Will We See A Role Reversal When Cody Rhodes Faces John Cena At SummerSlam 2025?

Ever since Cena turned heel and kicked Rhodes in the groin at the end of Elimination Chamber in March with The Rock looking on, Rhodes has been a human punching bag to Cena and his antics. Cena torched him on promos and at WrestleMania in Las Vegas, Cena had global star Travis Scott interfere and cost Rhodes his title. The weeks that followed, Cena went on a different path of opponents while Rhodes took some time off.

Upon his return, Cena again began with his antics, but this time, Rhodes was not afraid to bend the rules, which is something he had never considered in the past. Cena has poked the bear one too many times, and Rhodes has now thrown any hesitation he had out the window. Rhodes hitting Cena with the WWE undisputed title and then using his hand as he lay unconscious to sign the contract for a street fight at SummerSlam was the peak of Rhodes being pushed too far.

Now it feels like Rhodes has a chip on his shoulder, but with a heel flare to it. Since returning to the WWE, Rhodes has been the biggest “baby face” the company has had in quite some time, but after “finishing his story”, the Rhodes movement has grown stale. Fans are reacting well to this edgier Rhodes, and it begs the question whether the WWE is ready to pull the trigger on a face turn.

John Cena Showing Glimpses of “Hustle, Loyalty & Respect?”

There haven’t been big hints but only subtle ones with Cena potentially turning back to face. He’s been seen battling with his emotions after promos and even captured by fan cams after the broadcast signs off, having a confused look on his face. It’s almost as if he wants to get back to “Hustle, Loyalty & Respect” but just can’t.

The Cena heel turn has been cool, but it wasn’t what it could have been. Some of that blame is on The Rock because he disappeared after orchestrating the attack on Rhodes, leaving the story with too many holes. I get that The Rock wanted Cena to do his thing without him, but there were too many questions left unanswered, leaving the WWE fans more confused than anything else.

SummerSlam Street Fight: John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes-Can You Smellllll…

This match is intriguing as SummerSlam is in the Tri-State area, which is home to some of wrestling’s biggest fan bases. It’s where the WWE was born and where HULKAMANIA turned a regional promotion into a global one, so SummerSlam has to end with a bang.

Before the match begins, I think we get what happened at WrestleMania 18 happen at SummerSlam Night 2. Rhodes will get booed on his way into the ring while Cena will be cheered. The noise in the arena will be deafening, and Cena will have to call an audible as Hogan did with The Rock that night.

At some point in the match, Rhodes will take the beating on Cena too far, making the fans dislike him even more. He will say that it’s what Cena had coming, but in all reality, it would be part of the master plan. Cena will regain the momentum, and late in the match, we will hear “Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?” The stadium will go unglued, and the energy will be wild.

Cena thinks The Rock is there to help him, but instead, The Rock greets him with a hug and kicks him in the groin. Rhodes hits the “Cross-Rhodes” and pins Cena for the 1-2-3. Rhodes now becomes easily the most hated person in wrestling while sporting a sarcastic grin on his face. The Rock will say that it’s payback for making him look bad in those promos years ago when he called him out for writing his lines on his arms and being a part-timer. This will set up one last Rock-Cena feud peaking with a match in December, which will mark the end of Cena’s career.

It is very unlikely that this happens, but if it does work out this way, the last five months will be an intense rollercoaster ride that WWE fans are sure to enjoy.