Feb 1, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; John Cena and Jey Uso and Logan Paul during the WWE Men’s Royal Rumble Match during WWE Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

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‘It Was Only a Matter of Time’ – 16 Time WWE Champion Responds to John Cena’s Historic Win at WrestleMania 41

Learn all about how John Cena became the champion and How WWE Hall of Famer responded

John Cena has finally achieved what he wanted to all this time. He competed in his last ever WWE WrestleMania match on April 20, 2025 in the main event. He also overcame the former Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and became the new Undisputed WWE Champion in the process. With this, he has also become a 17-time champion throughout his career in the WWF/WWE.

Notably, John Cena was the heel in the match, He finally turned heel in 2025 at the end of Elimination Chamber: Toronto, when he viciously attacked and beat down Cody Rhodes. Since then, he has promised the WWE fans that he will end up becoming the champion for the last-time in his last ever WrestleMania at WrestleMania 41. He succeeded in doing exactly that. So, how did it all play out?

What happened in the match between John Cena and Cody Rhodes?

Cody Rhodes put his Undisputed WWE Championship on the line against John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 41 Night 2 on April 20, 2025. Notably this was John Cena’s last ever WrestleMania match, before he finally retires in December 2025.

A defining final #WrestleMania moment for @JohnCena.#AndNew pic.twitter.com/yAl555SVPu
— WWE (@WWE) April 21, 2025

The two of them started the match and went on to and from striking blows throughout the match against one another. Unfortunately, rapper Travis Scott interrupted in the match. Rhodes however shooed him off and performed a Cross Rhodes on John Cena. Despite that, Travis Scott yanked the referee out of the ring while busy counting. This led Cody Rhodes to perform on a Cross Rhodes on Travis Scott himself. John Cena captialized on this and was about to hit Cody Rhodes with the title, however the latter caught and yanked it. This allowed Cena to deliver a low blow to his opponent and hit him on the head with the title. That done, John Cena successfully pinned his opponent and became a 17-time World Champion in his pro wrestling career. Notably, he ended the match in 25 minutes and 3 seconds as per Yahoo! Sports.

The final #WrestleMania moment. pic.twitter.com/DCtpyFVxuV
— WWE (@WWE) April 21, 2025

WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair reacts to John Cena’s Win

John Cena became a 17-time World Champion at his last ever WrestleMania in WWE WrestleMania 41 Night 2. He also broke the all-time record of Ric Flair in doing do. Flair, also known as “The Nature Boy,” won the World Championship 16 times throughout his pro wrestling career.

The former wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer showered high praise on John Cena for his achievement on his official X handle. He also went on to reveal that both John Cena and Cody Rhodes put on an instant classic match and showered both of them with his respect.

Congrats To My Great Friend @JohnCena On Becoming A 17x Champion! It Was Only A Matter Of Time! You And @CodyRhodes Put On An Instant Classic! Much Respect! WOOOOO! #WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/qwvowzTrhk
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) April 21, 2025

Now that John Cena has won his last ever WWE title, he can spend the rest of his retirement tour throughout 2025 defending it. Moreover, he can lose it to someone only before he retires in December 2025 or he can retire undefeated. Only time will reveal how the WWE creative team plans to use John Cena’s last title reign.

Cody Rhodes

John Cena

Ric Flair

WWE

WWE WrestleMania 41

Arka Mukherjee

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mma

wrestling

I’m a sports content writer focusing on MMA, WWE and MLB writer at The Playoffs. I have a Master’s degree in Media Science (M.Sc) from my college The Heritage Academy. I got into the sports industry through my previous company where I worked from 2023 to March 2025. I’m a fan of combat sports like pro wrestling and MMA. My favorite part about working at The Playoffs is speculating what can be happening in WWE, especially face-heel turns and results of matches.