John Cena wins record 17th world championship

The villainous Cena defeated Cody Rhodes to make history at ‘WrestleMania’

The Champ is here once again. John Cena broke the record and became a 17-time world champion by defeating Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 41 night two.

Cena broke the record previously held by Ric Flair. Although Flair has won 21 world championships across WWE, WCW and NWA, WWE recognizes only 16 of his reigns. Since Flair’s last world title victory was in WCW in 2000, it has taken 25 years for someone to break the record.

While Cena vs Rhodes was a strangely booked and underwhelming match, the shocking result will have exciting implications and sets the stage for several money feuds for the remainder of 2025, by the end of which Cena is set to retire.

It was a typical Cody match with multiple finishers and kickouts and an interference by Travis Scott instead of The Rock. It’s fascinating to see how the audience demanded Cena to turn heel for decades but now that he did, they cheer for him and boo the good guy Rhodes. The crowd turned on Rhodes on SmackDown as well but he was able to regain their support with a scorching promo on Cena. But at WrestleMania, the action wasn’t good enough to get the job done. Despite the lacklustre buildup and match quality, the outcome of Cena making history evens it all out.

However, in terms of expectations, delivery and entertainment value, it was the night one main event that delivered big time. CM Punk, in his first ever WrestleMania main event, battled against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns in an all-out war. It was cathartic to see Punk, who’s been on a roll since he returned to WWE, fulfilling his life-long dream.

Going into Mania, the distrust and hatred between the three men was on breaking point. Add to it, the wildcard Paul Heyman, who was Reigns’ Wiseman for years. Punk called in a favour Heyman owed him and took the wiseman away from Reigns at Mania to be in his corner. However, Heyman pulled a classic Heyman when he turned on both Punk and Reigns to side with Rollins and helped him defeat his former two clients.

There were many callbacks for long-time fans who remember The Shield days with powerbombs on the commentary table and chair shots to the back. Although there were signs leading up to the match that Heyman would side with Rollins, the delivery, timing and overall execution was so perfect that it didn’t matter. The audience ate it up.

An absolute five-star classic, the match was already one of the greatest ‘Mania matches in history even before the twist ending. The climactic betrayal merely solidified its status. If the gravity of Cena’s history-making, record-breaking victory wasn’t an element on night two, the triple threat match was the true main event of WrestleMania.

Title changes

Both nights of WrestleMania 41 saw multiple titles change hands. One of the most well-deserved victories was by Jacob Fatu who defeated L.A. Knight to win the WWE US Championship. This beast hasn’t even been on the roster for a full year and already has won over the crowd and the company with his unparalleled charisma, in-ring skills and character work. And now he can call himself the new United States Champion.

Rey Mysterio’s son Dominik Mysterio also won his first singles title in WWE. He defeated Bronn Breaker, Penta and his Judgement Day teammate Finn Balor to win the Intercontinental Championship. Since he won by pinning his teammate, the fallout will be interesting as it is bound to lead to an inevitable implosion within the group.

Lyra Valkyria and Bayley were supposed to face Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez for the women’s tag titles. But someone attacked Bayley last night and Valkyria brought in ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch to team with her. Lynch left WWE last year after being defeated by Morgan. This time at ‘Mania, Lynch and Valkyria defeated their opponents to become new champs. While it’s great to see Lynch back, the workhorse Bayley deserved to be on the show, especially considering her incredible chemistry with Valkyria whether as a partner or rival. The New Day also defeated the War Raiders to become new tag team champions.

Royal Rumble 2025 winner Jey Uso finally defeated World Heavyweight Champion Gunther to win the title. While the match didn’t deliver in terms of quality, and the final sequence left much to be desired, it was a well-deserved victory for Jey, who’s organically grown and become a superstar in his own right.

And still…