Hustle, Loyalty, Respect.
For nearly 20 years, these 3 words have defined John Cena. And his everlasting resolve to remain true to himself, and never take a shortcut or dirty tactic to win, even through fan admonishment and begging him to do otherwise. But Cena stood firm no matter who tried to ask or make him embrace the hate, which cemented his place as an icon to younger fans alongside his position for a long time as the undisputed face of the company. Which is why many were heartbroken when Cena announced last July that he would officially retire at the end of 2025 and this year would mark the ‘Farewell Tour’.
The tour almost had the perfect beginning, with Cena falling at the last hurdle in the Royal Rumble, being the last man eliminated by the actual winner Jey Uso. Following the show in the post show press conference, John Cena announced that he would be competing in the Men’s Elimination Chamber match, and that his next appearance would be in Toronto on March 1st for the match. And he also stated that he did this as he’d realised that his intended tour of goodwill was not what would be best for business and what would be is him winning the Elimination Chamber and winning his 17th World Title at Wrestlemania.
Come this past Saturday’s Elimination Chamber, Cena had to face off against CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Damian Priest & Logan Paul who all had to win qualifying matches to get into the Chamber unlike Cena who just got to be in the Chamber because he said so. But getting to the match is one thing, actually winning it is another especially against 5 other men who all want to headline Wrestlemania, particularly CM Punk who has STILL never main evented Wrestlemania after his likely main event match against Seth Rollins last year was stolen from him due to an injury caused by Drew McIntyre.
The match ultimately came down to John Cena & CM Punk, who still have undeniable chemistry in the ring, both men on multiple occasions flawlessly countering the other’s attempted offense knowing how much was at stake. The key moment was Punk being curb stomped by Seth Rollins, who had been eliminated minutes prior and evidently still adamant to not let Punk get his main event match after months of shared hatred. And Cena, somewhat uncharacteristically took advantage of this, immediately locking in the STF for the win, after an already weakened Punk couldn’t break out of the move and passed out, losing the match despite never actively tapping out. But Cena had done it, beaten the odds and secured his route to Wrestlemania.
Cody Rhodes then came out to congratulate Cena, quickly followed by The Rock (and Travis Scott), as Cody also now had to give his answer to ‘The Final Boss’ on whether he would sell his soul and become his Champion. Cody ultimately proclaimed that his soul had already been given to the ring and the WWE Universe, before telling The Rock to go F himself (the F is exactly what you think it is, fully uncensored on the broadcast as well). Following this moment, Cena embraced Cody, but his face suddenly turned as he looked to The Rock over Cody’s shoulder. And a simple finger across the throat from The Rock served as a cue for John to do what everyone thought he would never do and turn heel, violently assaulting Cody Rhodes alongside The Final Boss (and Travis Scott) making it clear he already sold his soul to The Rock long before making it to Toronto.
This move stunned everyone watching both at home and in the arena. But in retrospect explains a lot. Such as Cena being able to just insert himself into the Chamber without needing to qualify, he was already in service to The Rock, who could easily use his place on the board of TKO to mandate Cena be in the match. And also explaining Cena’s lack of hesitation to take advantage of Seth Rollins’ curb stomp to Punk, as the humble Cena of the past who would never do that is long gone, and will do whatever he has to to secure #17. Even The Rock’s mysterious appearance at Bad Blood last year was finally explained, as The Rock’s actions back then, was the exact same signal he gave Cena to attack Cody, implying that Cena’s been aligned with The Rock since before the Farewell Tour even began.
In closing, before the PLE, and also before Smackdown the night before. Triple H promised an “industry-changing weekend”. And that promise was kept as Cena going bad was something no one ever thought would happen. Rivalling Hulk Hogan aligning with Kevin Nash & Scott Hall to found the New World Order in 1996 as the biggest “Heel turn” in the history of Wrestling altogether. And if there was any doubt remaining before Elimination Chamber, we are now firmly on the Road to Wrestlemania. And a kind of Wrestlemania no one ever thought they would see, headlined by a heel John Cena.
