John Cena’s abrupt face turn drew sharp criticism from WWE legend Jim Cornette, who expressed his frustration over how the storyline was handled. Cena had shocked fans by turning heel at Elimination Chamber after siding with The Rock and attacking Cody Rhodes. However, before SummerSlam, Cena unexpectedly reverted to a babyface on SmackDown, citing the end of his alliance with The Rock and blaming a forged signature from Rhodes for pushing him into a Street Fight. Despite this, Cornette saw the quick reversal as poorly planned and jarring for the audience.
During SummerSlam, Cena competed as a face but lost the WWE Title to Cody Rhodes in a match praised for its quality. The event closed with the dramatic return of Brock Lesnar, who delivered a powerful F5 to Cena, emphasizing his dominant comeback. While the match was widely appreciated, the sudden character shift did not sit well with many insiders, especially Cornette.
Veteran Jim Cornette Describes the Booking as a “Crazy Idea” and a Mistake
On his Drive Thru podcast, Cornette voiced his disapproval of how John Cena’s face turn was booked, criticizing its abruptness and apparent disregard for continuity. He said he had never seen a storyline so plainly admit a misstep without explicitly saying so. Cornette recalled Cena’s previous heated promo against the fans, suggesting it was so harsh that no redemption seemed possible.
“This is the first time I have ever seen, I think, anywhere, them just come out and basically without saying the word, say ‘Yeah, we fu*ked this up. And they did say the word crazy idea. We listened to this di*shit and his pimply-face accomplice and fu*ked up all of our shit, and now we’re gonna drop it.’ […] Remember, Brian [host,] that one promo he did about the fans that was so goddamn brutal and personal, and I said, ‘How do you ever apologize for that? What act could he ever commit that could atone him for saying that about those people?’ He didn’t even worry about it. He’s just, ‘You know what? I’m gonna take my head out of my ass now, I don’t know what I was thinking. And that was it. […] Oh God, they finally broke me,” Cornette said. [0:35 – 2:41]
Cornette’s comments illustrate the veteran’s view that the face turn was a reactive correction rather than a well-thought-out storytelling choice. He highlighted the disconnect between Cena’s previous heel behavior and the sudden return to a heroic persona without sufficient narrative justification.
John Cena’s WWE Future and Upcoming Confrontations
Following these developments, John Cena is scheduled to appear on an upcoming WWE SmackDown episode where he will address Brock Lesnar’s shocking return, which marked his first appearance with WWE in two years. Fans and analysts alike are curious to see how Cena’s storyline will progress, especially after the controversial face turn and Lesnar’s dominant re-entrance.
This segment is expected to influence WWE’s main event picture as tensions continue to build between top-tier superstars. With Cena and Lesnar positioned as rivals once again, the outcome may shape future championship narratives.
Overall, Jim Cornette’s criticism underscores a broader concern among wrestling veterans about the direction of John Cena’s character arc. His disapproval suggests that this sudden change may impact fan perception and storyline coherence moving forward. The upcoming SmackDown episode could provide further clarity on how WWE plans to reconcile these booking decisions.
