WWE: WHC Gunther comments on Cody Rhodes getting the nod as John Cena's final WrestleMania opponent

WHC Gunther comments on Cody Rhodes getting the nod as John Cena's final WrestleMania opponent

Modified Apr 09, 2025 20:23 GMT

World Heavyweight Champion Gunther [Instagram/Courtesy]

WrestleMania 41 marks John Cena's final in-ring performance at the Show of Shows. At the event, the 16-time World Champion will be facing Cody Rhodes instead of Gunther.

Gunther acknowledges that The American Nightmare is the guy in World Wrestling Entertainment today. He stated that it made sense for the company to book this high-profile match as the headliner of the biggest annual show.

In a sit-down interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Gunther was asked to comment on John Cena's farewell tour. He credited Cena for going through his retirement with class and noted that it had to be Cody Rhodes on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

"[John Cena is] going against Cody [Rhodes], who is like, the guy right now. I feel like that had to happen. That was a natural reaction," the World Heavyweight Champion said. "I think there's a lot of class about the way [Cena] wants to go out. It's not like one more, one more. There's a definitive period of time. He's still in fantastic shape; top guy right away. I think it's a very good way to go out, to have that much control about it. Glad he's here," he added.

The Ring General also admitted that facing Cena, CM Punk, or Roman Reigns would have been his ideal scenario for WrestleMania 41. However, with the benefit of hindsight, he looks at his upcoming match against Jey Uso more positively.

Gunther made things eternally personal with Jey Uso ahead of WrestleMania 41

On WWE RAW last week, Gunther decimated Jimmy Uso until the latter began to bleed, as helpless Jey Uso, who was handcuffed to the ropes, watched on.

This past Monday, Jey confronted The Ring General but refrained from laying a finger on him. Instead, Uso emphatically stated that he will pray for forgiveness as the World Heavyweight Champion will get his comeuppance.

While conversing with Ariel Helwani, the Austrian wrestler briefly discussed not being in the WrestleMania 41 main event despite being a high-profile storyline.

Please credit The Ariel Helwani Show and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

About the author

Joel has been a WWE news writer at Sportskeeda for the last 2 years. Always having a penchant for writing, he worked as an independent screenwriter and a copy/content writer for almost 2 years before joining Sportskeeda.

Joel’s pro-wrestling knowledge comes from hours of watching it from a young age. His favorite wrestler is Shawn Michaels, but if he could go back in time to The Attitude Era, he would like to manage Chris Jericho and advise him to cut his hair and portray a character similar to Javier Bardem in the movie “No Country for Old Men,” something which Jericho later pulled off in 2008.

Besides Michaels, Joel is also a fan of Eddie Guerrero, Randy Orton, Edge, CM Punk, and Brock Lesnar. His current favorites are Roman Reigns, Gunther, and Drew McIntyre.

Joel is a team man and works closely with his colleagues, conducts thorough research, and only relies on top pro-wrestling sources for information. His well-researched news reports have received close to 10 million reads till date.

When not following pro wrestling, Joel can be found designing built spaces, auditioning for films, working out, spending time with family and watching movies.

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Edited by Brandon Nell