JBL Explains Why John Cena Never Turned Heel
“I don’t think there was a right time, and I think one of the reasons was because we tried that with Steve. We tried that with Stone Cold and he was so freaking popular, and he was selling all the merch. When do you turn a hot babyface heel? When they’re the hottest. It just didn’t work with Steve, and I think Vince took that and thought, ‘I’m not going to make the same mistake with John.’— JBL
JBL discussed the repeated pitches to turn John Cena heel throughout his career. Vince McMahon refused every time because he had previously tried turning Stone Cold Steve Austin heel at the peak of his popularity and it failed to work. Cena accounted for 50 to 60 percent of merchandise sales and remained a babyface as a result.
Source: 411MANIA
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