Speaking at the Chicago Fan Expo this past weekend, John Cena reflected on his 2025 heel turn, candidly admitting his first promo following the character change was a failure.
“Oh no, I wasn’t upset. I just knew I failed,” Cena stated in footage captured at the event. “Ain’t nothing wrong with that. You can learn from failure, right? I went out there and bombed. S**t happens, guys.”
The promo in question occurred on the March 17, 2025, episode of Monday Night Raw. The 32-minute segment featured Cena blaming the fans for his decision to turn heel, which was met with dueling chants from the live audience.
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Cena’s turn happened at Elimination Chamber in February, where he aligned with The Rock and Travis Scott after winning the men’s Chamber match for a WWE Championship opportunity. The trio attacked Cody Rhodes, cementing Cena’s first heel run in over two decades as part of his storyline quest for a record-breaking 17th World Championship.
During the fan expo Q&A, Cena was asked how he might have approached the promo differently had he known The Rock would not be a consistent part of the storyline’s follow-up. Cena dismissed the hypothetical question.
“Man, what I’m hearing is, in a hypothetical universe, what different choices could be made? I will answer that with: hindsight is a waste of time,” he responded. “Let’s live right here and now… we’re taking the audience on a hell of a ride this year, and we’ve still got a ways left to go, so I’m excited about that.”
The storyline led to Cena defeating Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41. His reign was short-lived, as Rhodes reclaimed the title at SummerSlam. On the SmackDown episode prior to the event, Cena reverted to a babyface, a move reportedly made to set up a future program with the returning Brock Lesnar.
Cena has stated he will not share his full perspective on the creative decisions behind the heel turn until after he has officially retired from in-ring competition. His final match is scheduled for an unannounced event in December 2025.
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