John Cena REVERSES Shocking WWE Heel Turn On SmackDown (WWE News)
WWE and John Cena pulled quite the 180 turn on his heel status before SummerSlam.
John Cena appeared to do a 180 turn on his heel status ahead of WWE's massive SummerSlam 2025 weekender during a face to face promo segment with Cody Rhodes on the go home SmackDown.
There, Cena thanked Cody for challenging him to a 'Street Fight' on the summer PLE and called it the jolt he needed to realise that he was in the wrong for turning heel at Elimination Chamber: Toronto. When addressing that, John called his alliance with The Rock and rapper Travis Scott "shocking TV" and nothing more. He then claimed that he didn't want it to be the defining memory of his retirement run with the company.
Continuing, Cena said he doesn't hate wrestling or want to ruin it, but in fact loves it. After calling Cody a friend, JC then proudly proclaimed that the 1 August 2025 edition of SmackDown was "the day that John Cena came back to the WWE". Fans in attendance for the show cheered wildly, and there were even loud "Cena! Cena! Cena!" chants as he pandered to them.
Taking it all in, Rhodes smiled occasionally then shared a beverage with John before leaving Cena to soak up yet more acclaim from the thousands in attendance. It was a very interesting opening to the broadcast, but there are questions about whether or not Cody looked daft by believing Cena so readily after everything they've been through in 2025.
Now, it seems their 'Street Fight' at SummerSlam will be a babyface vs. babyface affair, which is certainly something.
Opinion: Cena's "Babyface Turn" Could Be A Swerve
Of course, Cena's pandering and about face (so to speak) could be a swerve painstakingly designed to lure Rhodes into a false sense of security. Does it signify that The Rock's 'Final Boss' character will be in the house for SummerSlam after all? Maybe/maybe not, but there's another possibility too.
What if this is a sign that Cody is set to turn heel at SummerSlam? Double turns don't happen too often these days, and WWE has already set John up as a remorseful babyface who regrets being so harsh on fans, but they could complete the job by turning Rhodes to the dark side on Sunday night.
That'd excuse how easily Cody seemed to fall into Cena's blustering 'I'm a good guy again...honest!' speech. John's babyface turn did seem to come out of nowhere, and it was oddly placed considering this week's SmackDown was the final TV spot before WWE rolls into MetLife Stadium for back to back nights of SummerSlam.
The plot thickens, and all that.
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