02/06/2026
Cody Rhodes says John Cena passes the torch to him and so much more at SummerSlam in 2025
“John had a been a mentor to me for about 2 years. I drove John around. I’d sit by him when he’d get the call from Joe Hickey about the merch he sold that night. I’d listen to him talk about partners. I’d listen to him when he’d talk to the boss. We’d talk about wrestling ourselves. He’d talk about my match. He was just a true, real mentor.
He is such an evolved storyteller now and such a unique artisan from when he was just a wrestler. I really, really value the promos, the talking about them, the It was like being part of a TV series.
Just the king of preparation and taught me that if you’re going to wear the crown, you also have to be very, very, very prepared.
He didn’t just come back and say, ‘Hey, I used to drive this guy around. I trust that he’s the guy now.’ No, he put me through it. We didn’t have to get to SummerSlam. We got to SummerSlam because John Cena said it’s right to do this at SummerSlam and um that’s as real as it gets.
It felt like like a passing of the torch but it it also felt like a passing of the belt moment because I mean he’s literally handing me the title.
I won’t tell you what he said to me uh cuz I always wanted to keep that he obviously John likes to respect the business and uh I won’t say it, but I will tell you what I said to him was I told him I’m sorry it took me so long.”
—Cody Rhodes via ESPN