JBL Says John Cena Had the Hardest Job of Any Champion in Wrestling History

On the latest episode of Something to Wrestle, John “Bradshaw” Layfield said John Cena had the toughest job of any champion in wrestling history. While discussing Cena’s long-awaited heel turn with Conrad Thompson, JBL said Vince McMahon refused to turn Cena heel for years because of what happened when Steve Austin turned in 2001, and he praised Cena for carrying the company from the Attitude Era into a family-friendly era. You can check out his comments below:

On Why Vince McMahon Never Turned Cena 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.’ And so he never did. I was in a ton of meetings where people were pitching, ‘Oh, can we turn him heel? Can we turn him?’ Vince said, ‘No.’ The numbers were like 50 or 60% of the merch was his. He was making a fortune for the company selling all of his stuff, and there was all kinds of pressure to turn him heel his entire career. And Vince just wouldn’t do it. I think he wouldn’t do it because he tried it with Steve, and Steve was so popular, and it just didn’t work. People wanted Steve; Steve was already a heel. What are you going to do? Make Steve flip off more people, drink more beer, cuss more people out? Steve already did that. So I think that was the reason that Cena never turned heel.

“And then they tried it, and I just don’t think people wanted it. You’re going to have some dips**t on the internet say, ‘Oh, JBL is talking about how Cena turning heel didn’t work’ and put some little clip on there, and make it sound like I’m bashing him. I’m not. Cena was so freaking popular, just like Stone Cold, that people didn’t want to see him turn heel. Plus he had been there for so long. It didn’t work, and I think it didn’t work because of who John is. He was ‘Hustle, Loyalty, Respect,’ and all of a sudden now he’s not. I get that it’s a work; you turn a babyface heel when they’re the hottest. But with certain guys, I just don’t think you can do it.”

On Cena Having the Hardest Job Of Any Champion:

“I thought the idea was fantastic. And Cena, I remember when he came in, he was a heel at the very beginning. He was a great heel. He was really freaking good. It’s just that all of a sudden he caught lightning in a bottle. I’ve always thought Cena had the hardest time out of any champion in the history of wrestling, literally in history. He went from the Attitude Era, where you could flip off the boss and use any type of language you wanted, to a G-rated era, and he still had to fill arenas, and he did it. I think that’s the hardest role anybody’s ever had, and Cena was able to do it.”

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