WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray shared his prediction that John Cena will not remain a heel throughout his retirement tour during a recent episode of the Busted Open podcast.

Cena surprised fans with a heel turn at Elimination Chamber, where he won the Men’s Elimination Chamber match to earn a title opportunity against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania, but later aligned with The Rock after Rhodes refused to sell his soul to The Final Boss.

I don’t think John Cena is going to remain a heel throughout his retirement tour. Let’s just go by this final 10 months. I don’t believe Cena runs it out as a heel. As a matter of fact, I’ll take a guess here, and listen, I was not right about the Cena heel turn at all. I’m the one who said, ‘Nah, don’t think it’s gonna happen.’ I think Cena is the heel up until WrestleMania

This marks a dramatic shift for Cena, who maintained a babyface character for over two decades in WWE before his surprising betrayal at Elimination Chamber.

The 16-time World Champion will challenge Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41, aiming to secure a record-setting 17th World Championship victory.

Nikki Bella, Cena’s former fiancée, made her return to WWE at the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble match last month.

Matt Hardy discussed his future wrestling career plans during an interview on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. Hardy, who currently holds the TNA Wrestling World Tag Team Championship with Jeff Hardy, addressed how long he intends to continue competing.

I just think I’m just gonna ride the spiral till it ends. I’m just gonna ride the spiral till it ends. I think in the past I have, I’m just gonna see how I feel and just roll with it. I try not to think too far ahead. I try not to overwhelm myself. I’m more of a day-by-day person. I just try and get through every single day and make it as good as possible.

Hardy spoke about his long-term plans in the wrestling industry and shared his thoughts on how he and Jeff Hardy might conclude their careers.

I would imagine it would probably go out that way. We came in that way. We would probably go out that way. Then for Jeff, I could see him, he’ll end up being an artist, living in Cameron or whatever he’s doing. I think I’m a lifer in the business. I’ll be working somewhere as a producer or an agent or creative or whatever else, just because I’m so passionate about pro wrestling. I think once I stop being an in-ring performer, I will still contribute.

Bully Ray Proposes Final Match With The Hardy Boyz

Bully Ray responded to Matt Hardy’s social media post featuring footage from a 25-year-old match between The Dudleys and The Hardy Boyz on WWE Raw.

One last match? If so…Which company?

One last match?

If so…Which company? https://t.co/B5NDb65Amd— Bully Ray (@bullyray5150) January 18, 2025

The question comes amid the ongoing partnership between TNA Wrestling and WWE established in May 2023.

Bully Ray proposed CM Punk as a potential challenger for Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41. The Hall of Famer shared his thoughts following Punk’s Royal Rumble announcement on RAW.

CM Punk declared his entry into the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble match during Monday’s RAW broadcast. The Second City Saint aims to secure a world championship opportunity at WrestleMania 41, pursuing his goal of headlining WWE’s premier event.

Bully Ray emphasized the potential appeal of a Punk-Rhodes showdown:

Absolutely. Just as much as they will be tuned in to see if John Cena can win 17, they will be tuned in to see if CM Punk, who is beyond the fan-favorite right now, can defeat Cody and have his WrestleMania moment.

The Rock-Cody Rhodes rivalry may continue despite recent developments

Eric Bischoff addressed The Rock and Cody Rhodes’ complex dynamic on Sportskeeda’s Wrestling Time Machine. The WWE Hall of Famer urged fans to pay attention to subtle details in their interactions:

The reaction that they’ve got, because I’ve seen a lot of it, social media’s like, ‘What the f**k? We’re just supposed to forget?’ But, you know, Rock is really good at planting little Easter eggs along the way. The little quote to Cody, ‘Tell your mom I said Happy New Year,’ whatever the quote was to Cody’s mom that caught Cody by surprise, I don’t know, let’s just wait and see.