Why Kevin Nash Says There's No Comparing John Cena's WWE Heel Turn With Hogan's

At WWE Elimination Chamber, John Cena stunned the wrestling world by attacking Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and aligning himself with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson — a move many fans considered to be reminiscent of Hulk Hogan's heel turn on Randy Savage at WCW Bash at the Beach in 1996. In the eyes of WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash, however, the two scenes aren't even comparable.

"I think that this would be really monumental if we didn't know that Cena was leaving in eight months," Nash said on "Kliq This." "John's great, but John's too precise on what he does. When he showed up with the no tan, I was just like 'Okay.' Not just a no tan, but like powder [white] to the point of it was a giveaway to me that something was up. People were comparing it to Hogan's turn, I'm just like 'Oh, I disagree.' There wasn't 'stab you' heat in the building in Toronto."

In Cena's case, his heel turn came moments after he won the 2025 Men's Elimination Chamber, which cemented him an opportunity to challenge Rhodes for his title at WWE WrestleMania 41. Rhodes then came face-to-face with rapper Travis Scott and The Rock, the latter of whom previously raised interest in obtaining Rhodes' soul. While Rhodes vehemently denied The Rock's offer, Cena took it up and laid waste to Rhodes in the ring.

Back in 1996, Hogan, a long-time babyface, revealed himself as the tag partner to Nash and Scott Hall (together known as The Outsiders) in a match pitting them against Team WCW's Randy Savage, Sting, and Lex Luger. In doing so, Hogan also delivered a pair of leg drops on Savage, a former tag partner of his.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Kliq This" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.