Cody Rhodes Not Interested in Facing John Cena at WWE WrestleMania 41

John Cena commenced his retirement tour at the 2025 Royal Rumble in Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, entering at number 23 and lasting 30 minutes before Jey Uso eliminated him to win the match. On the same night, Cody Rhodes retained his Championship against Kevin Owens in a ladder match.

With Jey Uso potentially challenging Gunther at WrestleMania 41, Cena has entered himself in next month’s Elimination Chamber match, keeping his hopes alive for a record 17th World Championship. While Cena emerges as a likely challenger for Rhodes should he win the Chamber match, Rhodes shared his thoughts about this possibility during an interview with Theonemona.

One thing that’s been on my mind I think, when he announced he was retiring, is a lot of guys jumped to the line of, ‘I want to wrestle John.’ A lot of guys jumped to the ‘I want to do something with John.’ Of course I’m probably the one who didn’t hold his hand up, and that’s simply because John is everything to me.

Cody Rhodes Possibly Injured After Major Royal Rumble Match

Sources indicate the Championship picture remains uncertain following Rhodes sustaining multiple injuries during his ladder match victory. WWE reporter Jackie Redmond provided details about Rhodes’ condition.

The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes is dealing with multiple injuries. I can’t confirm the intensity or severity of the injuries, but what I can tell you is that they are bad enough that he will not be addressing the media in tonight’s press conference. In fact, his in-ring status may be up in the air as well. What I can confirm for you Tess, Cody Rhodes will still attend Friday Night SmackDown this week in Memphis. But considering this is WrestleMania season, this will be devastating news if Cody is unable to compete for any amount of time.

Despite these injuries, Rhodes plans to appear at SmackDown in Memphis this week, though his competitive status during WrestleMania season remains uncertain.