The road to WrestleMania has begun, and with 2025 promising to be more unpredictable than a Brock Lesnar promo, WWE fans are buzzing about a potential clash between John Cena and Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41. While this match is the current working plan, WWE’s creative team—bless their constantly rewritten scripts—knows that plans can change faster than a ref’s three-count.
Cena, fresh off officially announcing his retirement tour (starting January 6 on WWE Raw’s Netflix debut—because Hulu just couldn’t see him), is slated to face the “American Nightmare” himself, Cody Rhodes, the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion. Insiders claim this storyline has been cooking since mid-November, but the plot thickened when The Rock—Hollywood’s busiest eyebrow-raiser—was forced to drop out due to reshoots for Disney’s live-action Moana.
This isn’t the first time Cena vs. Rhodes has been pitched. Back in 2023, there were high hopes for a clash between Cena and a post-injury Rhodes, but alas, Cody spent that WrestleMania carrying the weight of his dad’s legacy, his torn pec, and the impossible task of making that oversized belt look good.
However, all plans could go poof faster than Bray Wyatt’s creative direction if The Rock becomes available. Wrestling law dictates that if The Rock wants it, The Rock gets it. Should he pop up during Raw’s Netflix premiere, expect chaos, electrifying promos, and an emergency creative meeting to shuffle the deck.
As for now, Cena vs. Cody is penciled in for WrestleMania 41. But as history has shown us, the only thing certain in WWE is Vince McMahon’s love of tearing up scripts an hour before showtime.