John Cena's Heel Run Provides New Appreciation for Roman Reigns' Bloodline Story

In a twist many pro wrestling fans can see, John Cena’s heel run atop WWE right now is more of a limp. 

What they can’t fully see just yet? 

Roman Reigns’ Bloodline run deserves an apology. 

Not all that long ago, a vocal portion of fans were bemoaning how long Reigns was at the top. That every match was the same. That the finishes were the same. That the stories were too slow.

Now? After a decade-plus of asking for it, Cena’s heel turn has been odd, to put it kindly. His matches are super predictable, his heel actions feel like an actor trying to play a heel (read: inorganic) and worst of all—fans are headed for a reality where he’s likely about to tag team with musician Travis Scott and perhaps Logan Paul, too. 

If the care and attention the Bloodline story had for long-form storytelling was pro wrestling as a storytelling medium at its finest, Cena’s heel run so far has been pro wrestling at its most dated, if not carniest. 

That very same Scott threw interference into and ruined a WrestleMania main event, spoiling Cody Rhodes in the process. Now, we’re headed right for more Scott involvement at a time there are endlessly celebrity ringside shots on episodes of Raw, ad placements on the mat and pretty much everywhere and even a sudden change in WrestleMania venue, presumably because of more dollar signs. 

If fans had their way, Scott’s ‘Mania appearance would have instead been The Rock, to at least make some sense of the whole messy years-long ordeal with his sporadic, story-dashing involvement. Instead, the company appears to be ready to double down on Scott—when plugging in pretty much any other wrestler on the roster with ties to Cena would make more sense (but not for a company going overboard on non-wrestling fan attention spans). 

Cena’s matches so far have been super predictable with the worst twists possible. If not Scott at ‘Mania, look at R-Truth throwing interference at Backlash while Randy Orton took the obvious loss. 

Go ahead and look at Saturday Night’s Main Event, where Cena apparently has a better than 90 percent chance of winning in the odds department (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats). The only real question is what or who happens before R-Truth eats the pin. 

There’s no element of surprise with Cena’s run when it comes to results. It was obvious he was at 90-plus-percent odds to win all of his matches since the turn and only made worse by the “retirement tour” branding that gave fans an obvious timeline to follow. 

One can say what they want about the Bloodline, but more family interference after a close call of a match for the likes of Sami Zayn and others beats the tar out of Travis Scott and R-Truth. 

There was always something super interesting going on around Reigns, too. Part of that was having the greatest-of-all-time mic worker and manager Paul Heyman involved in the drama, sure. But Zayn and other characters put on great acts, too. 

Another testament to the work of the Bloodline? It built stars. It gave Jey Uso a platform to grow. It helped Jimmy stand out. It has opened doors for the likes of Jacob Fatu. Solo Sikoa might not be huge right now, but the launching pad is still there. One might even argue that by delaying the instant gratification of his beating Reigns by one year, Rhodes benefited more than he would have, too. 

When fans fantasy-booked Cena’s goodbye, it was ticking off a long list of dream matches for one final time before he then put over the sport’s next big thing, like Bron Breakker. Not…regressing things back to celebrity involvement for attention grabs and using one of his very limited, end-of-career matches to them. 

It’s extremely unfortunate that, in a way, comparing Reigns and Cena’s runs makes it clear they exemplify their respective eras. Reigns had meaningful characters and stories while crafting new main-event stars. Cena’s is messy, predictable and looking for outside validation. 

This is why, at least to some degree, there’s a segment of fans hoping Cena sticks around for longer than he says he will. Because there’s a course correction needed to avoid legacy scars. 

And it’s why, to a big degree, fans can line up for apologies to Reigns and the Bloodline.