WrestleMania 28 Results: Nobody Should Expect a John Cena Heel Turn After Defeat

The match between John Cena and The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII was built up as the biggest match in the event's history, which made sense given the fact it was between two of the biggest names in professional wrestling history, one of whom was returning to the ring for the first time in a long time.

But just as intriguing as what would happen during the match was what would happen after the match. So, on Monday, less than 24 hours after The Rock defeated Cena via a rock bottom, we find ourselves asking a very simple two-word question:

Now what?

As far as The Rock is concerned, not a whole heck of a lot. Sooner or later, it will be back to Hollywood for him, leaving Cena and everyone else to go about their Rock-less existence. Just about everyone got what they wanted out of his ultimately triumphant return, so The Rock can now go back to his day job in peace.

As for Cena, well, what now indeed?

Full disclosure: I was expecting Cena to come away with the victory on Sunday. Sure, the match was in The Rock's hometown and there was a lot of talking about how the crowd packed into Sun Life Stadium would turn to rioting if The Rock lost (that would have been epically embarrassing for the people of Miami), but that didn't mean WWE was obligated to make sure he won. Having Cena win would have made for an epic upset given the circumstances, and it would have opened up all sorts of doors for his character.

Since he lost, there's a train of thought out there that we're finally going to see Cena turn heel. He's been avoiding it for years, but the frustration of defeat will surely get some dark emotions brewing inside him. Before long, he'll go from being an insufferable face to being probably the biggest heel on WWE's roster.

I don't buy it. It's definitely a possibility, but I'm not buying it.

There will be some sort of character shift for Cena following Sunday's defeat, make no mistake about that. I look forward to seeing the start of it on Raw. But we're not going to see an angry, bitter, disillusioned Cena slowly (or quickly, for that matter) start to turn towards the dark side.

Given what we know about Cena, it's far more likely that he'll just continue to be himself. It's not like he got robbed or anything, so you can expect him to stick to his guns, preach his "Rise Above" mantra and do many other decidedly Cena things—all to a highly mixed reaction from the crowd.

The crowd reaction is all that matters. He's loved in some circles and hated in others, but it's all the same to WWE as long as Cena is getting attention. Cena's character hasn't been changed because Cena's character never fails to inspire a big reaction. 

WWE could have messed with the formula by having Cena defeat The Rock. But by having him lose, a pretty loud message has been sent that WWE is perfectly content to keep Cena in his place. He's a superstar, but not a legend.

This will not change. What will change is the scenery around Cena, which has been happening for years. Through it all, he's remained a rock (no pun intended). He's always been himself, and that's the very reason he is both loved and hated. 

After this long, it's a lock that Cena will be loved and hated no matter what happens. That won't change, so he won't change.

He won't change because it doesn't matter what you or anyone else thinks of him. All that matters is that people are watching.