Booker T Loved John Cena’s Heel Turn, Says It Was Executed Well

On the latest episode of the Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T talked about the John Cena heel turn at WWE Elimination Chamber, Cody Rhodes, and more. You can check out some highlights below:

On John Cena’s heel turn: “I love it, man. Yeah, that’s just what wrestling is. When you think you’ve figured it out, they throw you another curveball. Like this one right here, everybody was thinking, ‘Is John Cena going to come back and win the title?’ That’s what everybody was thinking about. John Cena was going to win the Chamber and go on and break the record. I think that’s the story. Not John Cena turning heel to actually get that accomplished. But no man, I love what wrestling is. It’s — when you think you’ve got it all figured out, they throw you a curveball. And this is heading into WrestleMania season, you know, I don’t care what anybody says. This is not about John Cena’s wrestling ability; this is about the story. And I think that’s what wrestling is. I think that’s what draws the crowd to watch a professional wrestling event is the story. The wrestling match is, you know, it is what it is. A five-star match means nothing. It means nothing to the masses that come to have their imagination suspended for that moment. I mean, that’s what soap operas do to all the old ladies, and a lot of young ladies too. I was a soap opera fan back in the day, you know, freaking All My Children, man. I couldn’t wait to watch some All My Children…

“So that’s what wrestling is. It really is a true-life male soap opera. And I think since WWE has gotten back to that, you look at the main players, you talk about the storylines… ‘I gotta watch it next week,’ because you want to keep up with the story. You want to ride along with it. I mean, this world is — you know, we’ve got enough going on in the world as it is, man. And to be able to just totally let yourself go for a second, I think that’s what WWE has brought back to the people. And I really think now with the PLEs, as well as the Netflix deal, they will let their hair down a little bit more now, without stepping on anybody’s toes. And still doing it from a respectable standpoint, to where you say, ‘Man, advertisers are going to jump on this even more so.’ I mean, come on man. I mean, they’re doing so much right now, I can’t stress it, man. And with John Cena doing what he’s done, with The Rock, you know, totally mixing it up. It’s just great TV. If anybody looks at it any other way, they just have a problem with the show.”

On the segment at Elimination Chamber: “Really good work, you know, really, really good work. Like I say, to be able to exceed the last PLE with the Elimination Chamber. Normally, it’s not that show where you’re really looking for a lot of surprises. And this one definitely took everybody by surprise, and it totally put a stamp on going into WrestleMania. Everybody is going to be so frickin’ invested going into WrestleMania now, more so than ever before. It’s going to be so highly anticipated, it’s going to be such a great two nights with people anticipating that match. It’s going to be nuts.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit the Hall of Fame with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.