Cody Rhodes Reveals The Best Advice He Received From John Cena

As John Cena transitions into full-time retirement from WWE, it's now Cody Rhodes' opportunity to cement himself as the face that runs the place. That doesn't mean he's not carrying meaningful advice from his mentor.

Cena retired from WWE last Saturday, wrapping his 23-year career with a submission loss to Gunther. The bold move was a symbolic end to Cena's WWE run, with Rhodes and CM Punk expressing their appreciation to him following the match.

WWE released a video this week of several WWE Superstars explaining the best advice they ever received from Cena during their careers, and Rhodes revealed what "Big Match John" once said to him.

"That's easy," Rhodes said. "The best advice John Cena has ever given to me, and he's given it to numerous talent, and it sounds redundant, but it's really not: listen to the audience. Listen to the audience. And if you do, you'll never go wrong."

How Cena and Rhodes Listened to the Audience

Cena's farewell tour in WWE was a controversial one, with a shocking heel turn at Elimination Chamber early in the year putting him on a collision course with Rhodes at WrestleMania 41. There, the 48-year-old defeated Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Championship, becoming a 17-time world champion in the process.

The win was not without criticism, as rapper Travis Scott was heavily involved in the finish despite then being dropped entirely from WWE programming not long after.

John Cena and Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam. | WWE

The heel run for Cena saw him run back matches with several of his long-time rivals in reversed roles, with Cena taking on the position of villain. His bouts with CM Punk and Randy Orton suffered from this strange dynamic and heavy reliance on outside interference and gaga, which was going to be leaned into for his Undisputed WWE Championship rematch at SummerSlam against Rhodes, a street fight.

MORE: John Cena Explains Tap Out Finish And Its Star Wars Connection

However, on the SmackDown before SummerSlam, with fans vocally not being on board with how the heel run was going, Cena and WWE pivoted. Cena suddenly turned babyface just two days before the big match, with him and Rhodes being put in a tricky position to make sense of their street fight stipulation.

Given their abilities and status, the two pulled off a remarkable match in the main event of SummerSlam, with Cena delivering one of the greatest performances of his career en route to a legitimate five-star match that got the audience back on the side of Cena, and cementing Rhodes as the top guy for years to come.

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