Eric Bischoff has given a blunt review of John Cena’s farewell run in WWE, and he is not impressed with how it has played out so far.

Speaking on his 83 Weeks podcast, the former WCW President graded Cena’s retirement tour a flat “C,” pointing to its rocky opening as the main reason it has fallen short of expectations.

Bischoff argued that the storyline stumbled out of the gate, citing the heel turn at Elimination Chamber where Cena aligned with The Rock. The crowd quickly rejected the move, forcing Cena back into a babyface role before he later dropped the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam.

“I’d give it a C,” Bischoff said. “Now, if you take the heel turn or whatever that was, take that out and just look at the rest of it, probably a B, maybe an A- or a B. It’s been pretty good, except for the way it started.”

He compared the misstep to a poorly paced film, explaining that once the audience checks out early, it is tough to bring them back. “The heel turn attempt, it’s like the end of the movie ended up being pretty good, but you got up and walked out mentally or emotionally during the first 15 minutes of the movie, because it just didn’t make any sense. It’s hard to get it back.”

Bischoff also addressed Cena’s clean defeat to Brock Lesnar at WrestlePalooza, saying the creative direction would only work if it serves a long-term purpose. “If this story going forward is a redemption story, I love redemption stories, they always work for me. If it’s not the case, and it was just what they did that night, that would be worrisome to me.”

Ultimately, Bischoff believes fans want to see their heroes end on a high note, not fade away on a low one. “Give everybody what they want is to see the guy go out on top. Everybody would love to see Babe Ruth hit his last home run. Nobody wants to see Babe Ruth strike out.”