Ringside Footage Captures Live Reaction to John Cena’s Heel Turn

John Cena turned heel for the first time in 22 years at the end of the WWE Elimination Chamber 2025 Premium Live Event at the Rogers Arena in Toronto, Canada, leaving fans in attendance in utter disbelief.

Cena, a 16-time world champion, had beaten CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Logan Paul, Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre to win the men’s Elimination Chamber match in the evening’s main event to set up an exciting contest against the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41. Following his victory, Rhodes came out to the ring to congratulate Cena and the pair exchanged mutual respect.

John Cena Betrays Cody Rhodes and Unites With The Rock

Cena will face ‘The American Nightmare’ at WrestleMania 41

However, the night took a dramatic turn when The Rock came out to the ring, flanked by rapper Travis Scott, to demand an answer from Cody Rhodes as to whether he would join forces with ‘The Final Boss’ and become the Hollywood star’s personally-endorsed champion.

WWE Elimination Chamber 2025 Full Results
Women’s Elimination Chamber match	Bianca Belair defeated Liv Morgan, Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Roxanne Perez and Naomi
Tag team match	Tiffany Stratton and Trish Stratus defeated Nia Jax and Candice LeRae
Unsanctioned match	Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn
Men’s Elimination Chamber match	John Cena defeated CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, Logan Paul, Damian Priest and Seth Rollins

That segment had been scheduled to take place in the middle of the PLE, but when it was bumped to the main event, it was clear that something big was about to go down. When Rhodes responded with a five-word declaration, the Rogers Arena came to its feet.

“Hey Rock…go f*** yourself!”

With Rhodes having abruptly declined The Rock’s offer, Cena seemingly embraced him as a mark of solidarity. However, in a shocking turn of events, The Rock calmly nodded to Cena and then gave him a signal by slashing his throat. It was at that point that Cena took a step back and hit Rhodes with a low blow. There was an audible gasp from the audience as it dawned on them that Cena’s 20-plus year stint as a babyface was over. You can check out the footage below:

Cena’s villain arc continued as he delivered a series of punches to Rhodes, who lay helplessly on the ground. Using the microphone and Rhodes’ championship belt to beat him down, Cena made sure he finished the job and even strangled him with his own tie.

Travis Scott got himself involved, helping Cena to hold Rhodes down with Cena, allowing The Rock to take his weight belt off and strike the WWE Champion powerfully on the back. Rhodes was left bloodied and beaten, as The Rock, John Cena and Travis Scott all looked down on him with expressions of approval for what they had just done.

Cena is currently in the final year of his career as an active WWE Superstar, having already confirmed that he will walk away from the ring at the end of 2025. Any idea that this would simply be a victory lap where the 47-year-old says goodbye to his fans in a feelgood setting, though, has been well and truly washed away. The Road to WrestleMania 41 just became a lot more interesting.