9 Wrestlers Who Had Their WORST Match EVER This Year

6. CODY RHODES Vs. John Cena (WWE WrestleMania 41)

John Cena Cody Rhodes
WWE

A lot of fans wanted to see a John Cena heel turn under Vince McMahon in 2012. You effectively saw what that would have looked like under Triple H in 2025.

Cena blamed the fans - the same fans who had universally loved him for about half a decade - for hurting him in a “toxic relationship”. This “each and every one of you” stuff was diabolical. It was a cliche, which was bad enough, but it didn’t even make any sense. This lack of imagination extended to the ring, where Cena, ultimate WWE guy, did the only thing he could think to do.

He went methodical.

This match was such a nothing. Cena had no clue whatsoever as to how to approach playing heel. He didn’t even seem to relish it. His personality vanished as he opted to play a dour, unconvincing villain, booting and stomping away for minutes on end. His bump-and-feed was so arthritic that people thought he was completely finished physically - but he was mobile at Elimination Chamber before and at SummerSlam afterwards. Turns out, as a heel, he was simply incompetent. It took him several months to fall down whenever Cody struck him.

The action was worse than basic; the atmosphere nightmarish. It was loud, but since nobody wanted to really boo Cena, the resentment was mostly targeted at Cody. The situation drew heat, not the match. The fans made noise for the obligatory exchange of signatures and finishers, but the sequence wasn’t amazing or anything. That is the absolute bare minimum for a PLE match, let alone the main event of WrestleMania.

The finish was infamously bad. Travis Scott emerged, but the Rock didn’t. Scott took even longer to get to the ring than Cena did to bump.

The ref bump spot happened. Cody eventually ejected Scott before dithering over whether or not to hit his hero with the belt. Cena - cheered heel after years of playing the jeered babyface - hit a low blow and belt shot to wrap it up.

A boom-busting disasterclass.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!