The world of the John Cena won the Elimination Chamber, he shocked the world with an unprecedented heel turn. When it became the topic of conversation on ESPN's First Take, it proved that WWE did something right. The Rock had been calling for Cody Rhodes' soul for the past couple of weeks, and it was time to pay up in Toronto. Instead, Rhodes told The Final Boss to "go *** himself." These words would end up being immediately regretted by the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
Originally, the men's Elimination Chamber match was slated for the main event on the PLE. Once the show began, they decided to make a last-second change to switch that match with the Cody Rhodes-The Rock segment. What we didn't know at that time was we were in store for one of the greatest heel turns in WWE history. However, despite how awesome it is to see Cena turn heel, there is someone better than Cody Rhodes to face him at WrestleMania 41.
John Cena's Heel-Turn Was Exactly What His WWE Farewell Needed
Cena's Heel-Turn Came At The Perfect Time
At last year's Money in the Bank in Toronto, Cena announced he was retiring in 2025. As one of the all-time greats, this news came with a bittersweet feeling. It was clear that capturing a record-breaking 17th WWE Championship was on his agenda before he walks away for good. It wasn't quite clear how desperate he was to do so until Elimination Chamber. In order to break the record, Cena has officially sold his soul to the devil. It couldn't have come at a better time for Rhodes as his title reign needed some excitement. It also altered how everyone thought Cena's Farewell Tour would go.
John Cena Just Turned Heel: Here Is What It Means For His Farewell Tour
The John Cena retirement tour just took an unexpected but incredible new direction and set the table for multiple new avenues to tell this story.
Cena's heel-turn came at the perfect time because it has now become the new top storyline in professional wrestling. For the past couple of years, The Bloodline had been the top story in wrestling, but Cena turning on Rhodes felt like the beginning of a new chapter. It was awesome to see one of the most beloved babyfaces become one of the most hated wrestlers in the world in a matter of seconds. However, although it was one of the most memorable moments in company history, Rhodes isn't the one Cena should be facing at WrestleMania 41.
Why CM Punk Was A Better Option For Cena's WrestleMania Match
CM Punk Versus John Cena Has History Written All Over
The biggest plot hole here is that whoever decided to sell their soul to The Rock would be his champion. He promised Rhodes that he would ensure that he would live with the luxury that he does as a Hollywood star. Cena doesn't need any of these things. He's starred in several big movies. He followed The Rock's footsteps a long time ago in that regard. Of course, we've yet to hear anything from Cena since the heel turn, and we likely won't for a while.
The perfect opponent for a heel Cena was right there in the Chamber: none other than CM Punk. The history between them is undeniably one of the best in recent WWE history, and their chemistry was evident in the Chamber match as well. When they both ed the ring and the words "I missed you" came from Cena's mouth, it felt like a heart-warming moment. The moment Seth Rollins stomped Punk's head and Cena locked in his STF to make him out to eliminate him was a great spot made even better by the long history between these two.
Punk versus Cena at WrestleMania 41 would have been a dream match. With only so many matches left in Cena's career, it would've been a great feud to lead him into what is next. They've faced each other in so many memorable matches, including the 2012 Night of Champions and Money in the Bank in 2011. Seeing these two going head-to-head on the microphone one last time would've been incredible in the buildup to WWE's biggest event of the year, and CM Punk's promo on the following Raw gave us a taste.
On the flip side, it would also have given Punk the WrestleMania main event he craves. Of course, one of the two would have needed to win a World Title first, most likely from Gunther, but that bit of unpredictability would not have hurt the Road to Wrestlemania. Also, there would have been no need to involve The Rock in their storyline at all, leaving him free to do something else entirely, perhaps with Cody or Roman, thus creating another main-event level match. Especially with how over Punk is at the moment as a babyface, there is a separate story that could've been told here as well.
Of course, Cena vs. Punk is still bound to happen at some point during this farewell tour that will turn into a redemption tour at some point. Perhaps Punk will be the one to bring Cena out from the shadows, before Big Match John collides with the Rock for one final time. For now, we can sit back and see where the story goes with Cena and The Rock ing forces, but one can't help but wonder just how incredible a Punk vs. Cena match would have been at WrestleMania 41.
