How WWE teased John Cena's heel turn?

WWE teased John Cena's heel turn right from Bad Blood 2024. The Rock returned for the first time since WrestleMania XL and had a 3-finger message. It had everything to do with Cena's heel turn. Apart from that, there were several other instances when WWE and the creative team teased Cena's heel turn through subtle details and actions of the individuals.

The Rock returned at Bad Blood and had a 3-finger message. It meant that he was going to team up with Cena, whose iconic celebration was showing three fingers. The next clue was through a CM Punk message for Cody. The Second City Saint confronted Rhodes before the Royal Rumble and referred to something that happened at the Elimination Chamber.

Punk claimed a good friend would stab in the front. While many thought Punk was referring to himself, it was him teasing Cody's future with Cena. "A good friend will always stab you in the front," said Punk to Rhodes before the Royal Rumble 2025.

On WWE Raw's Netflix Premiere, Cena announced himself for the Royal Rumble. He claimed a miracle would take him to become a record 17th-time world champion. It signified that Cena wasn't confident of his ability to win and showed a bit of desperation to end his losing streak, which lasted over 2000 days.

Cena's elimination from the Royal Rumble was heartbreaking. After Jey Uso eliminated him, John nearly snapped before congratulating him on his win. An unhinged Babyface Cena would have selflessly wished the winner. In the Press Conference after the Royal Rumble, Cena cut a semi-heel promo where he registered his name for the Elimination Chamber.

WWE's clues, hints, and teases about John Cena's heel turn

In many ways, it was the start of the discussion about his heel turn. Till the Elimination Chamber, many took a dig at Cena not having to go through the qualification process to enter the Men's Chamber Match. In the pre-show before the Elimination Chamber, Triple H claimed it to be a path-breaking event in the WWE history.

While he meant something big was planned for the event, there were a couple of announcements. One of them was the segment between Cody Rhodes and The Rock to be the Main Event of the night. If anything had to top Cena's Chamber win, it had to be his heel turn.

Also Read: 3 reasons why John Cena turned heel at Elimination Chamber 2025

WWE posted the poster for the Elimination Chamber, which included the trio of Travis Scott, The Rock, and John Cena. It was a direct spoiler of how the night would end. Before entering his final Elimination Chamber match, Cena claimed it was time for him and everyone to pave the way for the gas.

"Let's pave the way for the gas," claimed Cena as he showed the 'Last time is now' message. It meant his run as the Babyface was over, and a new path was set to be created. The last clue from the Stamford-based company was right in the ending moments of the Men's Chamber match.

Seth Rollins was eliminated from the Men's Chamber match with a collective effort from Cena and Punk. After his elimination, Seth decided to cost Punk and delivered a Curb Stomp. Cena never chooses to beat his opponent in such circumstances. But he did not wait for Punk and went for the STF to win the Men's Elimination Chamber 2025 match.