John Cena is going through a breakup… with his fans ?
The WWE star-turned-actor faced a roaring and divided crowd on last night’s (March 17) Monday Night Raw in Brussels, where he stuck it to fans and critics alike, per Entertainment Weekly.
“When someone is properly grounded in life, they shouldn’t have to look outside themselves for approval,” he began calmly.
However, Cena eventually got riled up, claiming, “For 25 years, I’ve been the victim.”
“I have been the victim of an abusive relationship,” he stated. “No, no, no. You have lost your time to talk!”
Following more boos from the audience, Cena screamed, “Yeah? OK, fine. Take the floor and what do you do with it? All you do is be hurtful. All you are is abusive, and all you’ve ever done is bully me into being your damn puppet and expecting me to do it with a smile on my face. No more!”
Cena insisted that he’s “not a baby face” and “not a heel,” but he is a “human being.” Arguing that “each and every one” sitting in the crowd has been “awful” to him, he doubled down on hearing “the same damn noise for 25 years.”
Dramatically claiming that he is “walking away at the end of this year,” Cena said, “No matter what I do, it is never enough, and you all should be ashamed of yourself.”
In an effort to make his point and not leave anyone out of his verbal tirade, he said of his fans, “You do not support me. What you do is you use me as an excuse for your pathetic failure of a life. Because all you’ve ever done there, for 25 years, is sit on your ass and watch me be great! No more! This, this, everybody, including that one kid right there, is a toxic, dysfunctional relationship.”
One viewer teased on X that Cena “kickstarted lil bro’s supervillain origin story” with the line jokingly targeting a child.
On Monday night, Cena even went so far as to declare he’s “breaking up” with everyone.
“I’m done. I’m breaking up with every single person. Whether you like me or you don’t, you’re dumped,” he said. “I don’t need you anymore. I don’t care about you anymore, and you don’t matter to me. And here’s the thing. There’s no noise you can make, there is nothing you can do, because you know I’m right, and you know you are wrong!”
His lengthy speech was then concluded by music, signaling the entrance of Cena’s upcoming WrestleMania opponent, Cody Rhodes, who is known as the American Nightmare. After a long, warm welcome from the crowd, Rhodes entered the ring with Cena, clapping back at Cena and noting that while WWE fans have certainly given him their “worst,” they have also given Cena their “best for 25 years,” too.
“They did that because you were special. They did that because you could take it. They did that because you could carry it,” he added. “Enough!”
Cena’s promo last night received mixed reviews online. While some fans praised his speech as the “greatest of all fucking time” and a “masterclass,” others were “shocked and appalled,” found his heel turn to be “so weird,” and thought that “WWE completely botched” his heel turn.
“John Cena’s promo on Raw was damn near perfect because it felt so real,” one fan gushed, in part. “He’s not ‘turning heel,’ he’s telling you how he feels and not a lie was told.”
Whatever the reaction, Cena’s segment has reportedly become “the most watched Raw segment of the year so far” across all of the network’s social media platforms. See for yourself above.