John Cena has achieved his very first defense of his newly won Undisputed WWE Championship, outlasting long-time rival Randy Orton in their final ever match at Backlash 2025. Considering their ages, Cena’s lesser skills between the ropes in the present day, and some of the stinkers they’ve had in the past, the match was pretty enjoyable for the most part, keeping fans invested the entire way through. However, there was a glaring issue with the match, something which was evident in the match where he won the title too at WrestleMania 41 against Cody Rhodes. Overbooking and shenanigans have already become an issue, and we will explore why this could ruin Cena’s final ever run with the prize.
John Cena Is No Longer A Top Tier Performer
Cena’s In-Ring Work Is Not What It Once Was
- Cena was never renowned for his technical ability.
- In 2025, he can only do simpler moves, which works for a slow-moving heel.
- WWE needs to hide Cena’s missteps with smoke and mirrors.
Due to John Cena competing very infrequently over the last six years or so, the depletion of his talents inside the ropes has been overlooked. He can still do the simplistics well enough to get by in a match, but it is very clear that the workrate version of John Cena doesn’t exist in 2025. This is fine considering he is on one last nostalgia run before retiring, but it becomes a problem when he is holding the Undisputed WWE Championship and dominating the main event scene in WWE.
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Fans were expecting Cena to break the record and become a 17-time champion – a deserved feat – but now fans are having to suffer through WWE’s attempts to hide Cena’s lack of ability behind smoke and mirrors. With him now being a heel, Cena can work at a lower and more methodical pace, as was the case at WrestleMania 41 against Cody Rhodes, where he walked around the ring and dominated the action, leading to a pretty underwhelming bout in the main event of WWE’s biggest yearly show. Coming after a year of Cody Rhodes having strong matches with the likes of Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, and more in the main event, this a big downgrade in terms of match quality. WWE has taken steps to try and hide Cena’s negatives, though this has proven to be arguably the biggest issue of his title reign thus far.
John Cena’s Title Matches Are Too Overbooked
Fans Haven’t Been Happy With The Finishes Of His Matches
- Travis Scott helped Cena cheat to beat Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41.
- R-Truth’s involvement led to Cena beating Randy Orton at Backlash.
- Cena’s matches since winning the Undisputed WWE Championship have been overbooked.
WWE has decided to go down the route of overbooking John Cena’s title matches, which is proving to be a big issue. At WrestleMania 41, Cena cheated in a variety of ways to try and win the match, all leading to the arrival of rapper Travis Scott, who was present during Cena’s initial heel turn (though it must be noted that there is still no explanation as to why he is aligned with Cena, nor much reference to him at all on WWE programming). This led to a massive disinterest in the WrestleMania main event, with it being criticized by the majority of fans.
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John Cena then took on Randy Orton at Backlash 2025 in a match that did benefit at first from some referee bumps, brawling outside, and table spots, but things got a little ridiculous in the final stretch. For some reason, WWE failed to bring in a third referee, leading to Randy Orton RKOing a bunch of road agents. R-Truth would then interfere, stopping Orton from harming his ‘childhood hero’. This allowed Cena to hit a low blow and retain. Using Travis Scott to help Cena win, followed by the use of a meme and a joke in R-Truth to allow Cena to retain, screams of lazy overbooking, and it is clear that this will continue.
John Cena’s Final Title Reign Could Be Mired With Bad Booking
Fans Don’t Want A Poor Lasting Memory Of Cena’s Career
- Every John Cena match can’t have interference.
- Cena and Travis Scott vs. Cody Rhodes and Bad Bunny would be over-the-top.
- Cena’s final WWE run could turn into the last days of badly booked WCW.
Due to John Cena now being a heel, WWE is ensuring that his matches are filled with interference and cheating, allowing him to continue his reign as WWE Champion, and to make the most of Cena being a bad guy. On paper, the storyline of Cena taking shortcuts due to not being good enough anymore is fine, but it is going to be jarring if it becomes every single match that fans are seeing booking like this. There are reports, per Cory Hays of PWN/Bodyslam that Cena will team up with Travis Scott later this year, with Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noting that this will likely feature Bad Bunny and Cody Rhodes. This screams of an insanely overbooked main event, further adding to the list of over-the-top matches for Cena.
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This last year of Cena’s career could end up reminding fans of late-day WCW in terms of overbooking, shenanigans, celebrities, and more, and it may leave a stain on an otherwise legendary career for Cena. WWE has time to correct things, produce some good storylines, and book cleaner matches, but it’s not looking promising.
