50 Worst Wrestling Moments Of The 2020s (So Far)

9. The Follow-Up To John Cena’s Heel Turn

WWE Raw John Cena Cody Rhodes
WWE

The unthinkable happened, at Elimination Chamber 2025, when John Cena sold his soul to the Rock and turned heel. The angle was shocking in its ambition, and the execution was note-perfect. The Rock was a sinister, cartoonishly oversized mafia boss; John Cena, using Dusty Rhodes’ wristwatch in the beat-down in a great personal touch, has rarely felt so nasty on a purely physical level; Cody Rhodes, with his busted eardrum, was amazing in his vulnerability.

Then the follow-up happened. It was so bad that it might have catalysed the beginning of the end of the Paul Levesque renaissance.

For years, when Cena was active full-time and loathed by the millennials who never stopped watching, many fans wanted to see what it would look like if he turned heel. They did in the end, because in 2025, Cena played the character like he was stuck in 2014. It’s almost as if John Cena was a close friend of and key professional collaborator with Vince McMahon.

On TV, Cena blamed the fans, citing an “abusive relationship”. They hated him and made him miserable, so he betrayed them. The problem - other than this glorified “each and every one of you” business being a total cliché - is that, post-AEW, the fans had unanimously loved him for at least five years.

Cena was dismal in the role. His delivery was strained, unconvincing, and over-the-top. The content was the same edgy worked-shoot stuff he had traded in as a babyface. The story was dire, too. Nothing was plotted; the angles dried up when the Rock split. Cena and Cody simply participated in a few verbal face-to-face segments with very questionable material for insults.

As for the match…?

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!