4 Reasons why John Cena will be a better heel than Roman Reigns
John Cena made headlines after turning heel at Elimination Chamber 2025 by attacking Cody Rhodes. Cena was a babyface for over 20 years before he embraced the dark side and sold his "soul" to The Final Boss. Since then, there have been many comparisons between Cena's heel turn and Reigns' heel turn at SummerSlam 2020.
Let's take a look at four potential reasons why The Cenation Leader will be a better heel than The Tribal Chief.
#4 Partnership with The Rock
John Cena's partnership with The Final Boss made his heel turn even more unexpected and shocking. The Cenation Leader and Rocky hated each other for years and even headlined two editions of WrestleMania, facing each other in 2012 and 2013.
Cena's heel run is going to be far superior to Reigns' because he will be accompanied by The People's Champion. It might also lead to a future match between Reigns and The Rock at next year's WrestleMania.
#3 Cena has been a face for over 20 years
The Cenation leader played a babyface character for over 20 years. He was a heel when he played The Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick. But many modern-day fans haven't seen Cena portray a villainous character. Hence, the current heel run promises to outshine Reigns' time as The Head of the Table.
The fact that Cena has not been a heel for over two decades is enough to grab fans' attention.
#2 Pursuit of the 17th World Championship
Thus far, Cena's retirement tour has been focused on the legend's pursuit of the 17th WWE World Championship. He holds the record for the most world title reigns alongside Ric Flair. If Cena manages to beat Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania, he will break Flair's record.
This chase for the 17th World Championship has made Cena embrace his dark side. Fans are eager to see what more he can do to capture the title before retirement.
#1 He has nine months left in his in-ring career
John Cena announced last year at Money in the Bank that he would retire from in-ring competition in December 2025. He now has only nine months to fulfill his goals.
The stakes for Cena's retirement tour are very high. All of these elements of the story weren't there during Roman Reigns' run as a heel. Thus, Cena will be a better villain than the Tribal Chief.
