John Cena: WrestleMania 41 Was Act One For Cody Rhodes And I

John Cena became a 17-time WWE Champion at WrestleMania 41, defeating Cody Rhodes in the main event. The match was memorable for Travis Scott getting involved in the match and Cena embracing his heel personality.

Fans were left disappointed by the match, though Cena, now a babyface, and Cody had redemption at WWE SummerSlam in a street fight.

Speaking to Bill Simmons of The Ringer, Cena explained why WrestleMania 41 was just act one between him and Cody.

“The match Cody and I had at WrestleMania, it was not the end of our story. It was like the end of act one, knowing that we have Cody, we have to turn bad, eventually this going to happen, and we have to peak at SummerSlam. That’s the end. Performers get in their head that WrestleMania is the end. If it’s the first chapter in your book, you can’t end your book at chapter one. By design, we have a very methodical match with a simple end. We thought we would have some parts and players, those disappeared, it didn’t matter, because it was the end of act one. Then we had act two and act three. If you compare what we did in April with what we did in August, that was the end of our story. That’s the ride we’re taking fans on. We know WrestleMania is the end of our season, but when it came to Cody and I, WrestleMania is just the beginning for us, and certainly just the beginning for me after them choosing to say, ‘You’re a bad guy.’ Okay, I’m a bad guy in February. I have until the middle of April to figure this out. What’s the best way I can do it, integrate it, and look at my morality in August? That’s a short time to accomplish that. You have to commit,” said Cena.

Elsewhere during the interview, Cena reflected on his heel turn. You can find his full comments here.

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