If you possess a single social media account, you likely know that John Cena turned heel on Cody Rhodes and joined forces with The Rock at the WWE Elimination Chamber event on Saturday.
Whether it’s X, Threads, BlueSky, Instagram, Facebook or even LinkedIn (no, seriously), everybody seems to be talking about Cena’s swerve and its shocking nature.
Granted, my algorithms have long been calibrated toward my habits as a grown man who has consumed pro wrestling content on a daily basis for the last 15 years and counting. But I’ve seen the Cena turn enough places it wouldn’t usually be and heard from enough people I wouldn’t usually hear from to know that this isn’t your typical pro wrestling angle that happens to have a sliver of mainstream appeal. No, when it comes to sports and entertainment, this is actually a big deal.
I also know how annoying it can be to have something you don’t care about invade the places you consume your content. More than a year later, I still don’t understand the appeal of the Costco Guys. And yet, every feed I scroll, there they are. But I digress.
Unless you’re somebody who follows pro wrestling on a regular basis, you’re probably wondering why John Cena turning heel is worthy of space on places like ESPN airwaves. But whether you’re a lapsed wrestling fan looking to fill in the plot holes or somebody with no pro wrestling knowledge trying to figure out what the big deal is, don’t worry we’ve got you covered.
Here’s everything you need to know about John Cena’s heel turn:
So why is this a big deal?
Aside from the names involved, perhaps the best answer is that it’s because Cena turning heel is something pro wrestling never thought would happen.
It wasn’t, however, for a lack of effort.
In his two decades of being a main event-level talent, John Cena has always been a babyface. So much so that it often felt like he was actually a heel because he would regularly get booed by fans who had grown tired of his holier than thou act being shoved down our throats, with Cena’s “hustle, loyalty and respect” credence becoming the modern day version of Hulk Hogan’s “say your prayers and eat your vitamins.”
But whereas Hogan famously turned heel to form the nWo and breathe new life into his career in 1996, Cena never did the same. With Cena now two months into his year-long retirement tour, many had not just given up on the idea of Cena turning heel, but had finally accepted Cena for the babyface he’s always been trying to be.
And yet there he was on Saturday night, kicking Cody Rhodes in the dick and beating him to a bloody pulp, all while aligning himself with his former rival and WWE’s biggest villain, The Rock.
Wait, The Rock is a bad guy too?
Oh yeah.
I thought pro wrestling fans loved The Rock?
We do. But like Cena, we also kind of hate him.
How does that work?
While The Rock will always be one of the biggest and most beloved stars in pro wrestling history, his propensity for dropping in whenever he wants to and messing up preexisting storylines had begun to grown tiresome to many fans. And that was especially the case last year, as his impending main event match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 interrupted Cody Rhodes’ pursuit of the WWE title.
Rather than force-feeding the fans The Rock vs. Reigns as the company would have likely done under the direction of Vince McMahon, WWE adjusted on the fly. Instead, The Rock turned heel, which didn’t just make sense storyline-wise, but also provided a heavy dose of nostalgia for wrestling fans who grew up with the Moana star as a trash-talking bad guy.
The end result was arguably the greatest WrestleMania of all-time, with The Rock and Reigns teaming together to face Rhodes and Seth Rollins on Night 1 before Rhodes defeated Reigns (who received help from The Rock) on Night 2. And while Rhodes finally winning the title was always going to be met with a positive reaction, The Rock’s willingness to lean into the negativity against him played a big role in elevating it.
I watched WWE Raw‘s premiere on Netflix. The Rock sure seemed like a good guy to me.
Intentionally or not, that’s a part of all of this.
The Rock’s “Final Boss” character — a version of his late-1990s corporate champion character amplified by his real-life role as a member of TKO’s board of directors — was so beloved that it was disappointing to see him drop the guise during the Netflix premiere. Sure, there was business to attend to. But for The Rock and Rhodes to seemingly ending last year’s storyline by publicly acknowledging they’re actually friends on one of the biggest shows in WWE history felt like a slap in the face to wrestling fans who emotionally (and financially) invest in this stuff.
What’s more is that the entire situation seemed to be playing out all over again when The Rock suddenly announced that he’d be appearing on last week’s WWE SmackDown. Especially when it resulted in a convoluted and universally panned segment in which The Rock bounced back and forth between corporate spokesperson and the Final Boss before ultimately making Rhodes a vague offer of fortune and fame in exchange for his “soul.”
His soul?
Sure, it seemed stupid at the time. But it actually makes sense now.
Whether that was the plan at the time of last week’s segment, we’ll never know. But Cena sure seemed like a man without a soul as he flipped from being cartoonishly enthusiastic to an empty vessel in what might have been the best performance of his acting career (sorry, Peacemaker fans).
It sounds like you don’t think this was the plan all along. How far back has WWE been plotting Cena’s turn?
Between The Rock’s history of retconning his storylines and the impressive secrecy of WWE’s current creative, we’ll likely never know. But I do suspect that this has been the plan dating back to at least the Royal Rumble.
Even in real-time, I thought it was strange that Cena was claiming a spot in the Elimination Chamber match with a title shot against Rhodes at WrestleMania on the line when all of the other competitors would have to qualify via singles matches. At the time, most accepted it as a way to cover for Cena not being available between the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber as he filmed a movie. But Cena’s use of “best for business” to justify taking a shortcut raised red flags for me, as it runs counter to the idea of “hustle, loyalty and respect.”
Whether Cena’s heel turn was planned any earlier (or even later) than that, we may never know. But regardless of how we got here, it’d be tough to argue that it doesn’t all add up now.
So why was Travis Scott there?
Considering that Cena’s heel turn is already one of the most memorable moments in WWE history, many have already remarked how hilariously Scott’s presence will age. And maybe I’m just too WWE-pilled while riding the high of a legitimately shocking moment, but I think it actually makes sense.
After all, stuff like Travis Scott needlessly being inserted into the middle of a main segment because WWE knows that it will give it more mainstream appeal is the kind of stuff that diehard pro wrestling fans hate. And The Rock’s offer to Rhodes last week was to effectively embrace just that and turn his back on the diehard fans who helped reinsert him into the main event a year ago.
But while becoming super famous might not have been appealing enough for Rhodes to turn his back on the fans, the same can’t be said for Cena, who is actually trying to achieve the same mainstream heights in Hollywood The Rock was seemingly offering. As such, there was perhaps no better third man for The Rock and Cena heel trio on Saturday than an A-list rapper who was only there because WWE’s powers that be prioritize mainstream attention over the desires of their diehard fanbase.
If Cena’s a bad guy now, then why did the fans cheer when he turned on Rhodes?
In part because they knew they were witnessing history. And perhaps primarily because they couldn’t believe WWE actually did it.
The reason why fans thought Cena would never turn heel is because they had already convinced themselves there were too many reasons for it not to happen. He sells too many t-shirts. He’d never give up his Make-a-Wish responsibilities. Why turn him heel when he’s already getting booed?
By the time we reached Cena’s retirement tour this year, the idea of him turning heel was already such an afterthought that it felt more realistic to fantasy book Andre The Giant being resurrected for a surprise appearance in the Royal Rumble. The fact that it happened when nobody was even talking about it only added to the shock and intrigue of Saturday’s segment.
So wrestling fans booed Cena was he was a good guy and cheered him when he became a bad guy? Huh?
Aren’t we a weird breed? Although I suspect that Cena will get booed moving forward out of respect and appreciation for the angle.
So what’s next?
We’re now on the road to WrestleMania 41, which will take place at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium April 19-20. Cody Rhodes defending the WWE championship against Cena — presumably with The Rock in his corner — will likely be Sunday night’s main event and figures to be one of the most highly anticipated wrestling matches of all-time.
While Cena isn’t advertised for Monday’s episode of WWE Raw just yet, he has enough dates planned on his retirement tour that he’s expected to be a regular presence on WWE TV for the next month and-a-half. It’s also worth noting that he’s now vying for his 17th world championship, which would break Ric Flair’s record for the most in history.
As was the case a year ago, WWE’s creative is hitting its stride when it matters most. And its willingness to turn Cena heel — something that had become so unfathomable that fans had even stopped asking for it to happen — just goes to show how strongly positioned the company currently is and why it’s worthy of the mainstream attention it’s now receiving.