Backstage Details On John Cena's WWE Heel Turn, How WWE Protected It From Being Leaked

John Cena shocked the world as he turned heel at Elimination Chamber 2025, aligning with The Rock (and Travis Scott) to beat down Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, selling his soul to the Final Boss. 

Fightful Select have learned of several details regarding this major angle, such as when it may have been planned, the lengths WWE went to in order to keep it under wraps, and more. 

When it comes to WWE hiding this swerve, internally the segment between The Rock and Cody Rhodes was listed as third on the sheet, meaning that any leaks of the rundown didn’t indicate that it would close the show and involve Cena directly. Additionally, it was considered a shock to many in the company, with Triple H revealing that he had a specific truck to deal with anything related to the turn itself. 

In terms of how far out some of those in WWE knew the swerve was coming, it was at least prior to this weekend as the change in advertising material for the show, with the reveal of a poster that included John Cena, Travis Scott and The Rock, reportedly being “intentional foreshadowing”. There were reports that many in WWE were unhappy with WWE’s switch up in promotional material in the lead up to the PLE. It is not known specifically how long this had been planned, with The Rock’s WWE plans being kept firmly under wraps anyway. Heading into last night, Drew McIntyre was the betting favourite to win the Chamber, but Fightful have stated that there were never any plans for him to win.

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