It's been three weeks since the unthinkable happened, as John Cena turned heel at WWE Elimination Chamber, aligning with The Rock to brutalize Cody Rhodes. While it may have rocked the very foundation of the promotion, it also set up a scintillating story on the Road to WrestleMania.

After over 20 years of preaching about Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect, Cena revealed a side to his character that's effectively more evil than we could have imagined. To be fair, he may be reaching for some familiar heelish tropes. But coming from someone who has been the face of the franchise, it comes with some extra heat.

That's why Cena's highly anticipated appearance on RAW this week got the world's attention. After he spent some time airing his grievances, Cody Rhodes then entered to a raucous reaction from the crowd. The two men had their say in the ring, as they head toward their title match at WrestleMania 41, and they did a great job of storytelling. But who came out on top in this exchange?

Cody Rhodes Looked Strong in This Segment

The WWE Champion Had Solid From The Crowd

John Cena received a ton of boos in his first appearance as a heel, along with some jeers that had to be muted due to the expletives involved. While it wasn't quite as massive a reaction as some heels of the past, he had the crowd in the palm of his hands before he even spoke. What came next was the perfect mix of a whiny crybaby and a pissed-off old man, as he chastised the WWE Universe for doing nothing but "stealing" from him over the past 25 years. That's when Cody Rhodes decided to make his entrance.

Those in attendance in Brussels had already been whooping it up all night, but they seemed to get the loudest when The American Nightmare's music hit. They sang along as the WWE Champion slowly made his way to the ring to address Cena. Rhodes was quick to scold the Doctor of Thuganomics, reminding him what a disappointment he was to the fans. He even said Cena had let him down personally.

Throughout the segment, Cody was the aggressor - coming off like the valiant champion that he must be heading into this massive main event. Standing in the ring with one of the biggest superstars of all time, he more than held his own. He commanded the ring and the arena, and the people ate it up. In the end, the people had spoken, and they made it clear that they wanted Rhodes to deliver some payback to Big Match John.

John Cena Was the Real Winner in the End

He Got The Reaction From The Crowd That He Wanted

So, in of their wrestling personas, Cody Rhodes 'won' this showdown. But in the end, it was actually Cena who cut the most effective promo when it came to the business aspect of it all. He did exactly what he needed to do as the villain to capture the crowd's emotions, then he gave way to the babyface champion.

Cena is treading in some new waters as a heel, so it would be very easy to judge him on a curve now. But there's no real need to because he dove headfirst into the role in arguably one of the best wrestling promos of all time. He baited the crowd by whining and complaining, then turning the tables with a full retcon of his career that, in all honesty, it's hard to dismiss as mere heel talk. Cena played the victim card superbly. To see someone who was given so much by WWE suddenly look so ungrateful to the fans was perfectly putrid but also sounded unexpectedly real.

At the end of it all, Cody Rhodes stood tall as the righteous hero, while John Cena looked like a spoiled child. That's exactly what they want, and what WWE wants as they build to their biggest event of the year. Character-wise, this segment made The American Nightmare's character look stronger. But that was only because Cena - as a performer - set the stage for it all.