John Cena Teased His WWE Heel Turn Back in 2024
John Cena’s shocking heel turn against Cody Rhodes at Elimination Chamber 2025 was subtly foreshadowed during his 2024 interview with Chris Van Vliet.
John Cena delivered one of WWE’s most startling moments at Elimination Chamber 2025 when he turned heel against Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. This dramatic character shift came after Cena won the Men’s Elimination Chamber match, securing a championship opportunity at WrestleMania 41.
While the villainous transformation shocked the wrestling world, Cena actually planted seeds for this character evolution during a 2024 interview with Chris Van Vliet. During that conversation, the 16-time World Champion philosophically addressed the potential for a heel turn in his career.
In the interview, Cena spoke about the natural human tendency to make mistakes and deviate from one’s principles. He presented a thoughtful perspective on moral complexity that now appears prophetic given recent events.
The weird thing is that’s supposed to happen. Like, if you think of the course of human life, no one is perfect right? And it’s very tough each day to wake up and live a good life. It’s tough to be mistake-free. So that’s like human trajectory. We all go through patches where we make decisions against our value system. We all turn heel at one point. It’s just the matter if you see the light.
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Cena’s heel turn marks a significant shift in his career trajectory as he enters what he has declared his retirement year. After nearly two decades positioned as WWE’s paramount hero, this character transformation provides fresh storytelling possibilities for his final run.
The newly villainous Cena now stands as a direct threat to Rhodes’ championship reign, with their WrestleMania 41 confrontation positioned as one of the most anticipated matches on the card. The sudden change in Cena’s character adds an unexpected dimension to his retirement tour, which is scheduled to continue throughout 2025.
WWE has yet to reveal Cena’s motivations for targeting Rhodes, leaving fans speculating about the reasoning behind his dramatic character shift as WrestleMania approaches.
