Cena’s heel story] because it sucked, but also, because a John Cena-Brock Lesnar program which is obviously what they’re doing does work better with Brock Lesnar as the heel.” [H/T: WrestlingInc]
Alvarez added that Cena performs better as a babyface, and this may have influenced the decision to pull the plug on his heel run. After Brock Lesnar returned, Triple H suggested that Lesnar was someone Cena personally wanted involved in his farewell run.
Cena is now rumored to face Brock Lesnar at WWE Clash in Paris. He is set to appear on the upcoming edition of SmackDown in Montreal, Canada. Many fans expect Lesnar to also show up on the show this Friday, but his appearance has not been confirmed yet.
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