3 Reasons why John Cena lost the Undisputed WWE Title to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam

The historic WWE SummerSlam 2025 concluded with a bang, with a five-star main-event war between John Cena and Cody Rhodes. The title reign of the Last Real Champion ended after 105 days.

The two tore the house down and truly made up for the WrestleMania 41 match with a banger contest. The bout featured multiple near-falls, and both stars performed their finishers several times.

The contest ended with Rhodes connecting a vicious Cross Rhodes on an already battered Cena, regaining the title cleanly. However, that wasn't the end, as Brock Lesnar returned after a two-year absence and attacked The Cenation Leader, leaving burning questions.

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In this article, we will look at three reasons why John Cena lost the Undisputed WWE Title to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam.

#3. John Cena could be up for a big fight

The Last Real Champion is nearly finished with his retirement tour, and the Stamford-based promotion has already begun laying the groundwork for Cena's next big bout.

Brock Lesnar returned after nearly two years and launched an attack on John Cena, setting up a big fight. Cena and Lesnar have a long history. WWE could book an "End of an Era" type super match between the Ruthless Aggression era legends later this year.

#2. Cody Rhodes needed the win

The American Nightmare is the face of the company. He lost his title at WrestleMania 41 to John Cena because of his heel antics, but the 40-year-old star was all geared up for the rematch.

Losing to Cena again, who is close to retirement, would have hurt Cody Rhodes' position as the company’s face. Therefore, he needed to reclaim the Undisputed WWE Title.

#1. The company needs a full-time champion

Although Cena had a memorable 17th title reign during his retirement tour, his part-time schedule was a major problem for the Stamford-based promotion, as their top champion wasn't appearing on shows regularly.

However, Cody Rhodes could be a full-time champion, appearing on weekly shows. The American Nightmare has done this before during his first reign and would probably repeat his workhorse champion reign.

About the author

Nayan is a WWE News and Features writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. After completing his bachelor's degree in Mass Communication from Poddar International, he began working as a YouTube script writer. Nayan then transitioned to Pinkvilla as a combat sports writer. He gained valuable experience there before finally coming under the banner of Sportskeeda.

Within 1.5 years, Nayan has written over 1,000 articles, interviewed MFN promotion owners, and conducted a Twitter campaign that gained over 50k retweets and more. He puts fact-checking and mindful journalism above everything by applying a three-check method, where he tries to verify reports from reliable sources and cross-check whether other major publications have covered them.

Looking back at his association with pro wrestling, Nayan recalls being hooked on the sport after watching Shawn Michael vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. Since then, the product has been an inseparable part of his life.

Apart from The Heartbreak Kid being Nayan's favorite wrestler for his confidence and charisma, he is also a fan of Brock Lesnar due to The Beast's "work speaks louder than words" attitude.

Nayan can be found performing mixed martial arts and reading true crime in his free time.

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Edited by Neda Ali