WWE stunner: John Cena turns heel, generates heat for WrestleMania bout

If there is one constant about professional wrestling, it is that nothing is ever constant -- or sacred.

Legendary good guy John Cena, a 16-time world heavyweight champion -- including a 13-time WWE title belt holder -- stunned wrestling fans when he turned heel at WWE’s Elimination Chamber event in Toronto on March 1.

Cena, who has been a “babyface” in the industry for more than two decades, won the men’s Elimination Chamber match to earn the right to face WWE champion Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.

Rhodes entered the ring after the match to congratulate Cena and respond to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s demand that the son of wrestling legend Dusty “The American Dream” sell his soul to him, “Today” reported.

After all, this is pro wrestling, where no subject is off-limits.

Rhodes declined and directed salty language at Johnson, who was accompanied to ringside by rapper Travis Scott.

Cena hugged Rhodes, but the ultimate babyface’s expression tightened and turned sinister and he looked at Johnson. After “The Rock” made a slow, throat-slashing gesture, Cena stepped back and kicked Rhodes in the groin.

Cena then attacked Rhodes with several objects, including the WWE heavyweight belt.

It was a cold stone stunner, to borrow a phrase from wrestler Steve Austin -- and the perfect setup for WrestleMania 41, which will be held during the weekend of April 19-20.

Heel turns are nothing new in professional wrestling. Hulk Hogan famously became a bad guy in 1996, and Larry Zbyszko attacked his mentor, longtime WWWF (now WWE) champion Bruno Sammartino during a January 1980 match.

On the opposite side of the coin -- or the ring -- Dusty Rhodes famously became a babyface during a mid-1970s match while wrestling for the National Wrestling Alliance.

There are many other examples of both.

The most shocking part about Cena’s switch is that the move did not leak -- a major achievement in today’s social media world. It is something that Paul “Triple H” Levesque, a former WWE champion and the promotion’s chief content officer, was pleased about.

Levesque had promised an “industry-changing weekend” before the Elimination weekend, SBNation reported on its Cageside Seats page.

“The one thing about tonight that I loved, absolutely loved, it was nowhere. Nowhere. Because nobody knew,” Levesque said after the show. “I hate when people go to see the movie, and then they have to tell everybody that they know what the finish of that movie is. It’s like, ‘Just let me watch it.’ Don’t tell me.

“Right before the finish of Elimination Chamber, I had to say to the truck, ‘Everybody layout. I have all traffic on this, on where we go next,’ because nobody knew what was coming.”

Cena did not address his attack after the match, remaining in character as he dropped a microphone and walked away, “Today” reported.

Levesque said he was unsure where an evil Cena will take the character.

“Even though we are creating it, I’ll be honest,” he said, according to SBNation. “I don’t know what the hell he’s gonna do as a heel.”

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