John Cena's threats to 'ruin wrestling' nothing short of brilliant

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“I am going to ruin wrestling.”

“I’m breaking up with you.”

Simple. Profoundly effective. And downright magical.

Those would be some of the words I’d use to describe John Cena’s foray into becoming a heel version of himself that the WWE fanbase has been yearning for for decades.

Ask and you shall receive. Though there was a time when I would have speculated that we’d never see a “bad guy” version of Cena, the most PG, superhero-like character since the early days of Hulkamania.

Say what you want, but Cena is doing something few who have sat atop the card of professional wrestling can say they’ve done.

Until Cena’s heel turn in Toronto earlier this month, followed by two absolutely riveting promos, the last time pro wrestling had seen such a memorable about-face was when Hulk Hogan traded in his yellow-and-red ring attire to join the fabled New World Order — and that was back in the 1990s.

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Not even the great Stone Cold Steve Austin, arguably the most popular superstar ever in wrestling, could pull off a heel turn. The more fans love you, the harder it is to get them to stop loving you. In Austin’s case, he never really did.

Hogan did so through betraying his fan base.

And now Cena is doing so, very effectively, through defiance.

Two weeks ago, he told his fans he was breaking up with them, tired of never being good enough for his fans, tired of being mocked with a decades-running invisible “you can’t see me” gag, tired of trying to please them all.

He said he wasn’t going to change who he is, but just going to stop trying to please his fans. He wasn’t getting new

This week, he followed suit by promising to ruin wrestling.

It can’t be overstated how difficult a task Cena faced. First, he had to overcome himself, the proverbial babyface, company man who has granted more Make-A-Wish requests than any human on Earth, been a 16-time WWE champion and was the poster boy for the company during the return to the PG era after years of the edgier era of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Second, he has to contend with a completely different audience in today’s world. This is a smart crowd, which has been staring beyond the so-called fourth wall for years now, told they’re allowed to know almost anything and everything about a business that was once shrouded in secrecy.

Today’s fan knows and understands the business, and after recent years of being exposed to the once-guarded secrets, they’re tough to please.

Part of me sees the current heel Cena as an extension of his Peacemaker character, which he has played both in film and on TV over the past few years.

That character is kind of a dick, if you will, a self-absorbed superhero whose only focus is on himself. It’s almost as if Cena is stealing a bit of the Peacemaker and bringing it into the ring.

Whatever it is, it’s working. The promos have been industry-changing. The response universally loved, with social media viewing records being shattered, podcasts and social media pages filled with memes, videos, reaction and commentary.

Cena has been so unbelievably compelling, no one is even talking about his opponent at WrestleMania 41 in Vegas, Cody Rhodes, who has spent the past year establishing himself as a credible champion and the modern John Cena, if you will.

Rhodes’ babyface run certainly has rivalled that of Cena’s during his prime. But no one is talking about his promos, only Cena’s.

Cena even went so far as to promise to win Rhodes’ title in Vegas and retire as champion so the company has to make a new WWE title.

Absolutely brilliant. Where can he go from here? I can’t wait to find out.

SCREAM QUEENS

The rivalry being built between Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton is easily the most entertaining build to WrestleMania outside of the Cena/Rhodes storyline.

From physical confrontations all over the arena week in and week out to scathing, personal barbs during a livestream interview, these two simply get it.

Flair is embracing her heel persona, simply zeroing in on her own legacy, leaving little room for anyone else in the women’s division outside of her own world. Stratton, meanwhile, is playing the role of the rising superstar who can’t get the attention of the legend, which is working well.

The scary part, or awesome part if you’re a fan, is that once these two get in the ring, they could steal the show. Both are excellent wrestlers and quite capable of stealing whatever night of WrestleMania it is they’re appearing.

LUCHA LOVE

The storyline unfolding involving but not involving Chad Gable and the mysterious El Grande Americano is absolute brilliance.

From creating an old vignette that showed Americano as a once-revered icon to his supposed disappearance from wrestling to his re-emergence into the Gable storyline was so perfectly executed.

The commentary team, talent and fans calling out Gable as the “man under the mask,” only to see Gable appear moments later as himself, denying it’s him under the mask is both original and hilarious.

It’s perhaps the greatest example, at least currently, of why fans love pro wrestling. It lets the imagination soar.

BLOODLINE DRIED UP?

With Roman Reigns slated to face CM Punk and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 41 in Vegas, The Rock tied into the Cena/Rhodes main event picture and with The Tongans, Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa all embroiled in their own storylines, it appears the major arc of the past several WrestleManias — The Bloodline — will not be a major factor in Vegas. At least going in.

It’s kind of surreal, giving how for five years, the fanbase has been obsessed with the long-story arc that played out over many years. Most would agree it was the greatest storyline in pro wrestling history, but it did start to lose its steam without Reigns (and Paul Heyman) as its central figure.

Perhaps The Rock’s Final Boss character could have carried it through another Mania, but with him seemingly unavailable in the capacity he was last year, it fell to the others, who simply don’t have the experience yet.

It really feels like Jacob Fatu is a major, major superstar in the making, likely the next Samoan megastar if he continues his trajectory. Perhaps a Bloodline reboot will happen between this WrestleMania and next year’s in New Orleans.

If it does, don’t be surprised if Fatu is the major player.

Jan Murphy is the editor-in-chief of The Kingston Whig-Standard, a former journalist, lifelong WWE fan and won’t let John Cena ruin wrestling for him.