Related
One of the most inbuilt scene in 2008’sThe Dark Knightsees Harvey Dent at a eatery table with Bruce Wayne , Rachel Dawes , and Natascha , hash out the mask vigilance man , Batman , and his protective covering of Gotham as The Joker runs rampant through the metropolis . Dent states thatGotham at last anointed Batman their hero by give up the crime syndicates to take overand that sometimes , the dangling of democracy is both necessary and a public service to protect the city and its the great unwashed .
Why am I talking about the Joker here ? Well , because Dent then drive home the most prophetic line of the film,“You either conk out a hero , or you live long enough to see yourself become the scoundrel . “The statement is both a adumbration of Dent ’s eventual demise as part of The Joker ’s primary program to destroy Gotham , and a statement about all anointed submarine in society;that all men can be corrupted , no matter how many beneficial intentions paved their way to Hell .
This March marks five years sinceWWE , and the cosmos , keep out down due to the COVID-19 pandemic , give sprightliness as we knew it upside down . And on March 12 , 2020 , WWE harbinger that all live events and video broadcasts would be prompt to the WWE Performance Center , with no fan in attending , and altered the plan ofWrestleMania 36 , forcingJohn CenaandBray Wyattto scramble for ways to keep their feud ’s build intact without the proceeds in front of fan . TheFirefly Funhouse Matchis both ahaunting portrayal of the corruption of John Cenaand theroadmap for Cena ’s retreat tour in 2025 , one that could see both Wyatt ’s and Dent ’s premonitions and indictments come to fruition .
WWE’s Firefly Funhouse Match Explained
A Thirteen-Minute Performance Art Piece That Celebrates Their Histories
The lucifer began with a negotiation from Bray Wyatt , inviting viewers to challenge their preconceived notions of both identity operator and self , while prepare Cena to face the most unnerving opposite of his career : himself . Cena ’s descent into madness , or perhaps his daylight of atonement , begins in the Funhouse with an excited Ramblin ' lapin telling him where to find Wyatt , but also with an ominous warning : " Be careful , dude . " What follows is definitely the most cinematic WWE couple of all clip , which exit places I ’ve thought about a lot in the past 5 years .
He ’s delight through several of his own personal Circles of Hell : his Genesis as the genuine babyfaced two - strengthen build - a - wrestler role during the root of the " Ruthless Aggression " geological era , the commonplace - spit powerful man from the 1980s epoch of wrestling , and the " Doctor of Thuganomics " , his mean spirited rap theatrical role that sling him to stardom . Finally , his long awaited - or long unacknowledged , count on your point of thought - dog go come about , first by swinging the ominous - fate steel chair at Wyatt ’s head , a step he did n’t take atWrestleMania XXX , and then re - emerging as the leader of the nWo , the villain .
After he snap back into reality , as he strikes Huskus the Pig Boy repeatedly in the head , Cena sits silently in the center of the ring , reflecting on the Sojourner Truth about himself and who he really is . The Fiend appears to attack him , winning the match after a " Sister Abigail " follow by the Mandible Claw , with Wyatt counting the three as he laughs into the camera . The Fiend stands victorious over Cena , who melt out of the annulus , corrupted and drum .
A performance art piece that challenge the linear vogue of a rassling match , it ultimately succeeds by pushing the flawed zep to obliviousness , forcing him to acknowledge his biggest mortal hell . He inhabit long enough to see himself become the scoundrel . It is both the performer ' fine hour , the capstone to the Story of The Fiend that would unfortunately taper off after a serial of creative fumbles outside of Wyatt ’s command , and the present moment that set the board for Cena ’s retreat tour ; the narration of a humanity scramble to conserve his fame .
Would A John Cena Heel Turn Have Actually Worked? Will It Now?
The Farewell Tour Is Hinting At A Dark Turn…
The Firefly Funhouse Match , at its meat , is an bill of indictment of the structures of WWE that fete perceived mediocrity over creativity , as well asVince McMahon ’s never - ending quest that set out in 1993 ; the search to observe his new Hulk Hogan . The compeer ’s greatest bit make out in the subtext and comparisons of John Cena to Hulk Hogan , including the allusion to Hogan ’s watershed 1996 heel turning that changed the typeface of professional wrestling , something thata Cena heel turncould still do in 2025 .
Hulk Hogan was the biggest grappling star in the world during his peak , butsupport for the red and chicken was wane dramatically prior to his WWE exit in 1993 , and did n’t get any in force for the first few year of his WCW run . Wrestling lover had turn threadbare of order prayers and eat vitamin , and one leg drop curtain to Randy Savage at 1996’sBash at the Beachput him firmly at the top of the industry again , this fourth dimension as the corrupted villain do-or-die to hold back his renown , the spotlight , and idolization from a now ungrateful audience .
Cena ’s retreat tour is less a " one last time " event and more of a personal verification for Cena that he is still utilitarian in the WWE landscape of 2025 , as he has speak at duration about the need to upgrade the future Superstars of the troupe . However , Cena has always been the " golden goose , " as Wyatt referred to him , andtruly hand up his top spot and walking aside could turn up to be a fatal blow to his babyface role , and instead of dying the sub , or in this instance retiring as one , Cena lived long enough to see himself become the villain , just like Hogan before him .
With his edged loss at the deal of Jey Uso at this year’sRoyal Rumble , Cena ’s bruised self and desperate need for achiever follow back to the top of his intellect , and if he stick out another loss atElimination Chamber , and with it his last opportunity at aWrestleManiamain event , Cena ’s pride could finally fracture and allow the Hogan - style heel turn to take place . The Firefly Funhouse Match provides the roadmap to whata John Cena hound spell could expect like : a man obsessed with fame and the spotlight , and a just out of reach 17th championship win , observe his way into the chief event ofWrestleManiaby any means necessary , something Wyatt showed him he was already doing .
How Firefly Funhouse Changed Wrestling
Even John Cena Has Kryptonite, And Bray Wyatt Proved It
Critical analytic thinking celebrates the Firefly Funhouse Match for its telling employment of literary themes and its nod to classic torpedo history arcs , make believe it the most level - motor cinematic equal of the Pandemic Era . While its contemporaries , like The Undertaker ’s " Boneyard Match " against AJ Styles atWrestleMania 36 , and Sting and Darby Allin ’s couple against Ricky Starks and Brian Cage from AEW ’s 2021 pay per viewRevolution , focalise intemperately on action at law and physicality , the Firefly Funhouse Match was centered on telling a account and providing devotee servicefor those who have been invested since the root of both men ’s calling .
The peer itself spread the door to the in - depth and racy storytelling method acting WWE utilize during its Performance Center and Thunderdome Eras , and paved the room for its storytelling process as it progress up R.C. Reigns as the Head of the Table , the Jey Uso top guy push , and Cody Rhodes ' seeking to " finish the story . " By allowing Cena and Wyatt to take a massive risk with the Firefly Funhouse Match , WWE charge up its power to produce more story base approaching to its product , something that is still intemperately utilize in the Triple H Era of WWE .
But the genuine legacy of the Firefly Funhouse Match is the reinforcement to theWWEUniverse , and John Cena , that all gentleman’s gentleman can be corrupt , and that no one ever truly stays the champion forever . Cena will hang up his jorts for effective in December , but the chance for him to fulfill both Bray Wyatt and Harvey Dent ’s prophecy becomes stronger by the day , and there may get along a sentence when Cena hits the proverbial Randy Savage pegleg drop and accepts his fate .
WWE.com
WWE
WWE
WWE
