John Cena Explains Babyface Turn After WWE's Clash in Paris

Cena, and WWE by extension, realized they made a controversial, perhaps even wrong, move by turning the 23-year face into a heel, a character he wasn't familiar with, nor seemed to have any appeal for an audience more than two decades invested in the classic Cena.

“It got to a point where Cena vs. Randy, you start hearing this. Cena vs. Punk in Saudi, you start hearing the noise. Cena-Cody WrestleMania, Cena-Cody SummerSlam, it changes,” Cena said. “Sometimes, you can make bold and brave new moves, but going against this body of energy is a losing battle. So sometimes, you just gotta listen and pivot, change course, and I'll say, it's quite nice to stay in the middle of the ring and say hi to familiar faces.”

John Cena’s Farewell Tour

The return to his longtime role included a moment of closure with a particular young fan he had clashed with during his heel run in an event held in Brussels, Belgium.

Cena approached the kid, who was attending Clash in Paris on Sunday, apologizing to him and taking shots at Logan Paul while at it.

“To be able to apologize to my man,” Cena said. “It’s great. To be able to say sorry, and to be able to say I’m sorry because I said hurtful things. I was having a bad day, so to speak. I think we’ll reflect on this a whole lot more in January.”

“Yo, I'm sorry, I was having a bad day,” Cena told the kid. “Thank you so much for being there for me when I needed you most. I love you too.”

On Sunday in Paris, Cena defeated true-heel Logan Paul in a back-and-forth match at Accor Arena that could be considered the best match among those booked for the international event, Cena's last in Europe.

The bout saw Paul unleash a string of high-risk moves and finish attempts before Cena caught him in midair and finished him with back-to-back Attitude Adjustments.

There are only eight matches left before his retirement event on Dec. 13, with his final opponent still unknown.