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John Cena defeated Randy Orton last night at WWE Backlash 2025. Following the premium live event, WWE analyst Sam Roberts made a major prediction about The Franchise Player's future.
Last night in St. Louis, the Undisputed WWE Champion retained his title by beating the hometown legend. After the square-off, Cena cut a promo in which he demanded competition and ridiculed the fans. The 17-time World Champion later appeared at the post-show press conference. While R-Truth interrupted him to show support, The Franchise Player put him through a table after the former 24/7 Champion mentioned that fans say he cannot wrestle.
On his Notsam Wrestling podcast, Roberts addressed the psychological conflict the Cena character is going through. He predicted that the 48-year-old would turn babyface and come back to the fans before retiring by the end of the year:
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"If there's anything to take away from act two of the John Cena story at Backlash, it is that that dam, that wall will come crumbling down before the end of the year. We, in my opinion, will absolutely see John Cena come back to the fans before the end of the year because that grudge that he's got against us for saying what we said is not strong enough. And we saw that at Backlash," he said. [From 20:55 to 21:23]
Sam Roberts thinks Cody Rhodes could end John Cena's Undisputed WWE Title reign
On a previous episode of his Notsam Wrestling podcast, Sam Roberts fantasy booked Cena's road to retirement in 2025. He proposed that Cody Rhodes return ahead of SummerSlam to join forces with Bad Bunny against The Franchise Player and Travis Scott at the premium live event. In Roberts' scenario, The American Nightmare would pin the 48-year-old champion to win the tag team match.
The 41-year-old analyst suggested that Rhodes could then dethrone Cena at Crown Jewel: Perth in October:
"Now, it's Cody vs. Cena one final time in Perth, Australia. And this is where Cody Rhodes wins back the WWE Championship. Cody Rhodes wins his title back, and John Cena, at the end of the match, shakes Cody's hand," he said.
It would be interesting to see what the future holds for the 17-time world champion on his farewell tour.
Please credit Notsam Wrestling and give an H/T to Sportskeeda if you use the above transcription.
