WWE legend on John Cena's possible post-WrestleMania 41 storyline

Modified Mar 07, 2025 19:29 GMT

John Cena is the talk of the wrestling world [Image Credit: wwe.com]

John Cena attacked Cody Rhodes at WWE Elimination Chamber to turn heel for the first time in over two decades. In a recent podcast episode, wrestling legend Matt Hardy predicted how the upcoming bout between the two could end.

On March 1, Cena won the Men's Elimination Chamber match to become the number one contender for Rhodes' Undisputed WWE Championship. The 47-year-old will challenge The American Nightmare for the title at WrestleMania 41 on April 19-20.

Hardy discussed Cena's heel turn with host Jon Alba on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy. Regarding the WrestleMania 41 match outcome, the TNA World Tag Team Champion predicted that Cena will dethrone Rhodes before continuing the rivalry after the event:

"I am glad they chose this route," Hardy said. "I think it's much more interesting. I think it's much more intriguing. I think John wins the title, and then the story becomes Cody's battle to overcome Cena and The Rock and win his title back." [42:09 – 42:22]

Cena will retire from in-ring competition in late 2025. The 16-time world champion has made it his mission to win a record-breaking 17th world title before his career ends.

Matt Hardy on Cody Rhodes and John Cena's promo battles

Between October 2002 and October 2003, John Cena performed as a heel for the first time on WWE's main roster. In those days, the Hollywood star was still an up-and-coming talent and had not yet won his first world title.

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Matt Hardy thinks Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena is a great idea and is looking forward to hearing the two men on the microphone:

"That's huge. That's big business, too, and people will buy tickets for that. I mean, it's two great promo guys, two great characters. There's so much amazing stuff that can happen on WWE programming with John Cena now being on the heel side, really, in all honesty, for the first time ever in a meaningful way." [45:03 – 45:25]

Hardy also addressed the possible reason why Cena decided to turn heel after performing as a fan favorite for so long.

Please credit The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.

About the author

Danny Hart is a journalist who has been reporting on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda since 2017. He grew up as a massive fan of football/soccer and wrestling, leading him to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Before assuming his current role, Hart worked as a football writer at Goal.com between 2009 and 2016. He prides himself on writing original content that is fact-based and highly accurate. Hart thoroughly proofreads his work before submitting it and relies only on credible sources for information.

Hart’s favorite pro wrestler is The Undertaker. He admires the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer’s ability to reinvent his character and remain relevant across his decades-long career. If given the keys to WWE’s creative department, he would bring back The Phenom for a farewell bout against AJ Styles in a stadium full of fans. Not only that, but he would love to have the multi-time world champion’s greatest rivals seated at ringside for the spectacle.

When not watching and covering sports, Hart enjoys long-distance running, playing video games, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

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Edited by Danny Hart