John Cena Former Rival Shares Honest Thoughts On Heel Turn

WWE

Former WWE star RVD has weighed in on John Cena’s heel turn having witnessed Cena being booed first-hand back in 2006.

Cena turned heel for the first time in his career at WWE Elimination Chamber on March 1, 2025, with his recent appearance on Raw seeing the retiring star tear into the fans.

With fans roundly booing John Cena, WWE are reportedly happy with the reaction to the recent promo, and RVD has commented on how he sees it going for the star.

Having faced Cena at ECW One Night Stand in 2006, RVD won the WWE Championship and witnessed the heel reaction his opponent received, reflecting on that in an appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet.

Chris Van Vliet would ask RVD about the last true heel reaction in 2006 and what it offers for Cena’s final run.

Believing that Cena will master his heel persona now he’s officially a heel, Rob Van Dam said:

“Yeah, that’s true. He knew what to do that night perfectly at One Night Stand, and he’s really great at what he does. So I think he’s going to really master the heel persona and take it some places that we didn’t expect.

“By the way, I mentioned this before, but I had seen him get booed. It wasn’t a lot, but leading up to that One Night Stand match, there was a town or two, I think it was in Wales, was the first time I think that I’ve heard it was very similar to the vibe in Hammerstein Ballroom, it was very similar.

“Anyway, that was the first time I saw him get booed, and he was great. I don’t know if I told you this story or not, but I’d never seen him (get booed). Then he was like, ‘Good That’s right. Boo me. Let me know how you feel. As long as you’re out there in the crowd and you’re expressing yourself and you’re screaming that, I know you’re having a good time, and that’s what it’s all about tonight.’

“Obviously he turned them all of a sudden, they were cheering him, and I was like wow, that’s why he gets paid the big bucks.”

Cena has addressed the reaction from the fans after his promo on the Belgium leg of the Road the WrestleMania 41 tour.

Transcript from chrisvanvliet.com.

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