SummerSlam 2025 saw Cody Rhodes reclaim the WWE Championship for the second time, defeating John Cena in Night Two’s main event. For Rhodes, this wasn’t just the regaining of a title, but an opportunity to give John Cena a fitting final SummerSlam match.
As Cena’s career continues to tick away, many of John’s ‘final’ moments have already occurred. Speaking to ESPN to address the blockbuster WWE PLE-ESPN deal, Rhodes discussed his SummerSlam experience.
“When you get into the stadium game, sometimes all the sound in the world just shoots up. But this was a very rare moment where I could feel everything.”
Over two nights, 114,000 fans filled the stadium to watch SummerSlam, headlined by Cena Vs. Rhodes 2. For Rhodes, it represented both a career-defining moment and a passing of the torch from one generation to the next.
“It’s John Cena and his final SummerSlam…to have a moment like that with them, that’s a stadium I’ll remember forever. It was one of those matches where you hear on commentary, ‘oh, these two guys will never be the same.’ I’d say it was pretty apt in that match with just some incredible bumps.”
Despite being at a later stage in his career, Cena’s performance impressed the new WWE Champion. While Rhodes left with the win and the gold, while Cena was left laid out by a returning Brock Lesnar, the ‘Unseen Seventeen’ has nothing to be ashamed of.
“To see John go at the pace he went at this point in his career, really just leaving his mark behind. This final run with him is really, really special. But I could do it again. I think I have to do it again.”
SummerSlam 2025 marked WWE’s inaugural two-night SummerSlam and another record-breaking attendance figure. For John Cena, it marked the end of his time at the ‘Biggest Party of the Summer,’ a send-off Rhodes was honored to be a part of.