John Cena recently gave a unique explanation for his rivalry with Cody Rhodes during his farewell WWE run, claiming that a “midlife crisis” was the reason he went after Rhodes.
The rivalry between Cena and Rhodes became one of WWE’s biggest stories in 2025. It started at the 2025 Elimination Chamber event when Cena turned heel. That betrayal led to a huge match at WrestleMania 41.
With the Undisputed WWE Championship on the line, Cena defeated Rhodes after outside interference from Travis Scott. The win gave Cena his record-breaking 17th world title.
The two rivals met again at SummerSlam after weeks of heated confrontations. As SummerSlam approached, Cena slowly moved away from his heel character and admitted he had become someone he no longer recognized. By the time the event arrived, he had largely become a babyface.
In the end, Rhodes defeated Cena to win back the Undisputed WWE Championship. After the match, Cena showed respect to his longtime rival and publicly endorsed Rhodes as one of WWE’s top stars.
John Cena reflects on his actions toward Cody Rhodes during their feud
During a fan Q&A session, a young fan named Christian asked Cena why he beat up Cody Rhodes.
Instead of giving a typical wrestling storyline answer, Cena responded with humor.
“Christian, great question. I was going through what you would call a midlife crisis. And I got a lot of respect for Cody Rhodes. The first time we fought, that was kind of like peak midlife crisis, and then when we had a rematch in SummerSlam, I think that midlife crisis was in the rearview mirror,” Cena said.
Cena also admitted he sometimes feels a little guilty about how things played out during their first rivalry. However, he believes their SummerSlam match helped make things right between them.
“So, I may look back on the first one with a little bit of guilt, but I like to think we made up for it at SummerSlam. So, thank you very much,” Cena added.
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