WWE legend reveals whether or not he "loved" John Cena's unprecedented heel turn at Elimination Chamber

At the 2025 Elimination Chamber in Toronto, Canada, WWE made a major move of turning John Cena into a villain. Recently, Hall of Famer Booker T shared his thoughts on this shocking character change for the 16-time World Champion.

The Franchise Player won the Men's Elimination Chamber Match and subsequently shared a heartwarming moment with Cody Rhodes. However, their celebration was cut short due to interference from The Rock and Travis Scott. After The American Nightmare refused to sell his soul to The Final Boss, Cena turned heel and joined forces with Dwayne Johnson, brutalizing the Undisputed WWE Champion.

On his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T stated he loved the unexpected twist of John Cena's heel turn. He noted that the prevailing narrative centered on The Franchise Player winning the Men's Elimination Chamber and possibly winning the 17th world championship at WrestleMania 41.

The WWE Hall of Famer believed the seismic heel turn served as an effective curveball, disrupting those expectations.

"I loved it, man! It's just what wrestling is. When you think you figured it out, they throw you another curveball, like, this one right here, everybody [saying] John Cena's going to come back and win the title. That's what everybody was thinking about. John Cena’s going to win the Chamber and go on and break the record. I think that's the story, not John Cena turning heel to actually get that accomplished," Booker T said. [From 16:46 to 17:10]

Watch the full episode below:

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WWE commentator explains why John Cena turned to the dark side

A RAW commentator discussed the potential motivations behind the 16-time World Champion's heel turn. Pat McAfee noted John Cena's past experiences with divided fan reactions.

Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, the 37-year-old star implied that John Cena finally released pent-up anger during the Elimination Chamber event. McAfee believed the former WWE Champion seized the opportunity to vent accumulated resentment.

"How long has John Cena been waiting to do this? Let out a little bit of aggression—because there was a time where Cena was a super good guy; he comes out and they [fans] go, 'Let's go Cena,' and the other half of the place would go, 'Cena s*cks!' Now he gets a chance to kind of take out all that anger and frustration," he said.

It will be exciting to see what The Cenation Leader's villainous role will bring to the table during his rivalry with Cody Rhodes ahead of their showdown at The Showcase of The Immortals.

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Please credit Booker T's Hall of Fame podcast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.