WWE Backstage Reaction to John Cena; Rumors on Tiffany, Charlotte, Penta and IC Title

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Natalya Reveals Backstage Reaction to Cena's Heel Promo

WWE veteran Natalya described the backstage vibe during John Cena's first promo since his Elimination Chamber heel turn on Raw in Brussels, Belgium, last week.

During an interview with Rob Wong and Jan Murphy of the Toronto Sun (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Nattie revealed that she and several other wrestlers were hanging on Cena's every word:

“I was there live, watching from behind a curtain because I wanted to see how the live audience would react. John is just a master storyteller. I was on the edge of my seat, wondering what he was going to say next. There were so many of us—Bayley, Rey Mysterio, and a lot of other talent—we were all backstage watching. Everyone was waiting to see what John Cena was going to say, and we were all shook.”

After winning the men's Elimination Chamber match to earn a WWE Championship match against Cody Rhodes, Cena did the unthinkable by attacking Cody and aligning himself with The Rock.

A few weeks later, Cena finally broke his silence on Raw, and he placed all of the blame on the fans.

Cena noted that he was tired of trying to please the fans every step of the way and brought up the mercurial reactions he received from them over the years.

Natalya noted how shocked she and others were by the subject matter, but she also expressed understanding for where Cena's heel character was coming from, saying:

“It was really cool to see because John is someone we’ve all looked up to. Especially when he was actively in WWE, he was always a leader in the locker room, someone we could turn to and someone we all respected. But in that moment, he flipped the switch. He made you really think about everything he was saying. I remember looking at Bayley, and she was like, ‘Oh my God, he’s breaking up with the fans. He’s literally breaking up with us. How dare he?’ ...

“Some of the things he said, I actually agreed with. It wasn’t just about him—it was about all of us. We all want more. Everybody wants more. And he was like, ‘I do this, I do this, and I do this, and it’s never enough.’ That really hit me because, as performers, we just give and give and give, and sometimes it feels like it’s never enough. There was a lot of truth in what he said. He had all of us eating out of the palm of his hand.”

Rhodes had no interest in validating the proverbial pity party, as he called Cena a "whiny b---h" and said he wanted to face the old version of Cena at WrestleMania 41.

Despite that, it was more of the same for Cena on Raw in Glasgow, Scotland, this week, and he added in the wrinkle of vowing to beat Rhodes for the WWE title at WrestleMania and retire with it in his possession.

Rhodes once again stepped to Cena, but the 16-time world champion backed down and walked out.

Cena has drawn hugely negative reactions on each of the two episodes of Raw he has appeared on since Elimination Chamber, which suggests WWE's plan is playing out to perfection.

How Charlotte/Tiffany Promo Was Reportedly Received Backstage

WWE women's champion Tiffany Stratton and her WrestleMania 41 challenger, Charlotte Flair, traded verbal barbs on last week's episode of SmackDown.

In a sit-down conversation that saw Tiffany and Charlotte kept in different rooms, they ratcheted up the animosity ahead of their match on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

While Stratton got some shots in, it was clear that the far more experienced Flair got the better of the exchange, as she came away looking more confident and self-assured.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Mukherjee), WWE officials viewed the segment as a case of Charlotte "handling business."

While officials reportedly didn't feel as though Tiffany failed despite online opinions to the contrary, they realize that Flair performed better during the exchange.

There was some thought that Charlotte might have gone off script since Tiffany appeared flustered by some of her responses, but that reportedly wasn't the case, as Flair had her responses planned beforehand.

Regardless of the specifics, WWE officials reportedly felt Flair came away from the segment looking like a bigger star than Stratton.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing since it can be used in the storyline as a way to fuel Stratton and potentially lift her to a huge WrestleMania win.

Given Flair's laundry list of accomplishments, it only makes sense to frame her as the favorite and the top dog, which naturally places Stratton in an underdog role.

That isn't something Tiffany has been faced with much during her meteoric rise to the top, but it could go a long way toward making her a more complete performer once her rivalry with Charlotte is complete.

WWE Reportedly Planning IC Title Fatal 4-Way for WrestleMania

A multi-man match for the Intercontinental Championship reportedly may be in the cards for WrestleMania 41.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), WWE has been building toward an IC title Fatal 4-Way between Bron Breakker, Penta, Finn Bálor and Dominik Mysterio since last week.

Breakker, who is the intercontinental champion, had a successful title defense on last week's Raw against Bálor after Dominik helped get him a title shot.

At the same time, Penta made it clear that his intentions were to have an Intercontinental Championship match of his own, and his wish was granted this week on Raw.

Amid Bálor and Penta both going for the IC title, Dominik lobbied to add Penta to The Judgment Day, which infuriated Bálor despite Penta seemingly having no interest in the offer.

Dominik and Carlito interfered in Monday's match between Penta and Breakker, causing a disqualification. Bálor then arrived on the scene and hit both Penta and Breakker with a steel chair.

Raw ended with Bálor, Dominik and Carlito standing tall, which suggests The Judgment Day will be very much involved with the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania.

If the Fatal 4-Way does come to fruition at WrestleMania, it promises to be a chaotic and entertaining match, and it is fair to say that any of the four combatants has a legitimate chance to leave Las Vegas as IC champ.

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