John Cena Finally Reveals Shocking Truth About WWE Heel Turn

John Cena has divulged the truth behind what led to his heel turn in early 2025.

After winning the Elimination Chamber match, Cena was met in the ring by the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. It was followed by the entrance of The Rock and Travis Scott.

The Final Boss arrived to ask Rhodes one final time about aligning with him. The American Nightmare brutally shut down The Rock, inviting cheers from the Toronto crowd.

Cena, too, hugged him, but in a moment, his expression turned diabolical as he kicked Rhodes in the groin.

What followed was a brutal beatdown, as John Cena wore Cody’s watch like brass knuckles and punched him, leaving him bloody. He then punched him a few more times before The Rock and Scott took over.

Cena’s heel run continued until the night before SummerSlam when he dropped the gimmick, stepping away from the dark side.

John Cena Reveals The Heel Turn Was Only To Grab Eyeballs

In his first interview after retirement, John Cena appeared on the What Do You Wanna Talk About? With Cody Rhodes podcast, where he revealed the truth behind his heel turn.

Rhodes specifically asked him about his two expressions—one, where he became serious and turned heel, and the second, where he tapped out to Gunther with a smile on his face at Saturday Night’s Main Event.

Focusing on the former, the 17-time world champion claimed that WWE only wanted to surprise the audience with the heel turn and that there was no long-term story planned.

In February, they just wanted to make a moment. I get it. The business is about making moments. There’s nothing wrong with that. You don’t always have to have a nine-month trajectory.

You can understand that like, yo — we’ve got a ton of eyes on tonight. Let’s do something impactful. And then you, as artists, can run through the maze and figure it out.

Cena made one specific request, asking the production team to focus on his face when he hugged Cody.

I’ll do whatever the f**k you guys want. Just stay on the face longer than you think. It’s gonna feel weird. Just stay.

That was easy. Certainly I’ll work backwards. Well, f**k, I’ll try to lean into it.

H/T: Ringside News