Eric Bischoff Says John Cena’s Heel Turn Doesn’t Compare to Hulk Hogan’s NWO Betrayal

John Cena’s shocking heel turn at WWE Elimination Chamber had the wrestling world talking, but Eric Bischoff doesn’t think it holds up to Hulk Hogan’s legendary NWO turn from the late ‘90s.

Speaking on 83 Weeks, Bischoff broke down the moment and why, in his opinion, Cena’s turn didn’t quite reach the same historic level as Hogan’s betrayal of WCW.

“Different time, different—everything was different. Here’s the thing, though—structurally, let’s reverse engineer this. If we go back and watch the turn, the moment—the kick to the balls. Before that, if you go back, The Rock did the slit-throat thing, the whole thing. If you watch it play out, and when it’s all over, watch the people standing around the ring. Got a great reaction, don’t get me wrong—it wasn’t the reaction that Hogan got.”

Bischoff then suggested a side-by-side comparison between the two moments, focusing solely on the crowd reactions.

“If you go back, put those two finishes side by side—forget about what’s going on inside of the ring, just watch the crowd. Oh yeah, and then there’s all the garbage that came with the crowd [in WCW]. The reaction to Hogan’s turn on an emotional scale of 1 to 10 was probably a nine. I think on an emotional scale, the Cena turn was probably around an eight, maybe seven and a half.”

According to Bischoff, the biggest difference is the timing and evolution of wrestling audiences.

“What it comes down to, Conrad, is shocking—no one expected it. I don’t think I heard any chatter. Now, granted, I’ve been busy the last few weeks, busier than usual, and I haven’t stayed close to what’s going on in wrestling… But I just don’t think this will get the kind of reaction that the Hogan turn did.”

That’s not a knock on Cena’s turn itself—Bischoff made sure to clarify that the execution was flawless, but the landscape of wrestling today simply isn’t the same.

“I don’t think it’s as big as the Hogan turn in terms of overall impact. I agree with whoever made the comment. But it’s not because it wasn’t extremely well done—it’s just because of the timing. The audience’s taste is different. It’s bigger, for sure, but it’s different. Just like it is for movies and television.”

While Cena’s heel turn will undoubtedly go down as one of WWE’s most memorable moments, Bischoff believes it simply won’t have the same cultural shift that Hogan’s NWO turn did nearly 30 years ago.