John Cena is one of the greatest baby faces in the history of Wrestling. In the Ruthless Aggression Era, fans were literally behind him which led to the company making him Super Cena. But by the time the PG Era started, Cena was booed by the fans for being too good and overbooked. It's time to look at what would've happened if Cena turned heel.
There was an instance when Cena was very close to becoming a heel. As mentioned by himself on numerous occasions, John was all set to turn heel during his 2011-12 feud with The Rock. The fact that both John and The Rock were the biggest faces of the company would have made sense for John's heel turn.
A heel vs a face works more often than not. It is a different thing that face Rock vs face Cena worked at WrestleMania 28. But if John Cena had turned heel, it could've led to a great transition from a hated hero to a loved villain, something similar to Roman Reigns' Tribal Chief gimmick.
Probabilities of John Cena's heel turn
If Cena was a heel against The Rock, he might've been loved more by the fans. He could've gone to the extent of doing everything in his might to ensure Rock got beaten. His playing the gimmick of the Dr of Thuganomics would've made him a must-watch entity.
There was another instance where Cena could've been booked as a heel in WWE. During his feud with Daniel Bryan in 2013, Cena lost the world title at SummerSlam before Randy Orton cashed in the briefcase to become the world champion. WWE could've instead got John to attack Bryan after the match.
It could've been one of the most unexpected heel turns in the history of the company. The justification for the turn would've been Cena being hated despite doing everything for the company. That would've ensured a great character for Cena who would've done everything in his power to ensure an underdog like Bryan would not have been in power.