John Cena’s shocking heel turn at the WWE Elimination Chamber last weekend broke the hearts of children and men alike. While some fans weren’t thrilled about seeing a darker side of Cena, especially as he nears the end of his career, UFC legend Chael Sonnen is all in. In fact, he admits that every complaint he ever had about Cena is now completely out the window.
Cena’s heel turn has been discussed and debated for years now, a decade in fact. But the WWE brass had always hesitated on taking the final step.
However, with a creative leadership in place with Paul Levesque (Triple H) and Cena closing in on a historic 17th world title win at Wrestlemania, the timing just seems perfect.
Last year, Cena announced that 2025 would be the final season of his professional wrestling career, leading to a cascade of fans believing they were about to see Super-Cena burying his opponents as the road to Wrestlemania reached its destination.
Unfortunately, that did not happen. In fact, Cena kept losing one match after another and yet somehow managed to keep smiling and dancing to the tune of “Hustle, Loyalty and Respect”. Enter the final boss, Dwyane ‘The Rock’ Johnson, to whom Cena seemingly sold his soul.
And as the poster child of villains everywhere, Sonnen loves it. Speaking about the shocking turn of events on The Good Guy/Bad Guy show, Sonnen admitted that he hated it when Cena lost at the Royal Rumble to ‘Main Event’ Jey Uso.
“I thought you know what John, that was the right call. You know what Daniel, all those complaints go away if he is a heel. Cena went heel, that is huge.”, Sonnen said.
IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.#WWEChamber pic.twitter.com/IrSkzn4j39
— WWE (@WWE) March 2, 2025
So what forced Cena’s hand? Having aided Cody Rhodes ‘finish the story’ at last year’s Wrestlemania, he should have known that The Rock wasn’t just going to let it slide.
Was he unsure about whether he could beat Rhodes fair and square at Wrestlemania 41 this year in April? It doesn’t matter now.
Well, it matters to Rhodes, who was there to respond to The Rock’s demand to “sell his soul” and become the corporate champion.
With The Rock and rapper Travis Scott watching from backstage, Rhodes refused, asking the ‘final boss’ to frig off!
Elated by the decision, Cena, all smiles, hugged Rhodes… then suddenly turned cold. After a signal from The Rock, he low-blowed Rhodes, then beat him down with his own championship belt.
Fans went wild, calling it one of the craziest WWE moments ever—some even comparing it to Hulk Hogan’s legendary Hollywood heel turn.
Cena? He stayed in character, skipping the post-event press conference and dropping the mic on his way out. Fans believe this move of Cena’s will have a huge impact on the upcoming Wrestlemania 41.
What does Cena turning heel mean for Wrestlemania 41?
Heading into Elimination Chamber, some fans weren’t exactly blown away by Rhodes’ title reign. Sure, his win over Roman Reigns was a huge moment, but since then, his run has had its ups and downs.
His feuds with AJ Styles and Kevin Owens had their highlights, but the Bloodline storyline felt a little stale. That all changed the second Cena turned heel.
Now, Rhodes is facing something completely unexpected—a version of Cena no one has ever seen before. Aligning with The Final Boss? Low-blowing his way into a title shot? If Cena is willing to go this far just for the opportunity, how far will he go to actually win the belt? Especially since it will be his 17th, a record that will set him up to be the greatest of all time, with nobody ever reaching his legacy.
Fans are dying to hear from Cena, but he’s staying silent for now. No upcoming Raw or SmackDown appearances have been announced, and at Elimination Chamber, he just dropped the mic and walked away.
But one thing’s for sure—after weeks of nothing, it finally feels like we are on the road to Wrestlemania.
