3 Reasons why John Cena shouldn’t lose his Undisputed WWE Title at SummerSlam 2025

WWE Superstar John Cena successfully defended the Undisputed Championship against CM Punk at Night of Champions. On the same night, Cody Rhodes won the King of the Ring Tournament by defeating Randy Orton in the final round. Now, the two rivals will face each other at the 2025 SummerSlam PLE.

Although the "Cody Crybabies" would want Rhodes to win the title back in August, here are three reasons why The Last Real Champion should retain the gold in New Jersey.

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#3. Heel John Cena is more popular than babyface Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes finished his story at WrestleMania XL and ended Roman Reigns' 1,316-day run as the Undisputed Champion. The American Nightmare achieved this victory after winning his second consecutive Royal Rumble in 2024. This moment was lauded across the pro wrestling world, and Rhodes began his first reign as WWE Champion.

Come WrestleMania 41, the 40-year-old lost his title to John Cena, who had turned heel at Elimination Chamber and joined hands with The Rock. Since then, while The American Nightmare went on a hiatus, the 17-time WWE World Champion further strengthened his heel run with every appearance and every match.

Ahead of Night of Champions, The Franchise Player dropped CM Punk through a table and delivered his version of the pipebomb promo. Cena took several jabs at The Second City Saint, replicating and twisting the promo that is easily one of the biggest highlights of Punk’s career.

Despite accepting help from The Final Boss, he also denied ever selling his soul to The Brahma Bull in a SmackDown appearance ahead of the pipebomb promo. All of this has given The Last Real Champion a lot of momentum. Comparing it to the support Cody Rhodes gets, SummerSlam isn’t the event where John Cena should lose the Undisputed Championship.

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#2. John Cena has yet to face a lot of his other rivals

John Cena’s celebrated WWE career of 25 years saw him partake in many blockbuster rivalries. From legends of the Attitude Era like The Rock to new faces who became big names like Roman Reigns, The Franchise Player has shared the ring with almost everyone.

So far, however, Mr. You Can’t See Mee has just faced Randy Orton, R-Truth, and CM Punk since he became a record-breaking 17-time WWE World Champion. This leaves a long list of rivals he has yet to face. Thus, dropping the belt to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam would be like throwing away a good thing way too soon.

Additionally, The Last Real Champion still has 15 more appearances in his retirement tour. If Triple H makes him lose the title, it would instantly kill all his momentum as a heel and nullify his threats of ruining pro wrestling. Thus, he should defeat Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam and then face his other iconic rivals like AJ Styles, Roman Reigns, and more.

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#1. A second loss for Cody Rhodes would set the stage for a heel turn

Following his return at May’s Saturday Night’s Main Event, Cody Rhodes noted that The Rock still hasn’t rescinded the offer he had made to him. Notably, The Final Boss had asked The American Nightmare to be his corporate champion and sell his soul to him. The babyface turned it down at Elimination Chamber, where John Cena turned heel and attacked Rhodes.

While The Franchise Player is working as The Brahma Bull’s champion representative right now, as mentioned earlier, Cena has said that he didn’t sell his soul to The Rock. Moreover, it won’t be favorable for The Final Boss if the 17-time world champ retires with the Undisputed title and ruins pro wrestling, since he is a member of the Board of Directors of TKO Group Holdings.

Thus, The People’s Champ would be on the lookout for a new man to replace John Cena. Since Cody Rhodes still has the offer to join him, he could take it up and dethrone Cena to become the new corporate champion, turning heel in the process. However, for The American Nightmare to be desperate enough to do so, he should lose at SummerSlam. It will be interesting to see who will exit with the Undisputed Championship at The Biggest Party of the Summer.