WWE legend "enjoyed" John Cena's heel turn; reflects on shocking turn of events

WWE Superstar John Cena officially turned heel for the first time in over two decades at the 2025 Elimination Chamber. Ahead of SmackDown, X-Pac, aka Sean Waltman, opened up about the major change in The Cenation Leader's character.

On March 1, 2025, Cena won the six-man Elimination Chamber Match to become the number one contender for Cody Rhodes' then-Undisputed WWE Title at WrestleMania 41. However, that night in Toronto, Canada, the 48-year-old legend betrayed The American Nightmare and joined forces with The Rock and Travis Scott to brutally attack the former champion.

In an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, the former D-Generation X member stated that he "enjoyed" John Cena's villainous transformation. X-Pac also admitted that he never anticipated The Franchise Player's heel turn happening and believed the veteran would retire as a babyface.

"Have you enjoyed the [John] Cena heel turn?" asked Helwani. "I did. I honestly never thought it would happen, Ariel. I thought he was going to retire [as babyface]. It just never seemed like something he was going to do," replied Sean Waltman. (From 12:22 to 12:43)

Look who just shut down all of Tony Khan's critics! More HERE.

Check out the full interview below:

X-Pac commented on John Cena's title match at WWE WrestleMania 41

At The Showcase of The Immortals in Las Vegas on April 20, 2025, The Face That Runs The Place locked horns with Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship. A last-moment assist from Travis Scott led to John Cena dethroning the 39-year-old star to become a 17-time World Champion and surpass Ric Flair's iconic record.

In the same interview with Ariel Helwani, X-Pac claimed that the Cena vs. Rhodes match wasn't ideal and that fans were disappointed with how it was booked.

"I got out of there before the main event so I could beat the crowd. So, I got tired of there, like, it [the John Cena-Cody Rhodes match] wasn't ideal. I don't want to get too much into it and step on too many toes. But I think a lot of people were disappointed," he said.

That being said, The Cenation Leader is now set to defend his world title against Randy Orton on May 10, 2025, in the latter's hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.

Only time will tell if The Apex Predator defeats his opponent to become a 15-time World Champion this Saturday.

Please credit The Ariel Helwani Show & give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

About the author

Akash Dhakite is a WWE news writer for Sportskeeda. From wallpapers on electronic devices to ringtones and alarms, WWE runs in the blood of Akash Dhakite, giving him an ascendancy of knowledge about this sport.

Since he was three years old, John Cena and The Undertaker mesmerized Akash's soul, allowing him to follow his "Never Give Up" attitude.

From The Champ's Royal Rumble 2008 surprise entrance to his TLC match against Wade Barett to busting open Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules to emotionally breaking down at WrestleMania 28 after losing the match against The Rock, Dhakite breathes WWE.

He has an experience in professional wrestling as a news writer, having over 514 live articles on the internet. Besides his love for WWE, Dhakite is also a comedy writer and has occasionally performed as a stand-up comedian.

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Edited by Sanchari Bhattacharya