‘Tried too hard’ – Stone Cold Steve Austin won’t reach out to John Cena over WWE incident for one painful reason
Wrestling icon Stone Cold Steve says he’s very happy for John Cena and the waves he’s again making in WWE. It seems, however, the WWE Hall of Famer won’t be reaching out to give the grappler-turned-actor tips on being a heel any time soon. Austin remains one of WWE’s biggest icons of all timeWWE Earlier this month, Cena stunned fans around the globe with his heel turn – switching from a good guy wrestling character to a villain – with a story some felt went back several years in its roots. The shock came from the fact that the multi-time former world champion had performed as the hero of the WWE world for decades, something with which Austin can very much identify. Having been a heel prior to his arrival in WWE and in his early years there, his popularity exploded in 1997 as the ultimate anti-authority figure, going on to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania the following year. During the Attitude Era his fame and the adoration in which he was held within the WWE fanbase seemed to be limitless, arguably a factor in the idea – his, he says – to turn heel at Mania in 2001. He aligned with arch enemy Vince McMahon as Cena did with The Rock in 2025, and Austin has speculated in an interview with SI that it might yet end up making Cena more popular. He explained: “At some point, everybody turns, and I guess that’s the point he turned. It will be interesting: did he turn heel, or did he turn more babyface? “The fans love him, and they might take this and run the other way with it, who knows?” “I like John, we’ve always gotten on well and I’m happy for him.” Other than Hogan’s switch to being a heel in WCW having worked so long at the top of the business as a good guy, Austin’s stunning change-up is the only other top-level one of its kind to which Cena can relate. Why, then, will the Texas Rattlesnake not be reaching out to him to share a few tips on how to take it from here? Cena is now a heel in WWE with plenty of speculation on where it might leadGetty It appears the finger-gesturing Attitude Era phenomenon still harbours major regret over his own heel turn, he says – admitting he wished he’d ‘called an audible’ in 2001 and cancelled the thing on the spot. Feeling it was a flop, he’ll be leaving a ‘smart man’ in Cena to get on with it, saying when asked if he’d reach out: “No, no, no, I wouldn’t, because I loved working heel when I was in WCW, I loved working as a heel when I first came to WWE, because I was a true heel. “When I turned heel, the people didn’t want me to turn heel. It was a forced turn. “It was my idea. Vince always likes to do something big on a WrestleMania [so] I suggested that, [but] it was a s*** move. “People weren’t ready for it; people didn’t want it. I’ve always liked working heel, and I figured it would go over like Gangbusters. “The heel I was trying to be was trying to be hated, so much, so fast, I think I tried too hard. No matter what happens next, Cena won’t be getting a call from AustinWWE Austin spoke highly of Cena but doesn’t feel he’s qualified to give him advice on his latest heel turnWWE “When I look back, I got to push the creative envelope and do a lot of things that were cool and whatever, [but] people didn’t want me to turn heel so I should never have done that. “So, I don’t think that I’m in a position to offer John Cena any advice from Steve Austin. John’s a very smart man.” Cena’s next WWE appearance comes in the UK on Monday night as Raw airs from Glasgow as part of an ongoing European tour, but Austin remains coy about whether he’ll again feature in the ring.
Wrestling icon Stone Cold Steve says he’s very happy for John Cena and the waves he’s again making in WWE.
It seems, however, the WWE Hall of Famer won’t be reaching out to give the grappler-turned-actor tips on being a heel any time soon.
Earlier this month, Cena stunned fans around the globe with his heel turn – switching from a good guy wrestling character to a villain – with a story some felt went back several years in its roots.
The shock came from the fact that the multi-time former world champion had performed as the hero of the WWE world for decades, something with which Austin can very much identify.
Having been a heel prior to his arrival in WWE and in his early years there, his popularity exploded in 1997 as the ultimate anti-authority figure, going on to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania the following year.
During the Attitude Era his fame and the adoration in which he was held within the WWE fanbase seemed to be limitless, arguably a factor in the idea – his, he says – to turn heel at Mania in 2001.
He aligned with arch enemy Vince McMahon as Cena did with The Rock in 2025, and Austin has speculated in an interview with SI that it might yet end up making Cena more popular.
He explained: “At some point, everybody turns, and I guess that’s the point he turned. It will be interesting: did he turn heel, or did he turn more babyface?
“The fans love him, and they might take this and run the other way with it, who knows?”
“I like John, we’ve always gotten on well and I’m happy for him.”
Other than Hogan’s switch to being a heel in WCW having worked so long at the top of the business as a good guy, Austin’s stunning change-up is the only other top-level one of its kind to which Cena can relate.
Why, then, will the Texas Rattlesnake not be reaching out to him to share a few tips on how to take it from here?
It appears the finger-gesturing Attitude Era phenomenon still harbours major regret over his own heel turn, he says – admitting he wished he’d ‘called an audible’ in 2001 and cancelled the thing on the spot.
Feeling it was a flop, he’ll be leaving a ‘smart man’ in Cena to get on with it, saying when asked if he’d reach out: “No, no, no, I wouldn’t, because I loved working heel when I was in WCW, I loved working as a heel when I first came to WWE, because I was a true heel.
“When I turned heel, the people didn’t want me to turn heel. It was a forced turn.
“It was my idea. Vince always likes to do something big on a WrestleMania [so] I suggested that, [but] it was a s*** move.
“People weren’t ready for it; people didn’t want it. I’ve always liked working heel, and I figured it would go over like Gangbusters.
“The heel I was trying to be was trying to be hated, so much, so fast, I think I tried too hard.
“When I look back, I got to push the creative envelope and do a lot of things that were cool and whatever, [but] people didn’t want me to turn heel so I should never have done that.
“So, I don’t think that I’m in a position to offer John Cena any advice from Steve Austin. John’s a very smart man.”
Cena’s next WWE appearance comes in the UK on Monday night as Raw airs from Glasgow as part of an ongoing European tour, but Austin remains coy about whether he’ll again feature in the ring.
