Cody Rhodes uses banned WWE move on John Cena at SummerSlam

John Cena and Cody Rhodes are set to fight at Night Two of WWE SummerSlam 2025. Cody hit a banned move on Cena during the match.

The duo has been feuding ever since Cena turned heel and assaulted Rhodes at WWE Elimination Chamber earlier this year. These two locked horns at WrestleMania 41, where Cena won the Undisputed WWE Championship with help from Travis Scott. Following this match, the American Nightmare took some time off but continued his feud after he returned.

Cody found himself back in the title picture after winning the King of the Ring Tournament. However, Cena tried to back out of the match at SummerSlam, claiming to be emotionally exhausted. Cody assaulted John Cena and forced him to sign the contract. Tonight, both men were competing in a brutal and intense contest.

During the match, the American Nightmare hit the Last Real Champion with a piledriver. WWE banned this move because it is considered very dangerous.

However, the move has been allowed this time since these two men are competing in a Street Fight. It will be interesting to see if Cody Rhodes will be able to regain the Undisputed WWE Championship tonight.

About the author

Sunil is a pro wrestling journalist, covering AEW and WWE news stories at Sportskeeda. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing, and has nearly 7 years of experience. A wrestling aficionado since childhood, Sunil used to imitate his favorite wrestlers as a young kid, and started writing professionally about the sport via Sportskeeda’s revenue-sharing opportunity.

Sunil admires former world champions AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega for their ability to consistently deliver great matches as well as entertain crowds with their mic skills.

If ever given a chance to change a storyline, Sunil would have booked Roman Reigns to end The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak instead of Brock Lesnar. According to him, The Tribal Chief needed the victory more than Brock Lesnar, as the latter was already an established performer when he defeated ‘Taker. He would’ve also made that as Taker’s final match.

Always focused on making his work accurate and reliable, Sunil thoroughly checks his facts before writing his articles. When not writing for pro wrestling, he spends his time watching cricket.

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Edited by Angana Roy