Top AEW name firmly believes John Cena is losing at WrestleMania 41

Modified Apr 10, 2025 17:17 GMT

John Cena is set to face Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41. However, a major AEW name believes Cena will lose the match.

Jim Ross is the latest to comment on the 16-time World Champion's upcoming match. When Cena kicked off his Farewell Tour earlier this year, he expressed his interest in becoming a 17-time World Champion. Despite falling short in the Men's Royal Rumble Match, he earned himself a title shot against Cody Rhodes at WWE Elimination Chamber 2025.

Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross said that The American Nightmare would defeat The Franchise Player at WrestleMania 41.

“My smart money will be on Cody. I think Cena will scare the hell out of us about winning the title again, but I don’t think it’ll happen,” he said.

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Ross added that both men will have a great match, but it will be The American Nightmare who will retain since it's not the time for him to lose the title.

“I think they’ll have a great match. Those guys have great style. I don’t see a title change. I see Cody retaining the title and having a hell of a match. Cody’s a talented kid. He’s had a great run. There’s no reason to end it now, in my opinion." [H/T: WrestlingNews.co]

Mr. Kennedy claims John Cena was refused a heel turn for the majority of his career

At WWE Elimination Chamber 2025, John Cena shocked fans by turning heel and attacking Cody Rhodes. He held down The American Nightmare as The Rock belted the 39-year-old. This turned out to be one of the most shocking moments in recent years, given that The Doctor of Thuganomics had been a babyface for the past 20 years.

During a recent interview with Rewind Recap Relive, Mr. Kennedy was asked about Cena's recent heel turn. Kennedy responded that the 47-year-old had campaigned for a heel turn previously but was turned down.

"He's been a heel. I knew he was a heel a long time ago [stares at camera]. I think it's good for the wrestling world. I think it's good for him. It's something that he always wanted to do that he never did, where everybody was sort of, you know? There was years and years where like, ‘Is he going to do it?’ And they didn't do it because it makes sense why they didn't do it," Kennedy said. [2:06-2:34]

It will be interesting to see if John Cena wins his 17th world title at WrestleMania 41.

About the author

Sunil is a pro wrestling journalist, covering AEW and WWE news stories at Sportskeeda. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing, and has nearly 7 years of experience. A wrestling aficionado since childhood, Sunil used to imitate his favorite wrestlers as a young kid, and started writing professionally about the sport via Sportskeeda’s revenue-sharing opportunity.

Sunil admires former world champions AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega for their ability to consistently deliver great matches as well as entertain crowds with their mic skills.

If ever given a chance to change a storyline, Sunil would have booked Roman Reigns to end The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak instead of Brock Lesnar. According to him, The Tribal Chief needed the victory more than Brock Lesnar, as the latter was already an established performer when he defeated ‘Taker. He would’ve also made that as Taker’s final match.

Always focused on making his work accurate and reliable, Sunil thoroughly checks his facts before writing his articles. When not writing for pro wrestling, he spends his time watching cricket.

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Edited by Yash Mittal