John Cena’s turn to the dark side at WWE Elimination Chamber 2025 remains one of the defining moments of his final full-time year in the company, but a new account of the creative process suggests the original pitch came from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson rather than WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
Cena recently discussed the decision to become a villain, explaining that Levesque was the person who presented the concept to him. Cena said he agreed to the proposal almost immediately. However, Dave Meltzer has reported that Johnson was the person who first suggested having Cena make the dramatic character change. In that version of events, the idea arose only after WWE decided against taking Cody Rhodes in the same direction.
The distinction is significant because Cena’s heel turn was built directly into Johnson’s on-screen conflict with Rhodes. The story heading into Elimination Chamber centered on The Rock trying to persuade the then-Undisputed WWE Champion to “sell his soul” and align with him. Rhodes ultimately rejected Johnson’s overtures. Rather than ending the angle with that refusal, WWE used the moment to reveal Cena as The Rock’s unexpected ally.
The Cody Rhodes Plan That Did Not Move Forward
Meltzer’s account states that Johnson initially wanted Rhodes to become a villain. At the time, Rhodes was WWE’s top champion and one of the company’s central fan favorites. There were reportedly too many influential WWE figures opposed to turning Rhodes heel, particularly while he held the world title.
For more background on this topic, read WWE Reportedly Sees Royce Keys as a Future World Champion.
That resistance led Johnson to recommend Cena as an alternative. The resulting angle transformed what had been a major chapter in Rhodes’ rivalry with The Rock into an entirely different story: Cena, long identified with WWE’s heroic “Never Give Up” image, siding with Johnson against Rhodes.
The Elimination Chamber development was designed for shock value, and it delivered that immediately. Cena’s association with The Rock represented a sharp break from the character presentation that had defined most of his WWE career. For years, Cena had been one of the company’s most reliable good guys, with his connection to younger fans and his perseverance-focused message forming a core part of his identity.
Turning that figure into a villain gave WWE a fresh path into WrestleMania 41. It also put Cena opposite Rhodes at a moment when both men carried enormous symbolic weight: Rhodes as the reigning champion who had rejected The Rock’s offer, and Cena as the legendary star who had seemingly abandoned the values associated with his career.
Cena’s Immediate Acceptance of the Pitch
While the report credits Johnson with originating the direction, Cena has made clear that Levesque was the executive who brought the plan to him. Cena did not portray himself as someone who needed extensive convincing. Instead, he said he quickly agreed once the heel-turn idea was presented.
That willingness mattered. A Cena villain run had been discussed by fans for years, but the prospect carried obvious risks. His long-standing role as a company-leading babyface made the move a major creative departure, especially during a period in which his WWE appearances had become more selective.
It also meant that WWE was not simply changing the alignment of another established act. The company was reconfiguring one of the most recognizable characters in modern wrestling history. Cena had spent decades being positioned as a standard-bearer for loyalty, respect, hard work, and resilience. Placing him beside The Rock after Rhodes rejected the “sell his soul” offer gave the turn an intentionally jarring visual and thematic contrast.
The storyline then escalated at WrestleMania 41, where Cena defeated Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Title. The victory made Cena a 17-time world champion, placing even greater attention on the heel persona and on the broader question of what WWE intended to do with the angle after its initial surprise.
Business Impact Versus Creative Execution
Cena has since offered a measured assessment of the run. He said the idea worked from a business standpoint, while also acknowledging that it did not satisfy him creatively. Meltzer shared a similarly critical view, arguing that the story itself lacked logic and that WWE did not maximize what was arguably its biggest angle of the year.
That split between commercial impact and creative response is central to the discussion around Cena’s turn. The Elimination Chamber reveal created immediate attention because it involved three of WWE’s most important names: Cena, Rhodes, and The Rock. The subsequent WrestleMania title change ensured the program remained at the center of WWE’s biggest event of the year.
At the same time, the storyline’s longer-term construction has drawn scrutiny. A turn of that scale typically raises expectations for a clear chain of developments: the reason behind the betrayal, the alliance’s goals, the response from the betrayed party, and an eventual payoff. In this case, the Cena-Rock partnership was introduced as a major plot point, but The Rock’s on-screen involvement did not continue beyond Elimination Chamber.
That absence became especially notable once Cena and Rhodes reached WrestleMania 41. Many viewers expected The Rock to factor into the main event given the role he played in setting the situation in motion. Instead, Cena defeated Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Title without Johnson becoming part of the match or the immediate conclusion of the story.
The Rock’s Exit From the On-Screen Story
Johnson’s removal from the narrative is a key part of Meltzer’s criticism. The Rock and Cena had shared the pivotal Elimination Chamber scene, with Cena aligning himself with “The Final Boss” after Rhodes rejected the offer. Yet that event was their last on-screen interaction with one another.
Johnson later said that he did not want to be involved in the storyline after Elimination Chamber. That decision left Cena’s heel run without further direct engagement from the man whose on-screen influence had been central to its launch.
For an angle that began with The Rock seeking Rhodes’ allegiance, the lack of a sustained Rock presence changed the shape of the program. Cena still became the immediate antagonist to Rhodes, but the initial premise of Johnson’s offer and Cena’s acceptance was no longer actively explored through additional interactions involving all of the major players.
This is why the question of who originally conceived the heel turn matters beyond simple creative credit. If Johnson’s rejected Rhodes heel proposal ultimately evolved into Cena’s turn, then the angle was not merely a surprise designed around Cena. It was the replacement version of a larger direction The Rock had wanted to pursue with Rhodes.
That context also helps explain why Cena’s alignment with Johnson was such a central part of the reveal. The turn did more than create a new villain. It answered Rhodes’ refusal of The Rock by showing that Johnson had found someone else willing to stand beside him.
A Defining WWE Moment With Unresolved Debate
There is little question that Cena’s Elimination Chamber turn was a landmark WWE moment. The shock of seeing one of the company’s most enduring heroes join The Rock against Rhodes immediately made the segment a major talking point. Cena’s WrestleMania 41 win over Rhodes, which delivered his 17th world championship, only increased the historical stakes.
But the creative debate around the run has remained active, including from Cena himself. His assessment that the concept succeeded in business terms but did not fully connect creatively reflects the broader criticism that the story did not receive a sufficiently coherent long-term follow-through.
Meltzer’s reporting adds another layer to that discussion. Cena may have received the pitch from Levesque and quickly embraced it, but Johnson is reported to have been the person who initially pushed for the bold character change. The proposal came after WWE declined to turn Rhodes heel, changing the company’s path into Elimination Chamber 2025 and ultimately WrestleMania 41.
The result was an angle built on an enormous premise: The Rock sought to claim Rhodes’ allegiance, Rhodes refused, and Cena emerged as the replacement ally. Whether the execution matched the scale of that setup remains a matter of debate. What is clear is that one rejected idea for Rhodes reportedly helped produce one of the most surprising John Cena moments WWE has ever staged.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.