WWE Hall of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart recently talked about John Cena’s surprising change from babyface to heel on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” Hart shared why he thinks some wrestlers have a tough time becoming convincing bad guys, even once they’re great wrestlers.
“I didn’t see it, I heard about it, and was surprised by it ’cause …. there’s certain guys that just cannot turn heel, just with their styles and their characters. To me, British Bulldog never really was an amazing heel. He was an amazing wrestler, but when he turned heel, he was still doing press slams and power slams and strongman stuff, and he really didn’t change his style an excessive amount of, he just had a special attitude.”
Hart, who was WWE Champion five times, talked about what makes bad guy in wrestling. He thinks Cena might need the identical problems that wrestlers like British Bulldog had.
“Heels have to be cheaters and sneaky and really get the ire of the gang,” Hart said. “It takes a certain sort of skill for that … The way in which he [Cena] looks, the way in which he works, you realize, he’s still gonna be doing power slams and strongman sort of stuff. I do not see him cheating, or pulling trunks to win, or choking guys and gouging eyes.”
“The Hitman” also mentioned Lex Luger as one other wrestler who was higher as guy than a villain. Although Luger was physically imposing and had impressive power moves, Hart thought this stuff made it hard for fans to really hate him when he played a heel.
As Cena starts this recent chapter on the road to his match with Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41, Hart’s thoughts make us wonder if the 16-time world champion can develop into a convincing bad guy that today’s fans will consider.
For those who use any quotes from this text, please credit the “Ariel Helwani Show” and supply a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.
