Ex-WWE writer compares John Cena heel turn to iconic Dusty Rhodes moment (Exclusive)

John Cena attacked Cody Rhodes at WWE Elimination Chamber on March 1 to turn heel for the first time since 2003. Vince Russo, WWE's former head writer, recently reflected on another memorable wrestling character change involving Cody's father Dusty.

In 1986, Nikita Koloff surprisingly became a babyface in the NWA after fan favorite Magnum T.A. was involved in a career-ending car accident. After two years as a bad guy, Koloff teamed up with his former rival Dusty Rhodes to defeat J.J. Dillon and Ole Anderson in a cage match.

Russo appeared on the latest episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws with host Dr. Chris Featherstone. Discussing John Cena's Elimination Chamber moment, the veteran writer reminisced about Koloff's unexpected partnership with Rhodes.

"I remember, bro, it was Georgia Championship Wrestling, Gordon Solie [commentating], the whole nine yards, bro, and I remember it was footage from a house show or something," Russo said. "Bro, I remember Dusty was involved in a cage match, and Dusty was getting his backside kicked and Nikita, who was Dusty's arch enemy rival, came down in the cage and helped Dusty Rhodes." [4:13 – 4:47]

Watch the video above to hear Russo reveal whether he thinks John Cena's heel turn was better than Hulk Hogan's in WCW.

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Vince Russo compares John Cena's heel turn to another legendary moment

In 1974, Egyptian wrestler Spiros Arion turned heel on top babyface Chief Jay Strongbow. The two men were due to challenge The Valiant Brothers for the WWWF Tag Team Championship. However, Arion sabotaged the title opportunity by attacking his partner.

Vince Russo, a 13-year-old fan at the time, could hardly believe what he was watching:

"Remember Spiros Arion? I remember when he turned on Chief Jay Strongbow, bro, and he took Chief's traditional headdress and was shoving the feathers down his throat. Oh my God, I thought I was gonna die when I was a little kid, bro." [6:29 – 6:47]

In the same video, Russo questioned why WWE Hall of Famer Paul Bearer does not receive the respect he deserves.

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