WWE Considered Cody Rhodes Heel Turn Before Choosing John Cena

The drama leading up to WrestleMania just got even more interesting.

According to Fightful Select, while reports initially suggested The Rock wanted to align with Cody Rhodes in a shocking heel turn, only one part of that story is fully confirmed—Rhodes was pitched a heel turn and rejected it. Everything else, including the specific timeline and details, remains unclear.

Dave Meltzer originally reported that The Rock wanted to be in Cody’s corner, but WWE ultimately decided turning Rhodes was a risk they weren’t willing to take. Now,it’s being said that Cena was then pitched to turn heel instead, and he immediately agreed, with The Rock being “all in” on making it happen.

Despite some dramatic online reactions, sources close to the situation say this was just part of the usual process of brainstorming major WrestleMania moments. “This was just the common course of making pitches for something big to happen heading into WrestleMania, and maximizing the buzz,” one source said.

Interestingly, many close to Cody hadn’t even heard about the heel turn pitch, which suggests it wasn’t something that got too far down the pipeline. Meanwhile, Cena vs. Rhodes was reportedly locked in as early as November, meaning WWE had a clear vision for The American Nightmare’s path to the biggest show of the year.

Would Cody turning heel have been a mistake, or did WWE make the right call? Drop your thoughts in the comments!