4 WWE heel turns Vince McMahon rejected and 1 he reluctantly agreed to

#3 Vince McMahon did not want John Cena to turn heel

One of the most polarizing WWE Superstars of all time, John Cena gradually ditched his Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick in 2005-06 and became Vince McMahon’s ultimate babyface main-eventer for the next decade of his career.

In the same way that fans questioned whether Hulk Hogan might turn heel in the late 1980s/early 1990s, it was often speculated whether Vince McMahon would finally bow to fans’ demands and turn Cena back into a bad guy.

Former WWE writer Kevin Eck explained on The Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast in 2017 that Vince McMahon once agreed to a Cena heel turn. However, he changed his mind due to a lack of babyface opponents and because of Cena’s deal with American retailer K-Mart.

“That was the feeling back then [lack of opponents], then we came up with some scenarios, and believe it or not, Cena was on board with it, but right around that time there was a big clothing line for John Cena at K-Mart, and Vince McMahon was like, 'Oh Jesus Christ, he has a deal with K-Mart, and now we're going to turn him heel?'” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]

Eck said some names were discussed as WWE’s next top babyface, including CM Punk and Sheamus, but Vince McMahon decided not to turn Cena heel in the end.