Wrestlemania 41 ended with a shock but sparked a beginning of a new era, but was making John Cena the champion the right choice? Wrestling fans around the world watched in either joy or disappointment as John Cena pinned Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE championship. So, where does the story go from there? For some it may seem like this was the wrong direction for the storyline to go in, but I strongly disagree.
After this week’s Monday Night RAW, fans realized that the story isn’t stopping with the end of Wrestlemania, but is getting deeper and more captivating. For the victorious, undisputed champion, John Cena, a familiar face is coming for the championship. Randy Orton, Cena’s long-term rival, made an appearance on RAW and implied that he is coming for the title. This is genius in my opinion. Cena and Orton’s rivalry has entertained generations of wrestling fans, and this is the perfect way to cap off Cena’s (if not both’s) wrestling career. The reignition of the feud allows a wide range of generations to come together in rooting for their favorite of the two legends.
Cena, as the bad guy, threatened to retire with the Undisputed WWE Championship belt which has been held by WWE legends such as Triple H, Roman Reigns, Shawn Michaels, and more. This is a twist to the story that fans have never seen before, and it’s bringing in a whole new audience. The deeper, more complex storylines are reigning in fans that turned a blind eye to WWE before Wrestlemania 41.
A new audience is also being reached with the inclusion of Travis Scott, who now has a storyline of his own. Scott, a 33 year old rapper, has taken on the role of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s henchman/sidekick. Scott’s theme “FE!N” rippled through the arena as the crowd knew at that moment: Cody Rhodes’ dream is over. As predicted, Scott helped Cena strip the title from Rhodes and become the greatest of all time.
By this, I mean that Cena has officially broken the record of how many times someone has won the WWE Universal Championship. The record, 16, was previously held by “The Nature Boy” Rick Flair, and was crushed by Cena on April 20, 2025. This was by far the best decision that WWE could have made. Cena has dedicated so much to wrestling and has touched so many lives through charity work and make-a-wish visits. Cena, despite the bad-guy ego, felt the love from fans as he walked backstage with a half-hidden smile. Cena launched WWE to another level, so it is only right that he gets that love back, and he did.
So now, we can look forward to the champ having a reunion with an old foe, this time as the roles reversed. Most know Randy Orton for being the villain, the viper, the legend killer, but now he is being presented as the savior of WWE. As for Cena, he is now being presented as the end of wrestling despite always being known as genuine and loyal.
