When Cody Rhodes saw John Cena in the ring for the last time on Raw earlier this month, it was a happy moment because Cena not only invited Rhodes to participate in the John Cena Classic Tournamentbut put Rhodes and the good job he did as WWE’s “QB1”. Naturally, Rhodes is just as focused on another comment Cena made a few days later, however. where Cena was critical of the match at WrestleMania 41. After discussing what kind words Cena had for his speech “Unsportsmanlike” Rhodes then responded to Cena’s less than kind words regarding their match.
“He said another thing this week where he said we broke up at WrestleMania 41 in Vegas,” Rhodes said. “So my heart is pulled (in two different directions). … It’s like, ‘Okay.’ I felt great.” He got me. I had tears in my eyes standing there with him in Brooklyn. Next thing I know, “Okay, we got the joint out.” Good. Good. That’s what they do, though. That’s what great mentors do, you know? They can never give you the whole thing…and they shouldn’t. I am mean to myself.’
To Cena’s credit, he’s not alone in thinking that his WrestleMania match with Rhodes was lacking, as the match received tons of criticism, particularly for the absence of The Rock, who had; convinced Cena to turn on Rhodes a month ago, and WWE’s use of rapper Travis Scott in the match. Cena would also state, however, that he felt he and Rhodes had a much better match at WWE SummerSlam later in 2025, which resulted in Rhodes reclaiming the Undisputed WWE Championship from Cena, who reverted to a babyface.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit “Unsportsmanlike” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.