Cody Rhodes & John Cena Go SCORCHED EARTH, Destroy Each Other On Raw (WWE News)

With most of his ire directed towards WWE fans in recent weeks, last night's Raw saw John Cena finally turn his attention fully to Cody Rhodes, with both men not holding back as they had a heated exchange that gave a nice shot in the arm to the patented Road to WrestleMania.

Following the same pattern of the past few weeks, this latest Raw - which emanated from London's O2 Arena - opened with John Cena. But before Big Match John could get his words out, the music of the American Nightmare hit, and Cody Rhodes quickly came out to join him.

Cody immediately covered his lisp and his neck tattoo, seemingly taking away some of Cena's ammunition. However, that didn't stop the 16-time World Champion from taking plenty of fired-up shots at Rhodes, calling him a nepo baby, mocking that tattoo, and generally lambasting Cody for being mediocre. As Cena put it, his WrestleMania 41 opponent could buy a toy WWE Title and wear that as a champion once John takes the real WWE Title at 'Mania and retires with it.

The pair brought up how Cody Rhodes used to ride with John Cena during the early days of their careers, which Cena again used to say how he'd done such a good job at elevating WWE and the company's top prize over the years, that now his "chauffeur" was able to keep WWE ticking over.

Cena also mentioned how many have accused him of "burying" talent, to which he said he doesn't bury talent, he is talent, and that he buries mediocrity. Of course, the small matter of Cody Rhodes departing WWE and co-founding AEW was another topic on the table, to which Cena explained how, while he himself built empires for billionaires, all Cody has done is steal money from billionaires' kids - a sly reference to a certain Tony Khan.

Tony Khan wasn't the only promoter who was referred to in this wild segment, with Rhodes noting how John Cena was the chosen top guy of a man whose name they're no longer allowed to mention. Yes, that would be a reference to Vince McMahon, the disgraced former Chairman who was forced to retire twice.

By the time this segment came to an end, Cody had called Cena a "piece of s**t", Cena had tried to attack Cody, and Rhodes was left standing tall after dropping John with a Cross Rhodes.

All in all, this was a white-hot start to WWE Raw; a start that finally added a little more juice to the John Cena and Cody Rhodes rivalry.

John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes

As alluded to, John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes has felt a smidge underwhelming in recent weeks. Yes, Cena has cut some solid promos addressing his heel turn, but those words were more aimed at the fans rather than anything personal against Cody. Now, though, this latest Raw injected a more personal feel to this rivalry.

Of course, we got here by John winning the men's Elimination Chamber, which was immediately followed by him kicking Cody Rhodes in the balls and aligning with the Rock. That said, the Final Boss has yet to be seen since Elimination Chamber, with many questioning whether he'll resurface at some point in the weeks between now and the Grandaddy of Them All.

Cena vs. Rhodes doesn't necessarily need the Rock, but the Great One would clearly be a welcome addition to the WrestleMania build, particularly with how the wider story has been about Cody and Rock as Dwayne spent weeks trying to convince Rhodes to embrace the Dark Side and join forces with him.

Rock or no Rock, John Cena and Cody Rhodes will close out Night 2 of WrestleMania 41, with this to be the final 'Mania match of Cena's career as he looks to hang up his boots by the time 2025 rolls to a close - all as he chases his record-setting 17th World Title win.