Imagining WWE with Heel John Cena as Champion for the 1st Time Ever

John Cena's shocking heel turn at Elimination Chamber was enough of an industry-altering event that it's difficult for fans to imagine anything else coming close to topping it.

Cena clinching a record-breaking 17th world championship as an antagonist could be what ultimately eclipses it—provided the title win at WrestleMania 41 and its aftermath are executed accordingly.

His heel run thus far has essentially been a work in progress. His first two promos on Raw badmouthing the audience were refreshing yet still felt forced due to being so uncharacteristic of what his persona embodied for the longest time.

It didn't help that his reasons for betraying his loyalest of supporters lacked logic, not to mention that his connection with the man he "sold his soul" to in The Rock has hardly been addressed or explained.

However, the multi-time 'Mania main eventer has shown signs of serious potential in the role, specifically during his heated confrontation with Cody Rhodes on the March 31 edition of Raw.

WWE having Cena return to his roots as a babyface as early as WrestleMania weekend would be a waste of what he can do in the remainder of his retirement tour.

This is what the WWE landscape would look with heel John Cena as world champ for the first time ever.

There isn't any acceptable outcome to the Undisputed WWE Championship clash at WrestleMania 41 other than Cena taking the title from Rhodes, regardless of how it happens.

The two have built up such animosity for each other that it would be counterproductive to have Cena lose clean to The American Nightmare and immediately endorse him afterward.

It also wouldn't do Rhodes any favors to overcome the odds yet again, which could unintentionally encourage fans to gradually grow tired of his unbeatable resiliency a la Cena in his prime.

How well they mesh in the ring remains to be seen, but the high stakes alone should make this an exciting encounter. In a story that's both simple and strong, Rhodes should fight tirelessly and relentlessly before narrowly falling short to the veteran.

The Undisputed WWE Championship is already at its highest point and doesn't need Cena to be elevated, but the belt being back on him would instantly make every title feud post-WrestleMania must-see as well as add to Rhodes' character development.

A Cena loss on The Grandest Stage of Them All would quickly kill a lot of the interest he's managed to generate with his heel run since Elimination Chamber.

Coming out of WrestleMania 41, Cena will have plenty of credible challengers waiting in the wings, but Randy Orton makes the most sense as his Backlash opponent.

There won't be much time between WrestleMania weekend and Backlash on May 10 to kick off a fresh feud for Cena, but he and Orton have so much history dating back decades they can use to build their highly anticipated encounter.

Orton is currently without a WrestleMania match due to Kevin Owens' neck injury, though it was teased that he might be facing SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis instead after laying him out with an RKO.

Orton winning his WrestleMania match would ensure he's a worthy contender for the title at Backlash, which will be emanating from his home turf of St. Louis.

Cena serving as the heel foil to the beloved hometown hero would make for an electric atmosphere.

The Viper wouldn't stand much of a chance of walking away with the prestigious prize, but nostalgia plays an important factor in why this would work so well.

There's no need for Cena vs. R-Truth to be a formal feud during the former's retirement tour, but it would be fun for them to have at least one last interaction now that Cena has fully embraced the dark side.

Truth has referred to Cena as his "childhood hero" for over six years, and on last year's post-WrestleMania Raw, the running gag was finally paid off when Cena showed up to aid Awesome Truth to victory against The Judgment Day in a six-man tag team match.

Truth's distraught posts on X have made for fantastic comedy since Cena turned heel on March 1. The best way to put even more heat on Cena would be for Truth to confront him about his actions only to be brutally attacked.

As one of WWE's most popular fan favorites, Truth would be the perfect person for such a spot. It wouldn't have to be anything more than an angle on Raw or SmackDown ahead of one of Cena's championship defenses.

Truth is obviously established enough that he'd lose nothing from being the victim of a vicious Cena beatdown. If anything, it would give him something to avenge if WWE wanted to book them in a one-off match on TV together sometime this year.

The biggest piece of the puzzle missing from heel Cena's act at the moment is The Rock, who was the one who orchestrated his attack on Rhodes at Elimination Chamber to begin with.

Despite that, there's been little mention of The Final Boss in the month since the epic angle.

The audience eagerly await what a Cena-Rock villainous team-up would look like after the years they spent at odds with each other.

Not only has The Great One been completely absent from WWE programming, but he's also barely been connected to what we're seeing transpire with Cena on Raw, let alone acknowledged.

If and when Cena captures the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41, it isn't imperative—or realistic—for Rock to be there for every step of his reign, but he should make occasional cameos if he's supposed to be the puppet master pulling the strings.

Otherwise, Rock's involvement in the angle at Elimination Chamber will be rendered pointless.

Cena's pent-up frustration with the fans has been well-documented, but he must inevitably explain why he was adamant about "selling his soul" to The Final Boss when he did.

A random Rock return here and there to advocate for his golden goose would go a long way in cementing Cena as the definitive corporate champion.

It's unknown how much of a presence Cena will have on WWE TV for the better part of 2025, especially since he's had a limited schedule on the Road to WrestleMania 41.

Therefore, fans are justified to be skeptical regarding how often he'll be around as champion.

If he's going to compete on some of the smaller shows between 'Mania and SummerSlam on August 2-3, the opportunity is there for him to have a few feuds and matches that wouldn't otherwise be possible.

His heel turn is arguably the biggest WWE on-screen story in decades. Everyone on the roster should have something to say about it, including a number of top babyfaces across Raw and SmackDown such as Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker.

Cena has crossed paths with all of them at one point or another throughout the years, and any one of those marquee matches would be a thrill to see again with the roles reversed this time, ideally if the gold was up for grabs.

Some would be perfectly acceptable as main events on Raw or SmackDown, but either way, they should all have something to say about Cena's change in attitude eventually.

CM Punk made it abundantly clear coming out of Elimination Chamber that he was angrier than most with the way things played out at the event and didn't hold back while addressing Cena and The Rock.

Ideally, that segment was designed to plant the seeds for a future feud between Punk and Cena, two men who know a fair amount about each other from their many meetings inside the squared circle between 2011 and 2013.

They had no issue recapturing that same magic when they squared off during the men's Elimination Chamber match, and surely one more clash between them during Cena's expected title run would do big business for WWE.

In addition to their excellent matches, their verbal exchanges always delivered. Reversing the roles would give them a ton of tremendous material to work with ahead of a pay-per-view match, possibly at Money in the Bank for old times' sake.

While that could easily be saved for SummerSlam, Punk shouldn't dethrone him. Rather, it would be best for Cena's championship run to be ended by one person in particular...

Cody Rhodes should beat Cena before the latter calls it a career, but not necessarily at WrestleMania 41.

Overcoming that obstacle so soon would feel rushed and not mean as much as it should. Rhodes stands to benefit from being back in chase mode post-WrestleMania instead, if only temporarily.

In the several months Cena spends setting back challenges from the rest of the roster, Rhodes can either disappearing from programming for a few months or start working his way up the card again.

The Cena-Rhodes rematch would be best suited for SummerSlam, where the latter can prove he's worthy of the main event mantle and able to conquer the former.

Cena's endorsement of The American Nightmare can come at this event, and waiting until then would give WWE ample time to book Cena as the heel he has the potential to be.

Some fans have suggested the 47-year-old should retire as a heel, but that would rob him of the redemption arc that would undoubtedly make for an emotional final stretch.

Heel Cena as champ is unprecedented for fans, and it would be asinine of WWE to squander it by not following through with the title change at WrestleMania and running with it at least through SummerSlam.