Triple H lifts lid on John Cena’s reaction to ‘heel turn’ pitch

After spending the majority of his career as a ‘good guy’, Cena has become an on-screen villain in his final year before retiring from competition

WWE’s chief booker Triple has lifted the lid on the backstage conversation that resulted in John Cena ‘turning heel’.

Cena, one of the biggest WWE stars ever, spent the vast majority of his career as a ‘babyface’ (good guy) before turning ‘heel’ (becoming an on-screen villain) in February.

That moment, which proved one of the most shocking in professional-wrestling history, set up Cena for a WrestleMania showdown with Cody Rhodes in April.

Cena, 47, will challenge his fellow American, 39, for the Undisputed WWE Championship in a main-event clash on 20 April – the second and final night of WrestleMania 41. The bout will mark Cena’s final appearance at WWE’s showpiece event, before he retires from competition at the end of 2025.

And ahead of that match-up in Las Vegas, Cena has been addressing crowds as a heel for the first time in more than 20 years, eliciting heated reactions from audiences on WWE’s European tour, which wrapped up with the latest edition of Raw on Monday, in London.

Before that show, Triple H – who was an in-ring icon before becoming WWE’s Chief Content Officer in 2022 – discussed the conversation that saw Cena agree to turn heel.

“It was a conversation... Without getting into the details, it was a conversation that...” Levesque began, seemingly struggling to find the right words as he spoke to the Daily Mail.

John Cena (left) with WrestleMania 41 opponent Cody Rhodes in Glasgow (WWE/Netflix)

“When it was brought up, everybody... I think in John’s mind, he was like: ‘Wow, I didn’t think you were going to say that. I love it.’

“It’s a challenge to him. John’s not a complacent person, right? I think he would have [stayed babyface] and he would have done it happily and he would have done it for fans, but I think there would have been a piece of him that would have been like: ‘Alright, I’m just going to go through my day here.’”

Levesque, who said Cena required no convincing to turn heel, said the wrestler and actor staying babyface would have been “no different than if a Hollywood role” needed Cena to “play the character you’ve played in 20 other movies pretty much, and just do the same thing”.

Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque was an in-ring icon before becoming WWE’s Chief Content Officer (WWE)

“At a certain point in time, they come and they give you something way off something you’ve ever done,” Levesque continued, “and you’re like: ‘Wow, alright, that’s a challenge I’ve never done before.’

“That energises you and gets your creative juices going and excites you, it lights you up as a performer. This is going to be special, because John is lit up about it. We’re lit up about it. It’s going to be incredible.”

This week, Cena revealed that he has twice been diagnosed with skin cancer as he launched a new campaign to promote the use of sunscreen.