John Cena Turns Babyface On SMACKDOWN Ahead Of SUMMERSLAM Street Fight With Cody Rhodes

John Cena Turns Babyface On SMACKDOWN Ahead Of SUMMERSLAM Street Fight With Cody Rhodes

Last night's SmackDown saw John Cena seemingly return to his babyface persona, but is the 17-time WWE Champion trolling fans ahead of his Street Fight with Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam tomorrow night?

By JoshWilding - Aug 02, 2025 03:08 AM EST
Filed Under: WWE

At this year's Elimination Chamber PLE, John Cena turned heel and brutally attacked Cody Rhodes with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and rapper Travis Scott at his side. 

The Rock then decided to return to Hollywood, and while Scott made a hugely unpopular appearance at WrestleMania, he skipped a planned match at Money in the Bank, somewhat derailing a heel turn that fans had quickly grown tired of. 

While Cena finally breaking bad broke the internet, seeing him come out each week and berate fans became stale after just a few weeks, and it's been obvious that crowds want to cheer for the Leader of the Cenation during his final year in WWE.

Well, last night's SmackDown kicked off with a confrontation between Cena and Rhodes. Shockingly, it saw the 17-time WWE Champion admit that he'd made a mistake.

He thanked the American Nightmare for forcing him into their SummerSlam Street Fight, and said he bought into someone else's idea of shocking television (The Rock's), and pointed out that the people he surrounded himself with soon left. 

An emotional Cena explained that he still wants to retire with the title, not to ruin wrestling, but because he wants fans to remember him. He vowed to bring his best self to SummerSlam, and the two opponents shared a beer before going to war later this weekend.

Is Cena trolling Rhodes and fans? Is Rhodes going to turn heel at the PLE? We'll have to wait and see, but it feels like there are still more twists to come in this feud. 

Here are some highlights from SmackDown, along with a reminder of SummerSlam's card:

SATURDAY

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Gunther (c) vs. CM Punk

WWE Women's Championship Match
Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jade Cargill 

WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Match
The Judgment Day (Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez) (c) vs. Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss

Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs. Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed

Randy Orton and Jelly Roll vs. Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul 

Sami Zayn vs. Karrion Kross

SUNDAY

Street Fight: Undisputed WWE Championship Match
John Cena (c) vs. Cody Rhodes 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. AJ Styles

Steel Cage: WWE United States Championship Match
Solo Sikoa (c) vs. Jacob Fatu

Triple Threat: Women’s World Championship Match
Naomi (c) vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Iyo Sky 

No Disqualification: WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship Match
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria 

TLC: WWE Tag Team Championship Match
"The Wyatt Sicks" Dexter Lumis and Joe Gacy (c) vs. "Motor City Machine Guns" Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin vs. "The Street Profits" Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins vs. "DIY" Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa vs. Andrade and Rey Fenix vs. "Fraxiom" Axiom and Nathan Frazer 

CM Punk And Gunther Headline Night One Of WWE's SUMMERSLAM
Related:

CM Punk And Gunther Headline Night One Of WWE's SUMMERSLAM

WWE SmackDown Results: August 1, 2025 - Women's United States Title Match & More
Recommended For You:

WWE SmackDown Results: August 1, 2025 - Women's United States Title Match & More

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, TheRingReport.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. TheRingReport.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that TheRingReport.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Be the first to comment and get the conversation going!

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

View Recorder