There have already been rumblings this might be the case but, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the current plan is for Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes to face John Cena at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.
It sounds like Cena setting out to break Ric Flair's 16-time WWE Championship record - they're currently tied - has been the "working idea" for months now. Pitting the former face of WWE against the new face of the company will make for one heck of a storyline, particularly if the title is on the line.
Who should win the match? That's a difficult question, though this would surely be an opportunity for the Leader of the Cenation to officially pass the torch to the American Nightmare ahead of his retirement.
Fightful Select has since chimed in, revealing that they first heard this match was in the works as far back as mid-November. Apparently, Rhodes vs. Cena became the plan "after it was indicated that the Rock’s schedule was unclear for Mania."
WWE had hoped to pit Rhodes against The Rock, so what of the Final Boss? WWE hasn't completely moved on from him as, according to Meltzer, the hope is he might still wrestle at the Show of Shows.
"At first it was the Raw title given Rhodes vs. Rock would be for the other title and People’s belt. This isn’t etched in stone because whatever Rock wants to do, he’s likely going to be able to do. I do know that people are expecting him to appear on the show in some form."
"As for wrestling on the show, I even know people at the top who are expecting that, but it’s not a sure thing and one would think the Netflix show on 1/6 will kick off the season and tip the hand. Rock could do another match even though WWE title vs. People’s title was what he wanted after Mania."
If WWE is committing to Rhodes vs. Cena, then we'd imagine the plan is to pivot to The Rock vs. Roman Reigns, the main event we were supposed to get at last year's WrestleMania before the #WeWantCody movement changed things.
Stay tuned for updates we have them.