WWE star is "the closest thing" to John Cena right now, Matt Hardy says

John Cena will retire from in-ring competition at Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13 after 23 years on WWE's main roster. In a recent podcast episode, legendary wrestler Matt Hardy compared Cody Rhodes to the 17-time World Champion.

Rhodes topped the Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 list for the second year running. Cena, Bret Hart, and Steve Austin are the only other wrestlers in the publication's history to finish first twice in a row.

Reacting to the announcement, Hardy said on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy that Rhodes is like a current-day version of Cena.

"He's the closest thing to Cena right now. I think even the fact that he won the title back from Cena just helped even solidify that more."

As Hardy referenced, Rhodes defeated Cena at SummerSlam 2025 to regain the Undisputed WWE Championship. The two men previously fought at WrestleMania 41, where Cena secured a controversial victory after rapper Travis Scott appeared.

How WWE legend Matt Hardy feels about the PWI 500 list

Despite being the TNA World Tag Team Champions, Matt Hardy and his brother Jeff were not included on PWI's list of the top 500 male wrestlers right now.

The former WWE star thinks the omission of The Hardy Boyz is an "absolute injustice." However, he also appreciates how much the annual countdown means to up-and-coming wrestlers.

"I think people that are just starting out that are trying to catch a break and do whatever else, that's probably one of the more motivating things to them, to try and be in that PWI 500, to be listed and be considered in the same class or category with the best of the best, with the WWE World Champion, with the other top guys in the industry," Hardy said.

In the same podcast episode, the 51-year-old explained why Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena should not happen again.

Please credit The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.

About the author

Danny Hart is a journalist who has been reporting on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda since 2017. He grew up as a massive fan of football/soccer and wrestling, leading him to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Before assuming his current role, Hart worked as a football writer at Goal.com between 2009 and 2016. He prides himself on writing original content that is fact-based and highly accurate. Hart thoroughly proofreads his work before submitting it and relies only on credible sources for information.

Hart’s favorite pro wrestler is The Undertaker. He admires the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer’s ability to reinvent his character and remain relevant across his decades-long career. If given the keys to WWE’s creative department, he would bring back The Phenom for a farewell bout against AJ Styles in a stadium full of fans. Not only that, but he would love to have the multi-time world champion’s greatest rivals seated at ringside for the spectacle.

When not watching and covering sports, Hart enjoys long-distance running, playing video games, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

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Edited by Danny Hart