Matt Hardy Praises John Cena’s Heel Turn Promo, Calls It A Strong Character Shift

On the March 17th, 2025 edition of WWE RAW, John Cena addressed his shocking heel turn at Elimination Chamber, delivering a fiery promo that sparked a tense in-ring confrontation with Cody Rhodes. The segment has generated a wave of fan and industry reaction—including from wrestling veteran Matt Hardy, who shared his thoughts on the moment during a recent episode of his podcast.

Hardy praised Cena’s delivery and the tone of the promo, particularly the way Cena leaned into the heel role without drastically altering his character:

“I liked it. I think what I liked about it the most is the fact that he didn’t change and the explanation he gave for it is that people are asking what are we going to get that is new… and he’s like, ‘You don’t get anything. You get this. Keep in mind, I don’t dress like you, you dress like me.’ I dug that.”

While Hardy largely enjoyed the segment, he did point out one area where he felt it could have gone deeper:

“Probably the only thing I would be critical of is just maybe if they would have kind of delved into why he chose to side with Rock like that. That would have been the only thing I feel like I would’ve loved to hear from.”

Despite that minor critique, Hardy felt Cena nailed the assignment with his new heel persona:

“I dug it, man. I thought he did a real good job at just being a whiny, bitchy guy who just felt like he’d been wronged—and he came off very unlikable while doing it, which is I think what you need out of John Cena.”

Cena’s shocking alignment shift and his feud with Cody Rhodes continue to shape the road to WrestleMania 41, as WWE ventures into bold new territory with one of its most iconic stars.