Backstage News On WWE’s Original Plans John Cena’s Heel Turn

WWE fans are still buzzing over John Cena’s shocking heel turn at Elimination Chamber 2025, where he aligned with The Rock and set the stage for his Undisputed WWE Championship match against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41.

As previously reported, The Rock originally wanted Rhodes to turn heel and join him, but Rhodes rejected the idea, leading to Cena being chosen instead.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the original plan was to hold off on Cena’s heel turn until the WrestleMania 41 main event.

“The plan was that the Cena turn with Rock would have been saved for WrestleMania’s finish. The idea is that once the decision was made, during the day, to do it on this show, then obviously it had to go on last.”

Meltzer also noted that WWE insiders believe only a select few knew the real plan, leading to speculation that even key people backstage were misled.

“Many of the key people were told that it was a late change.”

With Cena now fully embracing his first true heel run, his upcoming WrestleMania 41 clash with Cody Rhodes just became one of the most highly anticipated WWE title matches in recent memory.