Original plan for John Cena's heel turn?

Inside: New champion crowned on SmackDown and more

March 08, 2025

 

SMACKDOWN SYNOPSIS

Triple H breaks silence as Shinsuke Nakamura drops WWE United States Championship on SmackDown

Shinsuke Nakamura and LA Knight had an enthralling back-and-forth contest in the main event. During the closing moments, The King of Strong Style tried to use a steel chair on The Megastar to cause a disqualification. However, the referee prevented that from happening as he took the chair out of his hands. A desperate Nakamura then accidentally spit red mist into the referee's eyes after Knight dodged him. Both men tried to take advantage while the referee was out.

The Japanese star attempted to use the steel chair again, but LA Knight caught him with BFT on the chair to regain his title.After the show, Triple H took to his official X (formerly Twitter) handle to share backstage footage of himself posing with the newly crowned champion.

Orton showed up for the first since November last year at Elimination Chamber 2025, where he attacked his arch-nemesis Owens. On SmackDown tonight, he heartbreakingly revealed how the doctors had asked him to call it quits on his career in the aftermath of KO hitting a Piledriver on him. However, Randy Orton made it clear that he was hungry to get revenge on Kevin Owens.

The WWE legend was even involved in a backstage segment later in the show, where he confronted Carmelo Hayes, who was taking shots at him. SmackDown GM Nick Aldis, who was also present there, quickly announced a match between the two performers for next Friday Night, which goes down in Barcelona, Spain.

Fans were in for a shock on February 21 when news emerged that Carmella had departed WWE after the promotion, under the creative direction of Triple H, didn't renew her deal. The 37-year-old star had a 12-year run in the company, where she became a SmackDown Women's Champion, won the Women's Tag Team Championship with Zelina Vega, and captured the now defunct 24/7 Title on four occasions.

Following her departure, Carmella made her displeasure known regarding how the company let her go after she had a baby and that she felt "ghosted." In a new interview with Kail Lowry, she stated that her relationship with WWE had soured and that there was little chance she would return to the company.

FROM THE RUMOR MILL

WWE's original plan for John Cena's earth-shattering heel turn

Earlier this month, John Cena did the unthinkable as he sold his soul to The Final Boss. The Franchise Player remained a babyface for two decades before he decided to sell out in his final run as a professional wrestler.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), the original plan was for John Cena to win the Elimination Chamber match and not be involved in The Rock and Cody Rhodes' segment in Toronto. However, the heel turn would've happened at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, which would've acted as the match's finish as well.

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