John Cena continues to perform as a heel despite lackluster performances. (Credit: Georgiana … More
R-Truth finally got his chance to face his “childhood hero” John Cena at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event 2025, but it didn’t end well for the former 24/7 Champion.
When John Cena announced his retirement tour last year, hardly anyone had Cena vs. R-Truth on their bingo card of potential matches for Cena on his final run as a WWE star. But a joke started by Truth years ago all led to this: Cena vs. Truth in an unlikely battle between two of WWE’s longest-tenured superstars.
Inside the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Truth’s improbable match against his idol ended in quick fashion as Cena blasted Truth with a low blow behind the referee’s back and nailed him with an Attitude Adjustment. One, two, three. It was over almost as quickly as it started.
Truth, one of WWE’s most beloved stars, unsurprisingly had the Tampa crowd firmly behind him even though Tampa is Cena’s adopted hometown. Another shocker: Truth nearly eeked out a win with an AA of his own. Then, Cena kicked out and quickly rebounded with a cheap shot and AA that continued Cena’s improbable heel run.
With the WWE Universe largely in his corner, Truth was a sentimental favorite heading into WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event. But of course, a past-his-prime comedic superstar wasn’t going to be the one to end Cena’s record-breaking 17th world title reign, no matter how bad Cena’s run as a heel has been thus far.
Sure, Cena continues to be mostly booed after his unlikely heel turn at WWE Elimination Chamber back in March. Are those jeers, however, a result of Cena being a good villain or the fans hating a character that simply hasn’t clicked?
Cena has promised time and time again in his repetitive promos that he is back to “ruin” wrestling. “The Champ” hasn’t exactly done that yet, however, and as Cena has struggled to get a grasp on his heel gimmick, WWE already began planting seeds at Backlash earlier this month hinting at Cena turning back to the babyface side.
In the long term, Cena could and should end his career as a beloved fan favorite because, well, this heel shtick simply isn’t cutting it. But at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, the creative took another step forward with heel Cena, this time with the Undisputed Champion once again using an underhanded tactic to secure the victory.
Indeed, that was the second time in just a few weeks that Cena made quick work of Truth. The first came in memorable fashion at the Backlash post-show press conference, where Cena sent Truth crashing through a table with a massive Attitude Adjustment finisher. Ironically enough, Cena beat Truth the same way at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, only this time without a table involved.
It was the exact type of cheap victory fans expected of Cena, who is widely expected to resume his feud with Cody Rhodes and likely drop the WWE title back to “The American Nightmare” in the not-so-distant future. At this stage of his career as time is running out, Cena really doesn’t need to be involved in the world title picture, and in fact, losing that title could be what propels him back to being a fan favorite.
At WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in Tampa, the time wasn’t right for Cena to lose. Of course, neither was the opponent.
There is, however, no shortage of potential rivals for Cena to ultimately drop his title to on a major pay-per-view stage. Whether that’s Rhodes, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns or a rising star, Cena should be on borrowed time as world champion, and WWE should make a genuine effort to book something more compelling for Cena going forward.
A one-off match with Truth was relatively harmless, but with WWE Saturday Night Main event in the rearview mirror, WWE’s next step should be to book Cena in a rivalry that truly matters.
