John Cena's shocking heel turn just hit another level after his latest Monday Night Raw appearance, where the legend threatened to "ruin wrestling" for fans of the WWE. The Champ said he intends to beat Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 and ensure wrestling history remembers his name and Ric Flair fades to obscurity after his title championship record is overtaken. The Nature Boy was listening to Cena's latest promo and, as he often does, had thoughts to share.
Flair hopped on an interview with TMZ following the callout and responded to being namechecked on Monday Night Raw. The wrestling legend may have retired from in-ring action following a much-publicized comeback in 2022, but one might think he's gearing up for upcoming WWE events with this response he gave in regards to potentially being made "irrelevant" by John Cena:
Well, I'm just glad I'm alive after the life I've led to be here to hear it! I got news for John: They've been trying to get rid of the 'woo' for 50 years. The 'woo' ain't going away, and neither is Ric Flair. And the odds of him winning the seventeenth title are astronomical.
As usual, Ric Flair is as cool as a cucumber and brimming with confidence that John Cena won't end up dethroning his record before retiring from the WWE at the end of the year. I like his conviction, and I expect nothing less from him, though it's hard to imagine the WWE won't send out Cena with that record as his own. I'm sure Naitch knows this, but ever the showman, he has to stay in character and give the fans what they want with his ever-present arrogance.
Speaking on a more personal level about the WWE's booking decision, Ric Flair had nothing but praise for the decision to turn John Cena heel. While Flair said he didn't want Cena to beat his record, his follow-up comment could suggest he is rooting for him
I think it's the coolest thing they could've done. I think it's great. As a matter of fact, I was hoping he'd win the Royal Rumble. That was a great finish there too. I'm excited for him.
I wonder if Ric Flair was also upset when Jey Uso ended up beating John Cena, which stings a lot less now that wrestling fans have seen the latter win at Elimination Chamber. Interest in Cena winning has only escalated in light of his heel turn, as seeing the veteran "ruin" wrestling feels like a more interesting storyline than Cody Rhodes retaining his WWE title and knocking his opponent down a peg.
Ric Flair is the latest WWE legend to show love for what John Cena is doing in the WWE, but not the only one. Hulk Hogan was thrilled to see the heel turn and thinks it has the potential to create one of the more memorable WrestleMania matches in recent memory. Expectations are high from wrestlers and fans alike for this match, so I do hope both Cena and Cody Rhodes can rise to the challenge and give us quite a show.
WrestleMania 41 is set for Las Vegas on Saturday, April 19th and Sunday, April 20th. CinemaBlend will continue to track all the fun happening on the way to the big event, and we'll have no shortage of reactions to all that happens after it all goes down.
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