WWE Rumors: Is John Cena Repenting His Heel Turn After 2025 Backlash

John Cena had a lot in mind after defeating arch-rival at Backlash.

John Cena has been the face of the company for two decades and has created a huge fan base that only watched WWE for him. The legend was highly respected in the WWE locker room and throughout the globe. Everything changed when John Cena won the Elimination Chamber and became the #1 contender for the WWE Undisputed Championship.

The Rock asked Cody Rhodes to join him, but the latter dropped an F-bomb on the Final Boss. It seemed we would have a respectful ending to both the Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania, but WWE had other plans. John Cena joined The Rock and turned heel on Cody Rhodes, brutally beating him in the process. He completed his storyline by defeating Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 and became the 17-time World Champion.

John Cena Seemed to Regret His Heel Turn After Backlash 2025

John Cena ended his feud with Cody Rhodes and vowed to ruin wrestling for the WWE Universe. John Cena entered in a feud with arch-rival Randy Orton for Backlash and cheated his way to victory in a hard-fought match. He looked sad and emotional while leaving the ring after the victory. It seemed he was not happy with his heel persona. He looked at his belt for a long time, and it was apparent that it was weighing on him.

.@JohnCena really had us in the first half ngl 😡 pic.twitter.com/Maay5T3WE1
— WWE (@WWE) May 15, 2025

John Cena hit Randy Orton with a Low Blow, following it by hitting him on his head with the championship belt to win the match. John Cena took a long look at the championship belt and walked off with his head down. We are not unknown to the in-ring rivalry and backstage love between John Cena and Randy Orton. It was the first time during their 25-year-long rivalry that John Cena was a heel while Randy Orton was a face.

The LAST REAL CHAMPION has left the ring.#WWEBacklash pic.twitter.com/7rMdUzfZCp
— WWE (@WWE) May 11, 2025

They say, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself turn into a villain”. John might have lived long enough, and defeating Randy Orton in his hometown with cheating might have hit his conscience. John Cena has already announced his retirement after December 2025, and it’s highly unlikely that he would retire as a heel. He only has a little over 20 appearances left in WWE. He might turn face again soon; the question, however, remains, how will they pull it off?

Also Read: WWE Backlash 2025: John Cena Uses His New Finisher Against Arch-Rival, Randy Orton

Image Credit: WWE.com

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Ashish Negi

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I am Ashish Negi, and I work as a WWE and NFL writer at The Playoffs. I have 5 years of experience in content writing, and I have written in different domains like Real Estate, but I found my love while writing in sports. I love watching sports and have been a fan of WWE and cricket. I got an opportunity to write full-time on WWE and NFL here, so following the footstep of my hero John Cena, I turn heel on my last company