John Cena needs to beat Cody Rhodes at WWE WrestleMania 41. WWE may have spent the past few years building Cody as a bona fide superstar and a true blue white meat babyface, but Cena is the best option to end his WWE championship run. Here’s why.
There are problems with John Cena’s heel turn
John Cena’s heel turn doesn’t make much sense. Him aligning with The Rock to secure his 17th WWE world championship was the ideal route, but the story they’re going with is that Cena is turning on WWE’s “toxic” fans. This would’ve made much more sense when fans were sick of Cena a decade ago, not in 2025 when everyone in the audience is happy to see him.
Cena and Cody’s promo on the March 31st Raw in London added a bit more fuel to the fire — Cena sees Cody as being just another version of him, Cody sees Cena as a fallen hero — but it’s not as convincing as “Corporate Cena” aligning with The Rock to break Ric Flair’s record.
If Cena loses at WrestleMania 41, there aren’t many obvious places for his heel character to go after the event. Cena’s contracted until December 2025, and this year makes sense for him to have a historic title run concluding with a Cody retribution arc and an eventual face turn.
The Rock should appear at WrestleMania 41
The Rock has been absent from WWE programming since Cena’s heel turn. Rock’s WWE scheduling has overall harmed the build to ‘Mania 41, as he was clearly positioned as a core part of its main story, but he’s completely disappeared from TV.
Considering he’s still a part of the Cody vs. Cena story, it’s difficult to imagine him not appearing at WrestleMania 41. If he does, it seems likely he’ll interfere in the main event in some capacity. This could likely lead to Cena winning.
But Cena winning is the prediction many have anyway, and we all know Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque likes his surprises. The Rock has been teasing a third man to align with him, so could we see The Rock interfering, followed by the long-rumored Stone Cold appearance to face off with the Final Boss, only for the third man to ultimately cost Cody the title?
That may seem a little overbooked, but following last year’s Bloodline Rules match, the door’s open for a similar conclusion to WrestleMania 41.
CM Punk can have the Summer of Punk 2025
John Cena’s becoming WWE champion as a heel sets the stage for him to redo multiple iconic feuds in which he was a babyface. CM Punk is his most obvious opponent.
Punk and Cena going through the Summer of Punk, building up to a confrontation at SummerSlam for the title, would be a huge feud. Punk could potentially win the Money in the Bank briefcase, but rather than sneakily cashing it in, he instead directly chooses to challenge part-timer Cena to ensure he’s in the building at SummerSlam.
A surreal John Cena vs. Randy Orton feud
Champions usually have moderately interesting transitional feuds until their next big feud, but for Cena, the possibilities are endless here. Chief among them should be Randy Orton.
A face Orton versus a heel Cena will be a surreal twist, and won’t need much in the way of promo work to sell tickets. The pair’s history is more than enough to justify the match happening again, and gives Orton something to really sink his teeth into post-Mania. This will also be perfect for Cena’s reduced schedule.
While Cena vs. Orton may have fatigued audiences in the past — something which Cena even commented on — the roles reversing will give the pair tons to work with. That’s not even mentioning similar feuds Cena can embark on, such as reigniting his battle with Roman Reigns in the duo’s new face and heel personas.
Cody Rhodes’ retribution story
If Cody loses, the babyface will need to redeem himself. This gives Cody a full year of storyline material as he handles his first WWE championship loss.
As is the case with most babyfaces, Cody’s best served chasing the title. A heel Cena is a great opponent for Cody to chase, as his limited schedule can keep Rhodes away from the title until the end of 2025 when we’re nearing ‘Mania season again.
If WrestleMania 41 is to introduce us to The Rock’s long-awaited third man, and that man happens to cost Cody the title, then that’s an immediate feud for him to embark on. Cena could then drop the title to Cody in a future match-up, before he bows out of the WWE for good.
John Cena’s face turn
It’s unlikely that John Cena will end his WWE career as a heel. He even teased how a heel Cena could become babyface again in an old interview. However, a face turn only makes sense if there’s a reason for him to turn again. Cody is WWE’s most over babyface, so Cena holding the title with The Rock’s help, only for him to turn against The Final Boss when dropped the title to Cody again would wrap up this storyline nicely.
Of course, Cena could only do that if he holds the title in the first place. This is why Cena needs to win at WrestleMania 41, and potentially kick off one of the best years of his career in the process.
