John Cena drops massive Tony Khan reference on WWE RAW

Modified Mar 31, 2025 20:01 GMT

John Cena was on RAW this week [Image credit: WWE.com]

John Cena and Cody Rhodes stood face-to-face again on the latest episode of WWE RAW, and The Franchise Player took his WrestleMania 41 opponent to task. He also shocked fans with a reference to Tony Khan and Cody's time in AEW.

Cena and Rhodes engaged in a fiery promo battle before the 16-time World Champion attempted to hit The American Nightmare with a cheap shot, only to get laid out with a Cross Rhodes. During their back-and-forth, Cena referred to the champion as a "sociopathic nepobaby" and promised to expose him for what he was: "an errand boy who got lucky."

Perhaps the WWE legend's hardest shot was a line referencing Tony Khan:

"I make empires for billionaires. All you've ever done is steal money from their kids," said Cena.

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John Cena is, of course, referring to his work under Vince McMahon and comparing it to Cody Rhodes's time with All Elite Wrestling, which he co-founded with Tony Khan. AEW's primary investor was Tony's father, billionaire NFL owner Shahid Khan.

WWE Superstars have made snide references to AEW before, especially when referring to Rhodes and his former role as an EVP, but this was the first time John Cena has ever done it on television.

It will be interesting to see whether Cody Rhodes's history with AEW is brought up again during the build to WrestleMania 41.

About the author

Jacob is an AEW contributor and editor at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He has edited and published over 8,000 articles for Sportskeeda Wrestling in just over two years, and subsequently donned the hat of a contributor, demonstrating his commitment to continuous learning. His experience goes beyond wrestling, with five years as an editor for several independent publishing houses and three years as a captioning specialist.

Jacob's first memory of pro wrestling dates back to Sting vs. Ric Flair for the World Heavyweight Championship at Great American Bash 1990. He later began writing for a newsletter and blog at the University of North Texas, and his love of wrestling naturally led him to seek opportunities in the media.

His favorite wrestler is The Icon, as he feels Sting has evolved throughout his career on a parallel path with his own growth as a person. He was Jacob's childhood hero and teenage idol, and now he makes him less afraid of getting older.

Jacob ensures relevance and accuracy in his articles by working hard to maintain his ideals and objectivity without sacrificing his unique voice, inspiring other writers in the section to follow suit.

Jacob’s non-wrestling interests include Anime, video games, and fantasy novels.

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Edited by Debottam Saha