Tommy Dreamer Assesses John Cena's WWE Heel Turn's Place In Wrestling History

John Cena turned his back on WWE fans recently, betraying Cody Rhodes's friendship and joining up with The Rock. On "Busted Open Radio," Tommy Dreamer had notes for the shocking turn, though he put it in lofty company.

"The only thing I can compare it to is [Hulk Hogan turning heel]," Dreamer said. "Shock value? Worked. People talking about it? Worked."

Dreamer thinks Cena and WWE managed to create a lot of headlines and a lot of fan interest, but isn't ready to put it in the upper echelons of wrestling shocks.

"If you talk about a heel turn, you're supposed to be booed. The moment he turned and everyone popped," Dreamer critiqued. "Everybody was on their feet clapping. There was a smatter of middle fingers. So, if you're going old-school, it wasn't a heel turn, they just popped for John Cena."

Dreamer believes that Cena punching Rhodes with a Rolex helped push the scene into a heel-ish place, but still only heard excitement from the fans in Toronto.

"There are people jumping and there's more noise, cheers, than boos, but it worked," Dreamer hedged, saying that WWE edited the replay so as to emphasize the segment's heat. "They massaged...They showed the faces, kids crying, all that stuff, of the turn."

Cena is currently on his retirement tour, which is set to end in December. The shocking heel turn was Cena's final show in Toronto. Cena will face Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 for the Undisputed WWE Championship after he won the titular match at Elimination Chamber. Should he win, he will break WWE Hall of Famer "Nature Boy" Ric Flair's record for 16 world titles.