In a recent episode of the “Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy” podcast, TNA veteran Matt Hardy shared his opinions on John Cena’s heel promo segment that involved Cody Rhodes from the previous WWE RAW.
Brief excerpts from the podcast can be found below:
Concerning John Cena’s heel promo: “It grew on me. What really caught my attention was the persistence of his character, his refusal to change. His justification for this was when people constantly asked, ‘What’s new? What changes are you bringing?’ He responded with, ‘None. I’m not changing anything. Remember, I’m not the one who emulates you, you’re the ones who emulate me.’ Which I found particularly noteworthy.
“My only slight critique might be the vague explanation behind his association with The Rock. A deeper dive into that would have been interesting. Nonetheless, I thought it was impressive how well he played the role of a disgruntled, whiny character who seemed wronged. He successfully made himself unsympathetic, which I think John Cena needed to do.”
Discussing his expectations from Cena and Rhodes for WrestleMania: “Honestly, I appreciated how John’s griping created an easy transition for Cody to take on the hero’s role. He was allowed to be a tough guy. He sounded authentic, which is crucial. On the microphone, John Cena is one of the best, capable of taking down anyone verbally. However, he took a different approach this time, presenting a more ‘ordinary’ or even ‘dull’ excuse, addressing the audience as ‘you people’. Yet, it was sufficient.
“When looking at the WWE audience, I think most were probably thinking, ‘Why is John Cena acting like this? We used to like you. Now you’ve changed for the worse, you’re such a complainy little whiner. Why are you doing this?’ Then Cody steps into the frame, looking and acting like a tough guy. Seeing that, one would think, ‘Well, this is the new, improved face of WWE, proving to the old guard that he’s a tough guy. That there’s a new boss in town, and it’s Cody Rhodes.’”