REVEALED: Why John Cena Turned Heel At WWE Elimination Chamber Instead Of WrestleMania 41

After 22 years as a babyface, John Cena turned heel in the closing moments of Elimination Chamber, aligning with The Rock and Travis Scott to beat down Cody Rhodes.

The Rock has revealed this week that WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H pitched Cena's heel turn. Reports have indicated the original plan was for Cena to turn at WrestleMania 41 during his main event match with Cody Rhodes.

Dave Meltzer has reported on Wrestling Observer Radio, though, that it was John Cena who decided to turn heel at Elimination Chamber instead of WrestleMania.

"Obviously there was the decision about John Cena on the day of the show on whether the turn was going to be that day or whether they were going to save the turn for WrestleMania, that was John Cena's decision. He made the call to do it. Levesque makes the final call, but John Cena was the one. The decision came within the last couple of days," Meltzer said.

"If you remember the day of the show, the segment with Dwayne was originally going to be after the first or second match, it was not going to be after the Rumble (Chamber). That's because they were not going to be doing the turn that night, the turn was going to be at Mania. And then John wanted to do the turn that night, so they moved the segment to the end of the show."

John Cena defeated Cody Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 41 with the assistance of Travis Scott. Fans expected The Rock to appear at the show, but Dwayne Johnson has said that he decided to step away from WWE so the spotlight was solely on John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes.

Cena is currently on his retirement tour. He has 27 dates remaining for the rest of 2025.

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