Did John Cena initially deny turning heel against Cody Rhodes? Triple H's comments explored

John Cena's heel turn against Cody Rhodes at the beginning of this year is arguably one of the biggest moments in wrestling history. Since the storyline is still ongoing, there are still a lot of inside details that haven't been shared, but Triple H shared some details about The Cenation Leader's reaction to the idea.

At the 2025 Elimination Chamber, Cody Rhodes refused to sell his soul to The Rock and be the corporate champion. However, the wrestling world was shocked when it was learned that John Cena took the deal instead then attacked The American Nightmare and aligned with The Final Boss. The heel turn is a big deal as it was the first time The Cenation Leader did so in over two decades, and despite the entirely new role, it was something he welcomed with open arms.

While talking to The Daily Mail's Alex McCarthy, Triple H shared that John Cena didn't take a lot of convincing to turn heel. The Game noted that they conversed first, loved the idea of turning heel, and viewed it as a challenge:

"It was a conversation - without getting into the details - it was a conversation that when it was brought up, everybody... I think in John's mind he was like, "Wow, I didn't think you were going to say that. I love it. It's a challenge to him. John's not a complacent person, right? I think he would have done it and he would have done it happily and he would have done it for fans, but I think there would have been a piece of him that would have been like 'alright, I'm just going to go through my day here.'"

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What did The Rock have to say about John Cena turning heel against Cody Rhodes?

Although there were theories about The Cenation Leader turning heel at some point in his farewell tour, a lot were still surprised when it happened against Cody Rhodes. As it turns out, the promotion kept the moment a secret to many.

At the Elimination Chamber post-show press conference, The Rock shared the unpredictability of the heel turn and noted that even if a few people called it still got a lot of fans hyped:

"What we have collectively thought about and talked about in the back before and certainly after this moment (Cena's turn) is no one knew what was gonna happen. Maybe a few called it. I thought the moment was incredible and I personally love that,"

It will be interesting to see what will happen next between John Cena and Cody Rhodes.