Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for WWE Elimination Chamber 2025John Cena shockedWWEfans all around the world on Saturday night by turning heels inthe final moments of theElimination Chamberpremium live event. After officially earning a shot at Cody Rhodes' Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the show’s main event, Cena and Rhodes embraced while pointing at theWrestleMania 41sign. The two were then interrupted by The Rock, accompanied by rapper Travis Scott.Rock demanded Rhodes finally give him an answer-either sell his soul to “The Final Boss"or, as Rock said himself, “the dream dies… again.”
Rhodes looked conflicted, but eventually proclaimed that he sold his soul to the fans and the wrestling business a long time ago.He fully rejected Rock’s offer, much to Cena’s delight. The two embraced again, only this time Rock ran his finger across his throat. Cena’s expression suddenly changed and he delivered a low blow to Rhodes. The 16-time world championproceeded to hand Rhodes a brutal beating, bashing him in the face with a Rolex watch wrapped around his fist before whacking him with the WWE Championship multiple times. Cena and Scott then held a bloodied Rhodes down on the canvas for Rock to repeatedly whip him with a weight belt. The three left Rhodes in a bloody heap as the show went off the air.
What John Cena’s Heel Turn Means For WrestleMania 41
Cena vs. Rhodes Was Just Elevated To A New Level
Cena announced at the 2024Money in the Bankpremium live eventthat 2025 would be his final year as an in-ring competitor for the WWE.That meantWrestleMania 41would be his last WrestleMania, and he’d only have one year to try and finally break Ric Flair’s record for most recognized world championship reigns (he’s been tied with Flair at 16 reigns since 2017). That alone raised the stakes for Cena’s attempt to earn a spot in theWrestleMania 41main event by beating five other men inside the Elimination Chamber, and a match with Rhodes could be seen as a battle of generations and a potential “passing the torch” moment.
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But now Rhodes vs. Cena will deliver something fans begged to see for years -Cena portraying a heel. While he was briefly an antagonistic villain in the early 2000s while on theWWE SmackDownroster, Cena remained a babyface throughout his decade-long run as the WWE’s top stareven as reactions towards him grew increasingly polarized.
John Cena Nearly Turned Heel Back In 2012
Ironically, It Was When He Was Feuding With The Rock
Prior to Saturday night, the only time WWE legitimately considered turning Cena heel during his full-time run with the companywas back in 2012. Cena was locked in a feud with The Rock at the time, losing to “The People’s Champion” atWrestleMania 28and going on a downward spiral before winning the rematch atWrestleMania 29the following year for the WWE Championship.
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He has recapped the plan for the turn in several interviews over the years, noting how he would have fully committed to the change with a revamped onscreen presentation and attitude. Cena explained the full scope of the heel turn, an idea WWE’s creative team would eventually abandon, while talking with Chris Van Vliet on theInsightpodcast in 2024.
I had seven new singlets, low-cut singlets with boxing-type robes. I already had the boots in storage, so I dusted them off. I was ready to go and already thinking about like what I could do with the story. Okay, what is a heel? A heel is not just new gear. The objectivity, or the message behind the singlet and the boxing robes and the boots is the exact opposite of what you saw with the street gear, the jeans shorts, the t-shirt, the ball cap, the sneakers. Go the opposite route and now lean into the opposite of everything you stand for. So I would begin to not work as hard. I would show up less, I would be untrustworthy and unloyal. I would lack respect in what I did. Like all you have to do is turn that on its [head]. I would give up a lot. All those things you can take and make interesting stories, and this is the stuff that’s running through my head, not what moves can I do. It’s like how can I take the intellectual property that people are familiar with and twist it so it’s like this guy’s insane. - John Cena (h/t Fightful)
Triple H Responds To John Cena’s Heel Turn
“The Game” Addressed The Matter At The Post-Show Press Conference
Paul “Triple H” Levesque spoke with media members following Saturday’s show and addressed Cena’s actions. He called it one of the biggest moments he’s witnessed in the last 30 years. Levesque said that with Cena being on his farewell tour he could have easily ridden a wave of nostalgia and coasted through his final matches and appearances. But he then pointed out Cena isn’t built like that, and that he’d rather be “challenged, right to the last moment.”
Cena himself appeared during the post-show press conference, only todeliver a “mic drop"and leave without saying a word. Fans will likely have to wait for Cena to explain his action on an upcoming episode ofWWE RaworWWE SmackDown.But given how sparse his appearances have been thanks to his busy acting schedule and WrestleMania 41 still being over a month away, that might take a while.
Other matches confirmed forWrestleMania 41include Gunther vs. Jey Uso for the World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte Flair. The two-night event will take place on April 19-20 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
