John Cena's Heel Character Already Feels Stale After WWE Backlash Win vs. Randy Orton

John Cena’s expected win over Randy Orton in the main event of Saturday's WWE Backlash was unexpectedly entertaining. 

John Cena’s heel character, though…not so much. 

His first major title defense after some clunky promo exchanges on the path to the premium live event benefited from low expectations coming out of a not-so-great WrestleMania main event win over Cody Rhodes. 

But, apparently we all forgot just how much chemistry Cena and Orton have in the ring, as the main event was super-fun sports entertainment—so much so, one can even overlook or forgive that R-Truth, of all people, interfered and swung the result of the last time we’ll ever see them link up. 

And that's worth pointing out because the transgressions of Cena's heel turn to this point made the weird Travis Scott interference at 'Mania and endless speculation about The Rock's involvement all the more terrible. 

Cena has been struggling to get the character right ever since. There's a narrative thread worth pulling on when it comes to the almost delusional, lost-a-step GOAT contender failing to come to terms with the fact that the business will move on just fine without him. 

The lack of visuals on the entrance and best for business attitude after brushing shoulders with Hollywood and The Rock? Great. The willingness to cheat and accept outside help to keep winning because he can't keep pace on a level playing field? Also great. 

Going out and doing "you people" promos at fans? Severely lacking—and he has to know it. 

There's a balance in here somewhere Cena has yet to grasp, and it shows. He's akin to others like CM Punk who have transcended getting booed by fans. There's nothing heelish they can really do to prevent cheering, so the finger-pointing at fans just comes off as awkward at best. 

What is weird is we've seen better heel work from Cena when he was supposedly a toe-stepping-on-the-line good guy when he dressed down opponents on the mic in embarrassing fashion. Remember "it's a promo, kid" when he dismantled Roman Reigns? Or destroying Austin Theory? 

A little more of that and a little less predictability would help Cena get through what is usually a tough part of the calendar, anyway. 

To be fair to Cena, this is a new era, when fans are more looped in than ever to the pro wrestling process. Everyone seems to know the heel turn can't last, perhaps ending as soon as SummerSlam. That way, the tail end of his goodbye to the sport can be as a good guy again. 

Everything until then is, for lack of a better term, sort of filler. And it's awkward filler, as a matchup against someone like Orton is dripping with nostalgia goodness as their final time in the ring together. 

In the post-PLE presser, Cena threw R-Truth through a table, suggesting he may be his next opponent.

There's no easy solution for Cena, especially when Reigns' Bloodline saga was so compelling by comparison. In some ways, he just feels like a Hollywood actor poorly trying to play a bad guy. 

Silver lining? There's time to fix it. Much of it can come down to the feud, too, especially when an upcoming opponent could be a certain fourth-wall-breaking, best-of-all-time contender on the mic with a long history of problems with Cena: 

Tack on the fact that Cena can adjust to fan feedback and simply benefit from getting more distance between him and that awkward 'Mania main event, and all hope isn't lost just yet. 

Either way, it will be interesting from here. Maybe Cena is the delusional old pro who gets more violent and desperate to cheat as he goes. Or maybe there's a morsel of remorse every week as he wakes up to what he's become, as he's going out sad. 

The nostalgia-button-punching feuds and matches, at least, will clearly be stellar. But…the time is now to salvage the heel turn, one way or another.

Cena's current staleness feels immense now, but it can be a small blip on the farewell tour easily glossed over with the right tweaks.