John Cena Finally Speaks Out About The Rock Not Appearing In WWE

WWE Legend John Cena had a rather unceremonious heel turn that drew a lot of criticism from fans. Before becoming a babyface, the Cenation leader also said that he never wanted to turn heel or ruin wrestling. Now, The Never Seen 17 has finally spoken about The Rock’s release after The 2025 Elimination Chamber.

Speaking at Fan Expo In New Orleans, Cena was asked if he would replace one of his farewell tour matches with a dream match. In response, the Grand Slam champion said he would not trade any of his matches for anything.

He also mentioned the involvement of The Rock and Travis Scott during his heel turn at Elimination Chamber. He noted that it would have been really cool to have The Final Boss and the rapper alongside him for his heel run, but that unfortunately didn’t happen. However, the possibility of something big still inspired him to continue with his plan.

“If I had to say, ‘Oh man, I wish after I turned heel, The Rock and Travis Scott were on my team.’ That would be pretty cool, right? Yeah, they’re crazy megastars, and having them would be pretty cool, but we didn’t do it. That’s what happened.”

However, he then listed the positives from his heel turn, including the fight against OVW counterpart Randy Orton in his hometown of St. Louis. He also considered bringing CM Punk to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and repairing his relationship with the Middle Eastern nation as a plus.

John Cena’s favorite moment in professional wrestling

This wasn’t the first time John Cena spoke about The Second City Saint’s arrival in Saudi Arabia. Speaking to Cody Rhodes about his What do you want to talk about? podcast, Cena recalled that the Night of Champions 2025 rewarded him with his favorite moment in professional wrestling.

The Never Seen 17 highlighted how, during the NOC pre-show, Punk apologized for calling Saudi Arabia’s WWE deal a ” “Blood money” contract. The crowd in Riyadh forgave The Straight Edge Superstar, and Cena described the moment as a meeting of two cultures and ideologies.

Currently, CM Punk is the reigning World Heavyweight Champion and will be heading to Saudi Arabia with the title at the 2026 Royal Rumble. So, his welcome to the NOC has certainly helped solidify his image in the Middle Eastern nation. It would be interesting to see what awaits John Cena and CM Punk.