After the events of Elimination Chamber: Toronto, where John Cena sold everything he stood for to secure his record-breaking 17th championship by siding with “The Final Boss,” The Rock, the WWE Universe was eagerly anticipating his first meeting on WWE Raw since that faithful night with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.
Suffice it to say, the inaugural confrontation between the two since Toronto did not go off without a hitch. To say Cody Rhodes is beyond mad with all this is an understatement. However, from the very start, John Cena seemed proud of what he did. Given that The Rock, the literal boss of WWE as a Director of TKO Group Holdings, basically guaranteed his 17th world title victory at WrestleMania 41.
The first appearance of John Cena on WWE Raw since Chamber was always going to be met with hostility, at the very least, indifference, and the WWE Universe made that explicitly clear that they felt betrayed and absolutely hurt by the man who preached the message “Never Give Up” over the past 20+ years.
Cena kicked off the night on WWE Raw. Expectedly, an extremely hostile crowd in Brussels greeted John Cena and immediately got out of the gates hot.
Cena led off with the sentiment that he was “part of an abusive relationship” with the WWE Universe throughout his career.
The former 16-time world champion said that the fans made it “so easy” to turn his back on them, continuing to say that with every breath, the WWE Universe proves his point every time.
John Cena was showered with expletives. He would continue to say that all the fans do is “take” and that no matter what he did, the fans did not appreciate anything he did, despite how hard he tried. “The Champ” kept on talking, saying that his time with the fans is now “over.”
The Belgium crowd chanted for Cody Rhodes to come out, and John Cena quickly stated that it’s typical of them to cheer on their “shiny new toy,” but they’ll eventually grow tired of him, much like they did with John Cena.
Cena did not let up one bit, going on to say that the fans who cheer him on are just as bad because they “steal” his moment, essentially telling the WWE Universe that they used him to justify their “own miserable existence” watching him be great. Cena doesn’t need the WWE Universe anymore, and the fans’ voices don’t matter to him anymore.
Cody Rhodes’ music would hit to confront the man himself in the ring finally. Rhodes did not pull any punches, saying that the fans might have given them their worst, but they also gave Cena their absolute best. They did all that because John Cena was special and knew he could take it.
Cena would address Cody as “kid,” with Rhodes immediately shutting that down, imploring John Cena to call him “Undisputed WWE Champion.” Cody Rhodes took it to John Cena, asking, “Who the hell is he?” Before Rhodes left, he encouraged his challenger to find the “real John Cena” because, at WrestleMania 41, he wanted to face the legend himself and not, in his words, “this whiny b*tch.”
BOOED in BRUSSELS#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/pBIndOjmTn
— WWE (@WWE) March 17, 2025
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