15 Things We Learned From WWE Unreal

A proper deep dive on John Cena's shocking heel turn at Elimination Chamber: Toronto in March was one of the key selling points for WWE Unreal. The next handful of entries go in-depth on everything from the idea and the set-up, to how Triple H pieced everything together backstage and then the live execution up north on PLE. Brace yourselves, because there are some bombshells to come.

Brian Gewirtz used to be a full-time WWE writer, but those days are long gone. Now, he's employed by The Rock and only dabbles in wrestling when the 'Final Boss' is involved. When mapping out Rock's involvement in Cena's heel turn, Gewirtz and Dwayne Johnson didn't even factor in JC - they didn't think for one second that he'd be going rogue. 

Nobody did.

Gewirtz and Rocky pitched a two part story sans Cena. First, The Rock would ask for Cody Rhodes to give him his soul. Then, at Elimination Chamber, Cody would turn him down. Gewirtz told Netflix that’d lead to Rock making “an impromptu title match right then and there” between Kevin Owens and Cody. The night would’ve ended with KO becoming WWE Champ heading into WrestleMania 41, but they always knew the company could come up with something even bigger than that.

Internally, WWE’s creative team didn’t like the idea of changing the title so close to ‘Mania, so they took Owens out of the equation. They did love the thought of Rock asking for Cody's soul, at least. The germ of that idea from Gewirtz blossomed into something even he could never have fathomed.

First, another bold suggestion from creative that'd ultimately be scrapped.