Wrestling News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

WCW

Ric Flair on why Hulk Hogan Excelled as WWE’s Bad Guy Unlike John Cena

Originally posted on The Sportster | By Matthew Guyett | Last updated Jul 29, 2025 2:04 PM ET

Ric Flair has explained why Hulk Hogan's heel run was so successful while suggesting that John Cena can't play the role of WWE's number one heel.

Cena shocked the pro wrestling world when he turned on Cody Rhodes and aligned with The Rock at Elimination Chamber earlier this year. It was the first time the 17-time world champion had become a villain since 2005.

The 48-year-old has embarked on a farewell tour ahead of his in-ring retirement at the end of 2025. His heel turn was a massive hit with fans and garnered huge media attention, but its aftermath has received mixed reviews from many, including Flair.

Ric Flair: Hulk Hogan Could Be Bad Unlike John Cena

Flair was a guest on the Ariel Helwani show on Monday (July 28), and the Nature Boy discussed Hogan's passing. The WWE Hall of Famer suffered a cardiac arrest and died on July 24.

Hogan was one of the most popular wrestlers in the business during the eighties while the poster boy of WWE as the Hulkster. He made an equally shocking heel turn as Cena in 1996 while in WCW to form the stable known as the NWO (New World Order).

Helwani asked Flair about Hogan and Cena's character transformations, and he explained that while he loved the latter's Elimination Chamber turn, he couldn't pull off a villainous role:

"It’s hard to measure the two. But I loved the thing with John. The thing about John… John is Ricky Steamboat. There’s nothing bad about John. Some guys like Jack Brisco, Ricky Steamboat, Sting and all that… they just can’t be a heel. John, as great as he is, he’s just not a bad guy. Hulk could be a prick, but it’s from all those years of battling for his spot. Everybody wanted Hulk’s spot."

Hogan, as Flair mentioned, spent much of his career battling for the top spot and often prevailing. He was involved in several real-life feuds with fellow wrestlers, which made his heel persona that much more believable. Additionally, forming the NWO with 'the Outsiders', Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, also helped.

Cena has squared off with several of his past foes with the roles reversed and him playing the bad guy. He defeated Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41 and has since successfully defended it against Randy Orton at Backlash and CM Punk at Night of Champions.

Hogan Blamed The Rock For Losing Interest In Heel Cena

Hogan had given his thoughts on Cena's heel turn three months after one of the most shocking moments in WWE history went down. He shared a similar stance as Flair (via Forbes):

"At the end of the day, when he turned heel—like the [nWo] storyline, like Eric said—we set it up, we set up, we set up, then we delivered. And then not only did we deliver, we rolled out with me, Hall and Nash. And that story kept snowballing and snowballing, and we kept getting more evil and more evil.".

The Rock came in for huge criticism on night two of WrestleMania 41 when Travis Scott's 'Fein' theme song hit, and only the rapper emerged onto the entranceway. Many had expected to see Rocky come to Las Vegas to make Cody Rhodes' life a living hell once more.

The Final Boss was the catalyst behind Cena's heel turn, asking for Rhodes' soul and instead getting one of WWE's most beloved babyfaces to do a deal with the devil.

Hogan added:

"And so for me, watching that story with John Cena, when The Rock did the throat thing, cut his throat, and John Cena turned heel, I expected more of the same. And then John Cena came out and there was no Rock, and I just got disconnected at that point, 'cause I was expecting the characters to keep rolling out like we did."

Cena is halfway through his Farewell Tour and will defend the Undisputed WWE Championship against Rhodes at SummerSlam this Sunday (August 3). Many think this could factor into his eventual babyface before he officially calls time on his career.

This article first appeared on The Sportster and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: