John Cena Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Details of Shocking Heel Turn With The Rock and Travis Scott in First Post-Retirement Interview

John Cena finally reveals the plans behind his retirement tour and Elimination Chamber heel turn, clarifying what really happened.

John Cena Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Details of Shocking Heel Turn With The Rock and Travis Scott in First Post-Retirement Interview

John Cena, The Rock, Cody Rhodes and Travis Scott (via WWE)

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A historic chapter in WWE history came to a close this past weekend as 17-time World champion John Cena officially retired from in-ring competition, ending an illustrious 23-year career with the company after falling to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event via submission. 

‘The Never Seen 17’ announced at last year’s Money in the Bank premium live event that 2025 would be his final year as a wrestler, and he stayed true to his word. Cena symbolically left his shoes and armband in the ring following his loss to the Austrian on December 13th, marking the end of his legendary run. 

However, one lingering criticism of Cena’s farewell tour was his brief and widely debated heel turn earlier in the year. For the unversed, the heel turn began at Elimination Chamber, when Cena sold his soul to The Rock and turned on Cody Rhodes in an angle that also involved Travis Scott. 

As weeks passed, however, both Dwayne Johnson and Scott disappeared from WWE television, forcing the company to pivot. This led to a lackluster WrestleMania 41 main event where Cena won his 17th world title with help from just Scott. Moreover, Cena then eventually reverted to being a babyface on the go-home episode of SmackDown ahead of SummerSlam and a rematch against Rhodes. 

During a highly anticipated episode of What Do You Wanna Talk About? with Rhodes, Cena walked fans through the situation and responded directly to the criticism. He acknowledged that WWE’s motivation behind the heel turn was rooted in shock value and explained why he understood the thinking from a business perspective.

They wanted to make Elimination Chamber a moment. I get it. The business is about making moments, there is nothing wrong with that. You don’t always have to have a nine-month trajectory. You can understand, like, we’ve got a ton of eyes on tonight, let’s do something impactful, and then you as artists can run through the maze, and we’ll figure it out.

John Cena via What Do You Wanna Talk About podcast

The Rock and Scott were central to the heel turn angle, but neither followed through with extended appearances. Johnson has not been seen on WWE television since the PLE, while Scott’s final appearance came at WrestleMania 41, where he helped Cena defeat Rhodes. 

Despite widespread fan speculation, Cena revealed that neither he nor Rhodes spent time dwelling on what the storyline could have been had The Rock and Scott remained involved.

Hey, you have The Rock and Travis Scott.’ Awesome, we can plan all this stuff. ‘Hey, you don’t have those two guys anymore.’ Not once did you and I — the whole world has had the conversation of, ‘What would it have been like if?’ — the two guys in it, with their d**k in the dirt, not once had a conversation about, ‘Man, what would it have been like if we had those guys.’ No. It was, ‘What do we do now?

John Cena via What Do You Wanna Talk About podcast

Once the narrative shifted, Cena refocused on his plans, leaning into an intentionally abrasive relationship with the WWE Universe and embracing the polarized reactions from the crowd as justification for the detour. 

Logan Paul recently revealed that Scott no-showed a WWE event that was meant to set up a six-man tag match earlier in the year, effectively ending his involvement before it could develop into something more substantial.

Despite the rocky storyline, Cena still delivered a strong closing stretch to his career, producing notable matches against Rhodes at SummerSlam, Logan Paul at Clash in Paris, AJ Styles at Crown Jewel, and ultimately Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event, bringing his storied wrestling journey to a definitive and emotional conclusion.

John Cena calls CM Punk’s apology to Saudi Arabia earlier this year his favorite wrestling moment of all time

Heading into Night of Champions this past June, John Cena was preparing to defend the WWE championship he had only recently won following a long-awaited heel turn during his retirement year. Given the significance of the moment, Cena was likely expected to be the central talking point of the weekend. 

John Cena and CM Punk
John Cena and CM Punk (via WWE)

While he ultimately dominated headlines, the attention in the days leading up to the event shifted toward his legendary challenger, CM Punk. However, it wasn’t their match that drew the spotlight. Instead, it was Punk’s return to Saudi Arabia that became the focal point. 

During the Night of Champions pre-show, Punk publicly apologized to a fan for a 2020 social media post in which he told The Miz to “go suck a blood money-covered d**k in Saudi Arabia.” At the time, the comment was aimed at WWE’s business relationship with Saudi Arabia, a country widely criticized for using major sporting events to sportswash human rights abuses.

That post was made years before Punk’s return to WWE and before the company could point to developments such as women wrestling on Saudi shows as signs of cultural progress. Punk’s presence in Saudi Arabia and his willingness to address his past remarks head-on not only made headlines but also left a profound impact on Cena.

In his first interview since retiring, Cena appeared on What Do You Wanna Talk About? with Cody Rhodes and revealed that Punk’s Night of Champions pre-show promo in Saudi Arabia stands as his favorite moment in professional wrestling history.

I can’t get past Phil Brooks, CM Punk, Saudi Arabia. I think that might be my favorite moment in wrestling. I was lucky enough to have a promo with him that night and a match (the following night), so I’m attaching myself to that moment, because I think it’s one of the best moments in wrestling.

John Cena via What Do You Wanna Talk About podcast

Cena explained that he admired Punk for taking accountability for his previous comments and confronting the consequences directly. According to Cena, the moment revolved around someone who, in a moment of frustration, made offensive remarks about an entire culture, only to later face that community and take responsibility. 

The courage to step into that situation, Cena felt, transformed it into something deeply emotional and meaningful, particularly for performers watching behind the scenes.

While some observers remain cynical, pointing to the financial incentives behind WWE’s Saudi partnership and the ongoing restrictions many Saudis face, the moment still resonated on a personal level for Cena

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