WrestleMania 41: Was The Rock’s absence responsible for the relatively dull ending to John Cena and Cody Rhodes’ match?

John Cena defeated Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 41 Night 2. The match was a fairly engaging affair, which featured a referee bump and interference from Travis Scott. However, it paled in comparison to the main event of WrestleMania 40, which pitted ‘QB1’ against Roman Reigns. Here's why the biggest match of the year did not meet those standards.?

WrestleMania 41: The build for John Cena and Cody Rhodes’ match could have been stronger

Last year’s main event marked the end of a story that started in 2023 when Cody Rhodes failed to beat Roman Reigns at ‘The Show of Shows’.As such, it had a lot of depth to it. This sadly wasn’t the case this time around. Rhodes and Cena’s feud started when the latter turned on ‘The American Nightmare’ at Elimination Chamber 2025 on The Rock’s orders.?

Thereafter, The Marine actor skipped a few episodes of Raw before appearing on the European tour. Unfortunately, these appearances weren’t enough to save the day. The two had a few strong exchanges but the Rock’s absence from WWE programming hurt the build up. Moreover, Cena’s rants about being in a ‘toxic relationship’ with the WWE Universe and Rhodes’ attempts to protect the fans too felt repetitive and this added to the worries.?

No powerful run-ins?

Last year’s main event featured run-ins from the likes of Cena himself, Solo Sikoa, The Rock, Seth Rollins, and The Undertaker.? Fans expected something similar this time around as well. There were also rumours of Stone Cold Steve Austin getting involved. Moreover, many felt that The Rock would be involved given his past with Cena and Cody Rhodes.?

However, nothing of that sort happened. Travis Scott interfered and received a Cross Rhodes from ‘QB1’. This made absolute sense storyline-wise as the rapper had attacked him at Elimination Chamber 2025. However, it failed to make up for The Great One’s absence as Scott is not a known name in professional wrestling circles. As such, the whole ending– which involved Cena picking up the win after nailing Rhodes with the title– felt underwhelming.?

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