John Cena wins record-setting championship with WrestleMania victory over Cody Rhodes
The professional wrestling superstar won a record-setting 17th World Championship by beating Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes on April 20 at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.
What made this title stand apart from the others was Cena's stunning heel turn in March in which one of WWE's famous good guys became a villain ahead of WrestleMania.
Staying true to his heel turn, Cena won the match against Rhodes with a cheap-shot low blow and by striking Rhodes with the championship belt before pinning him.
He also got some help from an unlikely source — Travis Scott. The chart-topping rapper sauntered into the arena with a championship belt draped over his left shoulder and prevented Rhodes from potentially winning.
Rhodes was about to pin Cena after dazing him with his signature Cross Rhodes finishing move, but Scott yanked the referee out of the ring by his legs to stop the count.
Scott then entered the ring and tried to punch Rhodes, only to get hit with the Cross Rhodes himself. However, it allowed Cena to regroup and ultimately win the match.
With the victory in front of nearly 65,000 fans at Allegiant Stadium, Cena passed WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, who won 16 world titles during his legendary career.
His landmark win came in the midst of a retirement tour for Cena, who announced in July 2024 that he will hang it up for good after appearing in multiple WWE events in 2025.
During a WWE event in March, Cena vowed to bring home the record-setting title.
'I will win that championship and retire with it,' he said in full heel mode in the ring. 'I am taking it home with me and leaving all of you to create a brand-new toy belt because the real one comes home with me. I will be the last real champion in WWE.'
Cena, who turns 48 on April 23, previously discussed potential retirement plans during an appearance on the 3rd hour of TODAY in January 2024 when he was asked if he would make the decision to retire when he turned 50.
'That sounds pretty accurate, right? Fifty is half of 100,' he said at the time. 'I love being in the ring, that's the one thing I wish I could do forever, but the crop of these superstars in there now, the sport is fast, it's young, and it's exciting. I got the exciting and enthusiasm part, I don't have the fast or the young.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
'Squid Game' boosts Netflix quarter, company raises revenue guidance
LOS ANGELES, July 17 (Reuters) - The final season of global phenomenon "Squid Game" helped Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab beat Wall Street earnings targets for the second quarter, and the streaming service raised its revenue guidance for the year. Some investors had hoped for more from the dominant movie and TV streaming service, analysts said. Netflix shares had risen nearly 44% this year ahead of the earnings report on Thursday. The stock fell 1.8% to $1,251.86 in after-hours trading. Netflix has been building an ad-supported service to reel in price-sensitive viewers, though it has said advertising will not be a primary driver of revenue growth this year. The company also has added live events such as WWE wrestling to draw advertisers and viewers. For April through June, Netflix posted diluted earnings per share of $7.19. That topped the $7.08 consensus estimate of analysts polled by LSEG. The company raised revenue guidance for 2025 to $44.8 billion to $45.2 billion, citing the weakening of the U.S. dollar plus "healthy member growth and ad sales." Its previous guidance was up to $44.5 billion. analyst Thomas Monteiro said investors were expecting "a much stronger upward revision" to 2025 guidance. "The full-year outlook now feels quite conservative, which is problematic for a stock priced for perfection," Monteiro said. "At this stage, the company appears overly dependent on further price increases — at least through 2026 — to drive revenue," he added. For the just-ended quarter, net income came in at $3.1 billion, edging forecasts of $3.06 billion. Revenue totaled $11.08 billion, above the $11.07 billion analyst projection. Netflix released the third and final season of dystopian Korean drama "Squid Game" a few days before the second quarter ended in June. The show is the most popular non-English Netflix show in the streaming service's history. Season three racked up 122 million views, Netflix said. Other releases during the quarter included "Sirens," "The Four Seasons" and a third season of "Ginny & Georgia." The streaming video pioneer stopped disclosing quarterly subscriber numbers this year, instead urging investors to focus on profit as a measure of its success. It said member growth was ahead of its forecast but occurred late in the quarter, which limited the impact on second-quarter revenue. Looking ahead, Netflix forecast revenue of $11.5 billion and net income of nearly $3 billion. Analysts had projected $11.3 billion and $2.9 billion, respectively. The company has new seasons of two of its biggest shows coming later this year. "Wednesday" returns in August, and the final episodes of "Stranger Things" will be released in November and December. Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann, asked about the company's view on acquiring assets from other media companies, said Netflix would be "choosy." "We've historically been more builders than buyers, and we continue to see big runway for growth without fundamentally changing that playbook," Neumann said during a post-earnings video.
Scottish Sun
18 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
WWE star Cathy Kelley leaves jaws-dropped in revealing dress as she links up with Buffy legend – ‘two queens'
Cathy Kelley's famous friend is married to a major WWE fan - scroll down for more KELL OF A TIME WWE star Cathy Kelley leaves jaws-dropped in revealing dress as she links up with Buffy legend – 'two queens' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WWE announcer Cathy Kelley took social media by storm as she hung out with legendary actress Sarah Michelle Gellar. Kelley, 36, attended a theatre promoting the upcoming release of the remake of the iconic horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 WWE star Cathy Kelley met famous actress Sarah Michelle Gellar 7 Kelley promoted the remake of I Know What You Did Last Summer, with Gellar starring in the original 7 Kelley has a long friendship with Gellar 7 Kelley shared a series of snaps on social media for her followers And the backstage interviewer was joined by one of the original movie's stars in Gellar, 48 - who won't be in the sequel as he character was killed in the first one. The WWE star and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer star took a selfie together that left their fans in awe. Kelley issued a quote her famous friend's character Helen Shivers said in the slasher flick. It read: "Well Bob. at summer's end I plan on moving to New York where i'll pursue a career as a serious actress. through art i shall serve my country.' - Helen Shivers, may she R.I.P." Read More on WWE POINT OF REF WWE fans spot glam referee Victoria D'Errico during Evolution and fall in love That led to Kelley's 349,000 Twitter followers storming the comments' section. One fan tweeted: "Two queens." Another commented: "I can't believe you met the icon." A third wrote: "Not sure meetups get better than that!!!" This fan said: "Running out of ways to say you are the best." And that one posted: "Wut. You met Buffy???" WWE star Cathy Kelley turns head in 'mind blowing' bikini and stuns in latest outfit Kelley and Gellar are longtime friends and even work out together, as shown in a viral clip released last year. The actress' husband and fellow I Know What You Did Last Summer co-star Freddie Prinze Jr is an avid pro wrestling fan who also worked with WWE for a while as a writer, producer and director. 7 Kelley is a big horror film fan 7 Kelley quoted Gellar's character on social media
The Sun
18 hours ago
- The Sun
WWE star Cathy Kelley leaves jaws-dropped in revealing dress as she links up with Buffy legend – ‘two queens'
WWE announcer Cathy Kelley took social media by storm as she hung out with legendary actress Sarah Michelle Gellar. Kelley, 36, attended a theatre promoting the upcoming release of the remake of the iconic horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer. 7 7 And the backstage interviewer was joined by one of the original movie's stars in Gellar, 48 - who won't be in the sequel as he character was killed in the first one. The WWE star and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer star took a selfie together that left their fans in awe. Kelley issued a quote her famous friend's character Helen Shivers said in the slasher flick. It read: "Well Bob. at summer's end I plan on moving to New York where i'll pursue a career as a serious actress. through art i shall serve my country.' - Helen Shivers, may she R.I.P." That led to Kelley's 349,000 Twitter followers storming the comments' section. One fan tweeted: "Two queens." This fan said: "Running out of ways to say you are the best." And that one posted: "Wut. You met Buffy???" WWE star Cathy Kelley turns head in 'mind blowing' bikini and stuns in latest outfit Kelley and Gellar are longtime friends and even work out together, as shown in a viral clip released last year. The actress' husband and fellow I Know What You Did Last Summer co-star Freddie Prinze Jr is an avid pro wrestling fan who also worked with WWE for a while as a writer, producer and director. 7 7 7
