John Cena says he turned heel in 2005

As part of the wide-ranging interview with Complex where he revealed he is, in fact, cleared and ready to go whenever WWE asks him to - including at WrestleMania 32 this Sunday - John Cena also addressed the "heel turn" question that's been a fixture of internet conversation for at least the last five years, if not more.

After breaking down his view that wrestling fans are a lot like music fans:

Amazingly enough, when I was on Velocity on Saturday nights and no one was watching, those guys were like, "Whoa, kid's kinda funny. He got something." As soon as you get any endorsement from the company on your success, it's like an underground band that goes mainstream. It's the same thing. Yes, they develop their music but the original fan, the fan who saw them in the garage, is going to despise them. "I like their old stuff."

Cena succinctly answers the question of when he'll become an in-story villain:

Complex: When are you turning heel?
Cena: Okay, this is where your inside baseball mind gets put to an abrupt stop. What is the job of a heel?

Complex: To make people boo.
Cena: Is that what I do?

Complex: Most of the time.
Cena: Okay, so that happened in 2005.

It's an argument lots of folks have made over the years: why mess with a formula where you're selling a ton of merchandise (and tickets) AND drawing heat?

Check out the whole interview - and we'll likely have more posts on it, too, to be honest - and remember...

John Cena is already a heel.