The main event of WWE WrestleMania 41 Night Two saw John Cena shock the world by defeating Cody Rhodes to become the Undisputed WWE Champion — and solidify the most significant heel turn of his career. The turn officially began at Elimination Chamber 2025, where Cena aligned himself with The Rock, who had returned weeks earlier at the request of TKO CEO Ari Emanuel to bolster ticket sales.
During The Rock’s surprise return segment, he confronted Rhodes in a dramatic moment where he “asked for his soul.” Originally scheduled earlier in the night, the segment was ultimately moved to the show’s final segment — reportedly due to last-minute creative changes tied to Cena’s heel turn.
In a recent interview, The Rock explained his decision to step back from the WrestleMania storyline following Elimination Chamber, stating that he felt the focus should remain on Cena and Rhodes. He also admitted uncertainty about what his role at WrestleMania would have looked like had he stayed involved in the climax of the feud.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer provided backstage insight into the timing of Cena’s character shift, revealing that the decision to turn Cena heel at Elimination Chamber — rather than waiting until WrestleMania — was made just days before the show, largely at Cena’s own request.
“There was the decision about John Cena on the day of the show, on whether the turn was going to be that day, or they were to save the turn for WrestleMania. That was John Cena’s decision. He made the call to do it,” Meltzer stated. “Levesque makes the final call, but John Cena was the one who… the decision came within the last couple of days.”
According to Meltzer, the segment involving The Rock was initially slated for earlier in the show, indicating that the heel turn wasn’t originally locked in for that night.
“If you remember the day of the show, the segment with Dwayne [Johnson] was originally going to be after, I think, the first or second match. It was not going to be after the Rumble. And that’s because they were not going to be doing the turn that night… And then John… Khan wanted to do the turn that night, so they moved the segment to the end of the show and did that.”
The bold creative decision set the tone for WrestleMania season and reshaped expectations, with Cena now in the midst of a dramatic final chapter as a villain — something previously unthinkable for the face of WWE’s modern era.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more WrestleMania fallout, backstage updates, and coverage on John Cena’s unprecedented heel run.
