Absent WWE star returning to dethrone Gunther after winning Royal Rumble is possible, says ex-champion

Gunther's dominant World Heavyweight Championship reign recently surpassed 138 days. A former WWE champion suggested an absent top superstar could return and dethrone The Ring General.

John Cena will return to the Stamford-based company after several months of absence for a final full-time run in 2025 before retiring from in-ring competition. While the Cenation Leader is currently tied with WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair for most world championship reigns recognized by the promotion at 16, many expect him to break the record before hanging up his boots. In a recent interview with ZASLOW SHOW 2.0, former 24/7 Champion Peter Rosenberg expressed his desire to see Cena end Gunther's title reign at WrestleMania 41.

The WWE analyst also disclosed that he wants the 47-year-old legend to win the 2025 Men's Royal Rumble to be level with Stone Cold Steve Austin for most Royal Rumble wins in history:

"I want him to beat Gunther at WrestleMania. I've had enough of him losing. I'd love for him to win the Rumble. It would be his third. I think that ties him with [Stone Cold Steve Austin] for most Rumble wins. Then he could go [break] Ric Flair's record. I would love it," he said. [29:38 - 29:55]

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WWE analyst Sam Roberts predicted John Cena's road to WrestleMania 41

In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, WWE analyst Sam Roberts predicted John Cena's road to WrestleMania, claiming the Cenation Leader would lose the Royal Rumble match, win the Elimination Chamber, and go head-to-head against Gunther at the Show of Shows.

However, the 41-year-old disclosed that he would want The Ring General to beat the 16-time world champion:

"I so badly wanna go into WrestleMania with this idea that, 'Okay, Gunther's had a long title reign. Clearly, this is where John wins the title and gets the record.' He doesn't. Gunther beats him. And it's like to me, that moment and that's why you can do it on night one because you can have a hero's thing on night two. Night one, you can have your villainous, you know, 'I can't believe it. What do you mean John Cena didn't... We were all here to celebrate John Cena.' And so, if anybody is gonna spoil it for John Cena at WrestleMania, I want it to be Gunther," he said.

It would be interesting to see if Cena would break his and Ric Flair's record before stepping away from in-ring competition.

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