When John Cena shocked the entire world by turning heel at the Elimination Chamber event last March, a large number of fans expected him to bring his famous Dr. of Thugonomics character back since it was the only character he played when he was a heel back in 2003. The fans could not expect him to see in any other character apart from that.
But after turning heel, Cena played a completely different character, something he never played before. So far Cena is playing the character perfectly, and it is going really well with his previous gimmick, it looks quite relevant too. He justified the character with some excellent heel promos which went quite well.
John Cena will not bring back this character on his final run
Overall, the new character has received positive reactions so far from the fans but there are a number of fans that still want to see the vintage Dr. of Thugonomics character. However, Cena turned down the chances and confirmed he will not play the mentioned character during his final run in WWE. Speaking with Philadelphia Fan Expo recently, he confirmed;
John Cena turned heel at Elimination Chamber 2025
“Something I did was etched in your memory. It’s obvious by the way you’re dressed and the album you hold. It puts you in a period of reminiscing. I believe we should never be the person that we were yesterday. You should always be curious and always seek growth.
“The 48-year-old me would’ve got my ass kicked by the 26-year-old me,” he continued. “I promised myself I would never wear a suit. All I do nowadays is wear a suit. I didn’t know what love was. Now I have love and joy and peace in my life. I’m not the person I was at 26, and I’m fine with that.3
John Cena defeated Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 to win his 17th World Title
“I’m so grateful for that CD you hold in your hand and so grateful for people that rep the Chain Gang, I think that’s dope. I’ve just moved forward in my life. I look back on that fondly, I don’t regret it. I’m just in a different place. You won’t see any of that stuff from me going forward, I think.”
Check out Karrion Kross' optimism about his future in WWE here
It looks like John Cena will continue his heel character throughout his retirement tour in WWE on Netflix and now it is pretty much confirmed that he is not taking back his legendary Dr. of Thugonomics persona. He will continue this tour until the end of this year, and rumors suggest that he will only drop the title to Cody Rhodes.
H/T to Fightful for the transcription
