3 signs of John Cena’s WWE heel turn we all missed

It’s often said ‘You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.’ Moments after winning the 2025 Men’s Elimination Chamber Match, John Cena proved the adage true and shocked the WWE Universe by betraying Cody Rhodes. The 16-time world champion turned heel for the first time in over 20 years, much to the shock of the watching world and The American Nightmare himself.

In selling his soul to The Rock, The Franchise Player abandoned his values in a manner arguably no one saw coming. However, hindsight is always 20/20, and looking back, there were a few indicators that foreshadowed the shocking swerve.

As we all try to wrap our heads around the motivations for his actions, here are three signs of John Cena’s massive WWE heel turn that we all missed:

#3. John Cena’s behavior after the 2025 WWE Men’s Royal Rumble hinted at a heel turn

When John Cena’s feet touched the floor at the end of the 2025 WWE Men’s Royal Rumble match, there was a look of utter shock on his face. While Jey Uso was in disbelief at his achievement, a whole different type of realization dawned on Cena’s face: The realization that his time was running out.

The Franchise Player returned to the ring to congratulate The Yeet Master and raise his hand, but not before teasing attacking the latter. Ultimately, he didn’t turn then, but these signs should have told us that gears were turning in the 16-time world champion’s head and that a radical change was perhaps on the anvil.

In the end, it seems The Cenation Leader’s Rumble loss may have been a big factor in the buildup to him snapping at Elimination Chamber.

#2. John Cena’s WWE Royal Rumble 2025 post-show press conference address screamed of an impending heel turn

If John Cena’s actions in the ring after the 2025 WWE Men’s Royal Rumble were slightly heelish, his post-show press conference address was downright heel-adjacent. The 47-year-old took no questions, shifted to a serious tone, and entered himself into the Elimination Chamber minus qualifying. He then declared that it was ‘Best for business’ that he headline his final WrestleMania, and walked out.

While Cena had exhibited this grittier, more serious side to his character as a babyface before, he had expertly curbed himself and never gone over the edge so far. Thus, it was easy to dismiss these villainous tendencies as a sign of “locking in.” However, given that it is his final year and time for comebacks is limited, it could have been anticipated that he would succumb to temptation and snap.

As a man seriously short of time, Cena’s desperation should have served as a red flag to all observing his story.

#1. The finish to the Elimination Chamber match foreshadowed John Cena’s heel turn

John Cena, Seth Rollins, and CM Punk were the final three competitors in the 2025 WWE Men’s Elimination Chamber Match. The trio had an amazing exchange before Cena and Punk teamed up on The Visionary, ending up with The Second City Saint eliminating the Shield alum. The Cenation Leader and The Voice of the Voiceless then went at each other, but The Architect made the difference.

As Rollins headed out of the iconic structure, he hit a stomp to the steel on the former AEW champion, knocking the latter out. The Franchise Player, who would normally be expected to hold The Visionary to task for that heinous attack, instead took advantage of his old rival’s fallen state to steal the win. This was very heelish of the former Chain Gang Leader, and a sign of things to come.

The biggest sign? The 16-time world champion didn’t just pin the Chicago native, or hit an AA on the latter, but instead applied a submission move on his motionless body! It was at that moment that we should have seen what was coming.