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John Cena’s recent victory over Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 marked a passing of the torch in terms of world championship wins in WWE history.
Cena claimed the belt for the 17th time in his illustrious career in Las Vegas last month, surpassing Ric Flair’s tally of 16 world title successes.
His surprising heel turn handed a major boost to the WWE at a time when the company needed a pick-me-up due to several underwhelming storylines elsewhere.
With Cena now in the final stage of his career, allowing him to have a run as a heel and the title holder is a stroke of genius by the powers-that-be in the WWE.
Former WWE legend Kurt Angle believes Cena’s success at WrestleMania puts him at the top of the tree in terms of the ‘greatest wrestler of all-time’ debate.
“John Cena has consistently been in this business for over 20 years and hardly ever got injured,” Angle told Betway.
“I’m not going to say he’s the greatest athlete of all time, but his in-ring work skills are incredible.
“He’s an incredible promo cutter and he’s stuck with the WWE for over 20 years. I believe he’s the greatest WWE superstar of all time.
“And he does deserve that 17th world title because it sets him apart from anybody else. Ric Flair has 16, Triple H has 15. But John Cena? I believe he deserves that 17th.”
Cena’s previous status as babyface undoubtedly divided WWE fans. Many of them became bored with his ‘nice-guy’ persona and were eager for him to head down a different route.
He spent a significant portion of his career being jeered by the crowd, yet never once looked close to crossing over to the dark side.
Rhodes’ climb to the top in the WWE opened the door for the company to do something different with Cena as he embarked on his final year in professional wrestling.
Giving him a final title run as a heel creates a plethora of storyline opportunities, which will likely culminate in Cena’s home city of Boston in December.
Cena will play key roles at Backlash, Money in the Bank, SummerSlam and other major events this year, before what is likely to be a final world championship match in Beantown.
His most likely opponent will be Rhodes, for what would be a blockbuster match-up that would further cement each wrestler’s legacy in the WWE.
Angle admits the decision to turn Cena heel initially took him by surprise, but believes there will be a final twist in the tale that places him alongside some stellar superstars.
“When John turned heel, seeing the reaction in the crowd, I was just like ‘whoa, I don’t know if they did the right thing’,” Angle added.
“But it’s brilliant, because when you are a huge babyface and you make that big heel turn, when you turn back babyface, you become even bigger than you were before. I think that was the psychology they were going to use.
“I think Cena will retire as a babyface, but they wanted to put that heel turn in so that he could earn the fans back to be babyface again.
“I think it is going to be huge when he does it, and he will retire the biggest babyface of all time, up there with Hulk Hogan and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin.”
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