WWE's original plans for John Cena heel turn reemerge amid incredible Elimination Chamber segment

John Cena gave us the biggest heel turn of the century during Saturday night's Elimination Chamber event, more than a decade after he was originally supposed to break character.

For the first time in 22 years, John Cena turned heel as he joined forces with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Travis Scott to attack current champion Cody Rhodes.

It was a moment that shocked the WWE universe to its core.

Cena secured his place at Wrestlemania 41 after outlasting CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Damian Priest and Logan Paul in the Elimination Chamber main event, and celebrations followed in the ring.

Rhodes went over to congratulate Cena but after 'The Rock' and Scott interrupted proceedings, things took a dark turn when Cena hit the champion with a low blow before hitting him over the head with a gold Rolex.

It was arguably the biggest talking point in recent WWE history and amid the remarkable scenes, YouTube personality Chris Van Vliet shared a previous clip of Cena detailing his original plans for turning heel in 2012.

That's right. Cena had even thought about his new music and attitude ahead of his Wrestlemania XXVIII match against 'The Rock' in 2012.

“It was Cena Rock 1," he began. "I got word that they were going to do it. I went out and recorded a new song. I went out and got all new gear. I wasn’t prepared for Ruthless Aggression. That was the last time I wasn’t prepared.

"I mean, I heard rumblings of, we’re going to do it, and in 48 hours, I had a new track, a new studio mix theme song, and a final mix. I had seven new singlets, low-cut singlets with boxing-type robes. I already had the boots in storage, so I dusted them off.

"I was ready to go and already thinking about what I could do with the story. Okay, what is a heel? A heel is not just new gear. The objectivity, or the message behind the singlet and the boxing robes and the boots is the exact opposite of what you saw with the street gear, the jeans shorts, the t-shirt, the ball cap, the sneakers. Go the opposite route and now lean into the opposite of everything you stand for."

John Cena details his original plans for when he was supposed to turn heel in 2012. New music, new gear and a new attitude. pic.twitter.com/5UiHYlkCPt

— Chris Van Vliet (@ChrisVanVliet) March 2, 2025

Cena added: "So I would begin to not work as hard. I would show up less. I would be untrustworthy and unloyal. I would lack respect in what I did. I would give up a lot. All those things you can take and make interesting stories and this is the stuff that’s running through my head, not what moves can I do. It’s like, how can I take the intellectual property that people are familiar with and twist it so it’s like, this guy’s f*cking insane.

"It’s everything I’ve come to love and now I genuinely hate it and being a real bad guy, and I think that was the conversation that was eventually had where it’s like, okay, it’s a bad idea. I’m like, Hey, I know this is going to sting, but I’m not going to sell another T-shirt. I’m going to take all merchandise off the market. I’m not going to put out anything new. I’m not going to do any more appearances. I’m not going to do any Make-A-Wish. I’m not going to do anything like that. I’m going to be a bad guy to make your good guy so your good guy does all that.

"That’s when I was like, we’re kind of in too deep. So it worked out the way it worked out, but bro, I was ready.”

Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, Cena confirmed that he almost became the bad guy for his ‘Once in a Lifetime’ match in 2012 but Vince McMahon decided against it.

“I remember Vince toyed with the idea of turning me heel versus The Rock in Miami," Cena began.

"I said, ‘No problem, I understand, I’ll do it. Just remember that we are so deep in at this point that we can’t do it and then jump back because we’ll be sunk at both ends. If we do it, I have to be the opposite of virtue, I have to be pure evil and we go all in.’

"From a believability standpoint, people always see me in uniform because I want people to know that what they see is someone they can relate to. He [McMahon] decided against it and at that point he said, ‘I don’t think we’re ever going to do it'."