For the first time since he became the face of theWWEin 2005,John Cena is a heel. The wrestling world has been buzzing ever since Cena aligned himself with The Rock in the closing moments of theElimination Chamberpremium live event, and all eyes are now directed towardsWrestleMania 41whenhe’ll challenge Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship.
With roughly 30 scheduled dates left before his retirement at the end of 2025, Cena will look to make the most of this new persona as his year-long retirement tour rolls on. But who will step up to face the now-sinister 16-time former world champion? Let’s dig in:
7Cody Rhodes
The American Nightmare
The good news is we’re getting this at least once. And in a perfect world, you have Cena win the match atWrestleMania 41through underhanded means, then run it back to get the WWE Championship back on Rhodes before the end of the year. You can have the rematch atSummerSlam, giveSurvivor Seriesthe boost it’s been sorely lacking or hype up whatever Cena’s final booked appearance of the year winds up being (judging by the calendar, that would be the Dec. 29 episode ofWWE Rawat the latest).
WWE Reportedly Turned Down The Rock’s Pitch To Turn Cody Rhodes Heel Before John Cena
Despite WWE’s Elimination Chamber changing wrestling history, turning John Cena heel reportedly wasn’t The Rock’s original plan.
Like most of these, there’s a lot of history to dig into. Rhodes held up Cena as his idol long before he was ever perceived as the main eventer and has openly talked abouttrying to live up to Cena’s exampleof what it means to be the face of the promotion. Rhodes could also be the one to eventually snap Cena out of this villain turn, but that’s a story for another day.
6CM Punk
Bring Back 2011
Punk made it clear onWWE Rawthathe’s furious with Cena- both for turning his back on the principles he claimed to stand for over 20 years but also for stealing Punk’s opportunity to finally main event WrestleMania.
“Hustle, loyalty and respect for 20 plus years, and now everybody sees what I’ve known all along, that you’ve been selling all these people, and all these kids bulls—,” Punk said regarding Cena. “Who gave up in the Elimination Chamber? It wasn’t me. You’ll never see CM Punk give up on his dreams of main eventing WrestleMania. Ironically Mr. ‘Don’t Quit’, Mr. ‘Don’t Give Up’, you gave up on yourself. You gave up on all of these people, you gave up on all those kids. The joke’s on you. I’m going to see you down the road, and I’m going to get my hands on both of you bald frauds and when I do, you’re going to ‘make a wish’ that I never did!”
The pair’s solid chemistry led to a run of great matches in the early 2010s. Even though it’s been 12 years since their last singles encounter, it’s not hard to imagine they could pull it off again.
5Randy Orton
One Last Time
Cena had an extensive list of rivals from his full-time run as the face of WWE. But here’s the thing -he won’t be able to wrestle most of themduring this retirement tour. Batista is in Hollywood, Triple H and Shawn Michaels are both retired and Edge is over in AEW. And unless they have him turn back into a babyface quickly, a third match with The Rock is unlikely.
Randy Orton’s Best WWE Matches, Ranked
Randy Orton is a 14-time World Champion who has built a legacy of his own in WWE. Here are the best matches that he has had for the company.
But then there’s Randy Orton, one of Cena’s oldest foes. Their rivalry was beaten into the ground to the point of parody in the late 2000s and early 2010s, but to have them wrestle a singles match in 2025 is more of a nostalgia act. Only this time there’s an actual hook - Orton is the face and Cena is the heel, a never-before-seen dynamic.
4Roman Reigns
The Tribal Chief
Once you get past Cena vs. Rhodes and Cena vs. Punk, there isn’t a bigger match WWE can book right now thanCena vs. Reigns III. And there’s plenty for both men to sink their teeth into:
3Bron Breakker
The Next Big Thing
While the presentations are different, in many ways Bron Breakker represents Cena in his early WWE years. He’s portrayed as an unstoppable powerhouse, loaded with potential and circled by fans and pundits alike as a future pillar of WWE’s main event scene.
10 Most Heel Things John Cena Ever Did As WWE’s Top Babyface
WWE fans had to wait until 2025 to see John Cena fully turn heel, but many times during his career he trod the line between good and evil.
Watching Cena take on a rising star from the new generation talent while simultaneously outrunning Father Time could make for some excellent storytelling. Side note - this storyline would also work with a Cena vs. NXT Champion Oba Femi matchup, though it’s unlikely that Femi will get the call-up in time to lock horns with Cena.
2Teaming With The Rock
The Hollywood Mega Powers
While The Rock’s schedule will prevent him from competing atWrestleMania 41this year, the idea of him teaming up with Cena for a match later on in the year is too tempting to pass up. The opponents could be some combination for Rhodes, Reigns, Punk and Seth Rollins, and it could be a massive draw for one of the B-tier premium live events or an episode ofSaturday Night’s Main Event. It doesn’t even matter which side wins - when you’re able to put that much star power in the ring together,you don’t pass up on the opportunity.
1Sami Zayn
An Ultimate Underdog
Zayn has firmly established himself as a beloved babyface, one who still hasn’t managed to win a world championship in his lengthy WWE career. And yet, no matter how high the odds are stacked against him, fans get invested every time he tries to win the big one.
5 Moments When WWE Foreshadowed Cena’s Heel Turn (That You Probably Missed)
While John Cena joining The Rock and turning heel on Cody Rhodes was shocking, WWE had been dropping hints for quite some time.
A Zayn vs. Cena match where Cena is the cowardly champion looking to retire with his 17th reign intact would fit right into that formula. Zayn likely won’t be the one to knock him off his perch, but it’ll be a must-see main event if there’s even a 1% chance Zayn might win.
