For the better part of the past year ofWWEtelevision, The Rock has embraced a villainous persona known as The Final Boss.His alignment with The Bloodlineand violent altercations with Cody Rhodes were the highlight of the road toWrestleMania XL. Now, on the road toWrestleMania 41,WWE quietly dropped The Rock’s heel characteron Raw’s Netflix premiere. Just like that, WWE is without its Thanos-level threat.
Fret not, as WWE has the opportunity to make up for it by giving viewers an antagonist that would be even bigger and even more shocking than The Rock’s heel character:the only thing bigger than a heel Rockis a heel John Cena. In the time since becoming the franchise player for the WWE, John Cena has spent nearly 20 years as a babyface, not being a true heel since his days as a Thuganomics rookie.
However, the seeds for a switch may have been planted in the fallout of theRoyal Rumble. This would be WWE’s best shot at rectifying what is arguably their biggest mistake of 2025.
WWE Cooling The Rock’s Heel Arc Was a Mistake
The Wasted Potential and Backlash Wasn’t Worth It
In the fallout ofWrestleMania XL, The Rock promised Cody Rhodes that whether the WWE Champion still had his title or not, The Final Boss was going to target him upon his return. Keeping to his promise, the following October,Bad Bloodended with The Rock’s shocking return to deliver a threatening hand signal to Rhodes andhis cousin Roman Reignsfor teaming together. The Rock teased matches with Cody and Roman, only to not follow through with them on the debut Netflix edition of Monday Night Raw.
Those who have followed the Final Boss and his stories since early 2024 were rightfully disappointed to see those stories retconned in an instant.
The Rock all but silently dismissed his heel arc, even paying respect and friendly gestures to Cody Rhodes in the crowd. Multiple layers of WWE storylines and feuds were laid out through this Final Boss character, but in one segment, each of those layers was discarded, likely to never be addressed again.
Unfortunately, this is coherent with Rock’s previously declared intention of remaining a babyface. While it’s understandable for WWE to have The Rock play the friendlier, lovable Dwayne Johnson for new Netflix viewers, those who have followed the Final Boss and his stories since early 2024 were rightfully disappointed to see those stories retconned in an instant.
John Cena’s Hint For Elimination Chamber Sets Up a Dream Heel Turn
Making Up for The Rock’s Soft Babyface Reboot
The post-show press conference for theRoyal Rumblesaw John Cena deliver his mission statement for this next stage of his character. Everyone went in 2025 knowing this would be Cena’s retirement year and his road to theRumbleseemed like a fun last hurrah. The fun was traded for a more serious tone as Cena became adamant that in his final year, he needed to break Ric Flair’s 16-time World Championship record, if only to ensure he could pass the torch to the next generation’s record-holder when the time comes decades from now.His jovial bravado was suddenly desperate, perhaps foreshadowing a heel turn.
Where Is WWE Going After the Royal Rumble? Predicting the Possible WrestleMania Main Events
Now that the Royal Rumble has concluded, where is WWE headed? What are some possible WrestleMania main events?
If the heel turn doesn’t happen at theElimination Chamber, then assuming he wins, Cena may go heel at Mania to garner the title. This could set the stage for a villain who believes that he alone is what’s best for business, and will go to extreme lengths to protect the business. Only a wrestler the magnitude of John Cena could match that of The Rock with a heel character that potentially could not only be even more compelling, but more significant.ManyWWEfans have waited years for a John Cena heel turn, and they may finally get it.
