WWE legend compares John Cena's shocking heel turn to Roman Reigns' run as The Tribal Chief

John Cena turned his back on fans at WWE Elimination Chamber in Toronto when he attacked Cody Rhodes. Recently, Natalya addressed the heel turn and compared it to Roman Reigns' drastic character change in 2020.

In 2020, Roman Reigns embraced the dark side and aligned with Paul Heyman. The heel turn became a significant moment in the promotion's history. An equally monumental moment took place when John Cena combined forces with The Rock at WWE Elimination Chamber 2025.

On The Ariel Helwani Show, Natalya, who's a legend in the Stamford-based promotion, gave her thoughts on The Franchise Player's heel turn. She also compared it to The Tribal Chief's run as a villain. The Queen of Harts believed Cena was pulling out all the stops before he retired from in-ring competition.

"John Cena said, prior to turning heel, that this was his final run in WWE. So, he basically has to pull out every stop, and the one thing that everybody's wanting to see him do is turn heel, and when I look at Roman Reigns, I think the best work that Roman has ever done is as a heel. He's so exciting that he actually turned himself as a babyface because people love him so much," Natalya said. (From 57:32 to 58:02)

---

John Cena will appear on next week's WWE RAW

Earlier this month, John Cena punched his ticket to WrestleMania 41 when he won the Men's Elimination Chamber match in Toronto. However, he shocked the entire world when he turned heel for the first time in over two decades and aligned with The Rock.

After selling his "soul" to The Final Boss, The Franchise Player has been sharing cryptic posts on his social media handles. Meanwhile, Cody Rhodes has recovered from the unexpected attack and addressed The Cenation Leader's actions on two different occasions.

On the upcoming episode of Monday Night RAW, John Cena and the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will be under the same roof for the first time since Elimination Chamber 2025. It'll be interesting to see what The Franchise Player has to say in his defense heading into WrestleMania 41.

---

If you use quotes from the article's first half, please credit The Ariel Helwani Show and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.