The spectacular “heel turn” of superstar John Cena was apparently not originally planned by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
It was one of the most memorable WWE moments of the past decades – and now surprising new details about the “heel turn” of superstar John Cena have been leaked.
As wrestling guru Dave Meltzer reports in his Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who played a major role in the segment, originally had a different idea: Cena should not have turned against WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, but the other way around.
The Rock wanted Rhodes to be the heel instead of Cena
According to Meltzer, WWE icon Johnson – who is now also a shareholder in the parent company TKO – initially suggested that Rhodes should have been the villain instead of Cena. Johnson also envisioned that Rhodes should have formed an alliance with him, which Cena has now formed with him (and rap star Travis Scott) instead.
However, Rhodes rejected the scenario – so the spectacular plan B came into play, in which WWE record champ Cena took on the role of the villain for the first time in 22 years.
The revelation is not without its piquancy: the story of Rock offering Rhodes to submit to him, become “his champion” and sell his soul to him takes on a new light when you consider that Johnson actually had this in mind to some extent – and Rhodes resisted in real life as well.
There were disagreements as early as 2024
Conflicts between Rhodes and Johnson had already been incorporated into the two of them WrestleMania program last year: Originally, WWE had planned at Johnson’s instigation to schedule a match between Johnson and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40, instead of staging the long-awaited title win by Rhodes against Reigns there.
After a huge fan outcry (“We want Cody!”), WWE changed the plans, Rhodes did face Reigns after all, Rock instead took on the role of “Final Boss”, who joined Reigns’ Bloodline and tried with all his might to prevent Rhodes’ title win out of jealousy – and in doing so also pinned Rhodes in a tag team match on the first WrestleMania evening.
Now, Rhodes and Rock have resumed their feud, but it doesn’t appear to have led to any deeper resentment: Johnson emphasized after the start of the new WrestleMania story that he and Rhodes were very happy with the way it was portrayed and that they had drunk “a few tequilas” together.
Meltzer also revealed another exciting piece of news: according to his sources, Cena’s “heel turn” should actually have taken place at WrestleMania, after the match against Rhodes. Accordingly, the plan must have been for the story between Rhodes and Cena – who has announced his retirement from professional wrestling this year – to continue after WrestleMania.
Rhodes and Cena face off at WrestleMania on April 20. If Cena wins, his 17th title win will see him overtake Ric Flair as the sole record holder for the most major world titles.
