We are just days away from 2025, and the card for WrestleMania 41 is still a giant question mark. Fans assumed we’d see Seth Rollins vs CM Punk. That’s now happening during Raw’s first episode on Netflix. Fans assumed we’d see Liv Morgan vs Rhea Ripley. That’s now slated for Netflix too. Fans assumed we’d see either The Rock vs Roman Reigns or The Rock vs Cody Rhodes. Now rumors are swirling that The Rock might not even participate. It is chaos out here, which is leading to all kinds of wild fantasy booking, which has led me to a prediction I have to talk about involving John Cena and Cody Rhodes.
WWE has a great problem on its hands. There are way too many hot characters and big names right now to put everyone in a main event at WrestleMania. You could make at least a halfway decent case for each of Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, The Rock, Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Seth Rollins, John Cena and Gunther to close one of the nights of the ‘Mania 41, but in all likelihood, only four of those people will get the honor. As WWE Champion and the biggest white meat babyface on the roster, you’d assume Rhodes would be guaranteed one of those spots, but the more I talk this out and move the pieces around, the less I’m sure about that, which is where John Cena could come in.
Before we get to him right now, though, let’s talk about where Cody Rhodes is at. The current WWE Champion is in the midst of, by far, his best feud since he won The WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40. Kevin Owens has stolen his Winged Eagle Championship and is now claiming he’s more deserving of the belt after Rhodes needed two referee bumps and a chair to beat him at the reboot of Saturday Night’s Main Event. The crowd is extremely engaged and will be really fired up whenever they meet again, but we are too far out from WrestleMania for this to be a real possibility for Cody. They’re not going to extend this for four months, and if they did, fans would probably turn on it.
So, he’s going to need someone else to work with at WrestleMania. The assumption for awhile has been that it’ll be Randy Orton. Maybe The Viper will turn on him, becoming the second friend to betray him after KO? That certainly sounds like a story I want to watch, but a WrestleMania Main Event? I’m not so sure about that. Orton hasn’t won a match on PPV since his Survivor Series WarGames return in 2023 that was overshadowed by CM Punk’s return the same night.
He hasn’t won a singles match on PPV since he beat Bray Wyatt in one of the most infuriating matches in WrestleMania history all the way back in 2021. He’s a legend and super over with the crowd, but what about this recent track record would make anyone think he could or should beat Rhodes? If WWE wants to give us Rhodes vs Orton, I’m fine with that, but unless it gets really hot in the build-up, I don’t see how it can main event either of the two nights.
But John Cena and Cody Rhodes certainly could. Wrestling journalist JD From NY mentioned the possibility in one of his recent videos. No one is talking about it because both Cena and Rhodes are babyfaces who the audience wants to root for. On the surface, it doesn’t really make sense. The crowd would probably root for Cena, given this is going to be his last WrestleMania and he’s trying to break the record for most World Championships. So, why would WWE want to subject its most natural babyface to the possibility of getting booed? Well, the dirty truth is they seem to already be opening up that door.
Look at Cody Rhodes’ actions over the last several months. First, he teamed with Roman Reigns, the man who injured several of his friends and ruled over the WWE with an iron fist. Second, WWE had several of his on-screen friends call him out for it, and he still teamed with Roman and ignored their concerns. Third, he willingly gave a Cross Rhodes to Kevin Owens onto a chair during their recent match, which is classic heel behavior. Fourth, WWE has had some of the commentators very loudly and forcibly paint Rhodes as a villain or accuse him of cheating.
The American Nightmare is obviously still a babyface at this point. He’s cheered like a second coming of 1994 Bret Hart everytime he comes out of the back, and he still talks about good old fashioned values and connects with the kids at ringside. He’s a babyface, but there are all these signs that he might not be as good as he seems. And in the history of WWE, there has never been more of a classic good guy than John Cena. The Make A Wish legend has spent his whole career preaching positive thinking and hard work, and he’s arguably the only character on the roster who has the good guy credentials to call Cody out. So, if they want to turn him toward the dark side, this is their chance to do it.
John Cena Vs Cody Rhodes is a slam dunk WrestleMania main event. It’s the type of thing you put on the poster and scream about as loudly as possible to promote the show. It would give John Cena a real storyline to sink his teeth into. Instead of a fun little nostalgia run where he plays the hits, it would give him a chance to write an entirely new chapter people remember fondly, just as The Rock did when he came back and turned heel at the beginning of this year.
It would also give Rhodes a chance to reinvent himself a little bit. All of the stuff with KO Is super hot right now, but that's directly related to calling Rhodes out over his behavior. Prior to that, all we got were some forgettable feuds and even some calls to take the belt off of him. This would give him the chance to pull off an all-time classic heel turn most fans wouldn't see coming.
I’m not saying WWE is going to do this, but the possibility is really intriguing. They’d be foolish not to consider it.
