Stone Cold Steve Austin has weighed in on John Cena's recent heel turn, revealing he prefers Cena as a babyface and believes the turn came too late in his career.
Appearing on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Austin shared his honest assessment of Cena's shocking alignment with The Rock at Elimination Chamber 2025.
It was okay," Austin said of the turn. "I like him better as a baby face. I wanted to see him as a heel at some point during his career. This far in, forget about it. Just let him do his thing. Kids love that guy.
Austin suggested that 2012, before Cena's historic match with The Rock at WrestleMania 28, might have been the ideal time for a heel turn. At this point in Cena's farewell tour, Austin believes it was unnecessary.
It Ain't Ballet, At Least it Shouldn't Be
The Texas Rattlesnake also offered advice to modern wrestlers, criticizing the overly polished nature of current WWE programming.
"Don't make it look like a dance. Not everything is perfect. Put some struggle in there. Put a little bit of slop in there when slop would be warranted," Austin said.
He pointed to Bret Hart as the gold standard for selling fatigue during long matches.
Just looks like he's beat to death. He's huffing, he's puffing, he ain't blown up. That's him just showing how tired he is.
Austin emphasized that today's wrestlers need to feel more dangerous and authentic.
"If you saw me walking down the ramp when I was white hot, I could beat anybody's ass that was going to come up that ramp to get me. Sometimes I just don't feel that," he observed, noting that Brock Lesnar is one current star who still projects genuine danger.
