Cody Rhodes Ends John Cena’s WWE Title Reign In Brutal SummerSlam Match
Cody Rhodes has recaptured the Undisputed WWE Championship by defeating John Cena at SummerSlam.
John Cena returned earlier this year to embark on his retirement tour. After winning the Elimination Chamber match to earn an Undisputed WWE Championship match against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41, the wrestling legend turned heel and attacked The American Nightmare following a signal from The Rock.
The Final Boss and Travis Scott then joined Cena in the ambush on the second-generation superstar. Travis later interfered in the Undisputed WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 41, helping the 48-year-old dethrone The American Nightmare.
While Cena continued on his reign of terror, vowing to ruin wrestling and retire with the Undisputed WWE Championship, he recently came to his senses after receiving a beatdown from Rhodes, who earned another shot at the title at SummerSlam after winning the King of the Ring tournament.
After The American Nightmare demanded to fight the real John Cena, the latter admitted that he was wrong in how he had acted since Elimination Chamber, pointing out that his team had abandoned him, seemingly referring to The Rock and Scott, who had left him pretending to be someone he was not.
Meanwhile, the 17-time world champion informed Rhodes that he was prepared for war as they go head-to-head in a Street Fight before they shared a beer together on the final SmackDown before SummerSlam.
Cody Rhodes & John Cena Went Through Hell At WWE SummerSlam
Cena and Rhodes hugged before engaging in battle. During the match, momentum shifted between the two superstars as they used several weapons, including chairs, steel steps, microphones, and even crutches.
The Leader of the Cenation and The American Nightmare dug deep into their arsenal, trying to put each other down. While Rhodes used moves like the Piledriver and the Cross Rhodes, the latter put the former Undisputed WWE Champion through the announce table with a devastating Attitude Adjustment. Nonetheless, all their attempts continued to fail as both men refused to stay down.
The fight then moved into the crowd as Rhodes and Cena exchanged blows and used whatever they could get their hands on against each other. As they returned to the ring, The American Nightmare put Cena through a Slim Jim table before hitting him with another Cross Rhodes. It was still not enough to end The Last Real Champion’s title reign.
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— WWE (@WWE) August 4, 2025
After several more unsuccessful tactics from both men, Rhodes finally found the right winning formula, hitting Cena with a Cody Cutter off the top rope through a table before delivering a final Cross Rhodes to keep The Leader of the Cenation down for the three counts.
After the match, John Cena handed an emotional Cody Rhodes the Undisputed WWE Championship, hugged him, and whispered in his ear before raising his hand in a passing of the torch moment. The American Nightmare then raised his opponent’s hand in a gesture of respect.