Though some may quibble on the margins over semantics, an accepted fact of the WWE Universe is that John Cena has never had a proper heel run during his time on the main roster.

Sure, he had some bad guy antics during his Doctor of Thuganomics-era, and was famously considered a heel when he traveled to the Hammerstein in New York to face off against Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand, but Cena never got his version of “Hollywood” Hogan or “Corporate” Rock, instead opting to be a hero to many and a merch selling juggernaut.

Discussing how close he came to a heel run in WWE in an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Cena reveals it almost came very, very, very close, with all of the groundwork in place for a shocking change-up that would have shaken fans forever.

“It was Cena-Rock I. I got word that they were going to do it. I went out and recorded a new song. I went out and got all new gear. I wasn't prepared for Ruthless Aggression. That was the last time I wasn't prepared. I mean, I heard rumblings of, we're going to do it, and in 48 hours, I had a new track, a new studio mix theme song, and a final mix. I had seven new singlets, low-cut singlets with boxing-type robes. I already had the boots in storage, so I dusted them off. I was ready to go and already thinking about what I could do with the story. Okay, what is a heel? A heel is not just new gear. The objectivity, or the message behind the singlet and the boxing robes and the boots is the exact opposite of what you saw with the street gear, the jeans shorts, the t-shirt, the ball cap, the sneakers. Go the opposite route and now lean into the opposite of everything you stand for,” John Cena explained to Chris Van Vliet via Wrestling News.

“So I would begin to not work as hard. I would show up less. I would be untrustworthy and unloyal. I would lack respect in what I did. I would give up a lot. All those things you can take and make interesting stories and this is the stuff that's running through my head, not what moves can I do. It's like, how can I take the intellectual property that people are familiar with and twist it so it's like, this guy's f**king insane. It's everything I've come to love and now I genuinely hate it and being a real bad guy, and I think that was the conversation that was eventually had where it's like, okay, it's a bad idea. I'm like, ‘Hey, I know this is going to sting, but I'm not going to sell another T-shirt. I'm going to take all merchandise off the market. I'm not going to put out anything new. I'm not going to do any more appearances. I'm not going to do any Make-A-Wish. I'm not going to do anything like that. I'm going to be a bad guy to make your good guy so your good guy does all that.' That's when I was like, we're kind of in too deep. So it worked out the way it worked out, but bro, I was ready.”

Gosh, why didn't Cena bring out any of this heel gear during his Firefly Funhouse match at WrestleMania a few years back? Could you have even imagined getting a true sneak peak into what could have been, instead of him joining the NWO? *sigh* oh well, maybe fans will get to see it all at some point in the future, even if it's just as a post on social media.

John Cena uses wrestling to reveal how he picks his acting parts.

Elsewhere on his Ricky Stanicky promo tour,  John Cena stopped by Indie Wire, where he was asked how he decides which parts to take in as part of his expansive filmmaking career.

A true student of the game, Cena decided to compare casting to pro wrestling, noting that much like turning heel, you have to make decisions that mean something.

“I'll give you a WWE example: I can say that I want to turn heel, but I've never had that chance because I've never been given that chance,” he said. “It is beyond my control. So each day I would simply look at the audience and my body of work in front of me and said, ‘How do I operate as the best good guy I can?' Even if I personally have all these avenues that I want, I think you're wasting time, effort, and brainpower in saying, ‘Well, I'd like to do this.' I understand the concept of manifesting something, but I'm more of a believer in what is in front of me. How can I use my talent and strengths and give to the best of my ability? Are the people around me going to make me better? Can I make a good movie? Can I offer myself into this project and make it better?”

To Cena's credit, he has made plenty of film projects better with his addition, as films like Blockers wouldn't have been nearly as effective without his inclusion in the cast. Still, when talking about heel turns, it's hard not to now think about WrestleMania XXVIII because darn it, WWE messed up bad on that one.