John Cena vs. Hollywood Hogan isn't a fair fight
A look at two vastly different heel turns
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Cena vs. Hogan? Ring the damn bell.
Hulk Hogan turned heel on July 7, 1996 at Bash at the Beach.
A month later, on August 10 at Hog Wild, “Hollywood” Hogan defeated The Giant to capture the WCW world title. He held that belt for the next 359 days, dominating WCW programming with Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and a multiplying number of additional members of the New World Order.
It’s been two-and-a-half months since John Cena’s heel turn, which took place at Elimination Chamber. In the moment, it sent shockwaves throughout wrestling. But so far, the moment has failed to live up to expectations.
Hogan grew into the Hollywood character, but he also benefitted tremendously from working beside Hall and Nash. Had Hall and Nash suddenly disappeared from the storyline, that would have significantly hurt any momentum Hogan had generated from his heel turn. Yet, for reasons that are still unclear, that is what happened to Cena when The Rock and Travis Scott vanished from the storyline following his turn to the dark side.
When Hogan turned, the message was clear: there was a new world order in pro wrestling. But after Cena sold his soul to The Rock, that key detail was quickly dismissed–and it is no longer even mentioned on WWE television.
Cena’s heel turn shares far more similarities with another longtime babyface who turned into a villain after decades of acting as the people’s champion.
No, not Bret Hart.
A far better match is Andre The Giant.
When Andre turned on Hogan in February of 1987, it was designed to set up a legendary bout at WrestleMania III. That delivered beyond even the highest of expectations, placing Hogan on an even more dynamic trajectory as he redefined the world of pro wrestling (which, remarkably, is a feat he pulled off again as a heel in WCW).
Approaching the end of his career, Andre turned heel to highlight the current star. That is what Cena did for Cody Rhodes, who he defeated for the belt at WrestleMania 41. Conventional wisdom tells us that Rhodes will eventually return and get his receipt, defeat Cena and regain the belt–becoming an even bigger star in the process.
But something is amiss. Ever since the turn, it feels like Cena is channeling his inner-Bob Backlund.
When Backlund turned heel in the summer of 1994, it marked a much different direction for the former face of the promotion. He took the belt from Hart that November at Survivor Series, then almost immediately dropped it, losing it to Kevin Nash, who was working as Diesel, only three days later.
Obviously, Cena is going to have a much longer title reign than Backlund. But there is a clear expiration date on his run, which he is reminding people in every promo: Cena is retiring at the end of the year. A similarity is that the Backlund turn was designed to only have a short-term impact, as he was irrelevant following his WrestleMania defeat to Hart the following spring.
This isn’t to compare the star power of Cena and Backlund. Cena is a monster star. Backlund was too, but long before his turn, as the apex of his popularity came a decade prior. Yet, as weeks pass, Cena’s heel turn fails to live up to the high standards set by Hogan.
When Hart turned heel, he had a specific agenda–the American fans had turned against him, so he was turning his back on them–and he followed through on it. Hart became a heel in the United States but remained a babyface everywhere else on the map. It worked exceptionally well, and he delivered extraordinary matches during that run. That is not what we’re seeing from Cena.
This all began with such high hopes. A stable led by The Rock and Cena would have been big business. That was what was teased at Elimination Chamber. Instead, Cena is doing his best to make the best of the situation, boasting he is “The Last Real Champion”. Since turning heel, he has won his two matches by using a combination of a low blow and a shot to the head from the title belt, which hasn’t set the wrestling world on fire.
In less than three months, Cena’s run as a heel has gone from red hot to mild. A program with R-Truth won’t help. For Cena, summer–and a highly anticipated resume to his feud with CM Punk–cannot come soon enough.
But the comparisons to Hogan need to stop. Unless something drastic occurs, the two heel turns will forever live in completely different worlds.
Jeff Cobb rebranded as JC Mateo in WWE
Jeff Cobb is now JC Mateo in WWE.
The “JC” nod is a reference to his initials, and he made a successful debut by defeating LA Knight. Here are a few takeaways from SmackDown:
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