Cody Rhodes Reveals the Most Important Thing He Learned From John Cena in WWE

Cody Rhodes is the new Undisputed WWE Champion and is heading to his fourth straight world championship main event match at WrestleMania.

On SmackDown last week, Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre and won the world title for the third time. He's now scheduled to face Randy Orton for the championship at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.

Rhodes first won that championship from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia. He held onto the belt for a year, but lost it to John Cena last year at WrestleMania 41. Rhodes and Cena had history together prior to that WrestleMania match, but then spent a large portion of 2025 feuding with one another.

Not only did Cena and Rhodes wrestle at WrestleMania, but the duo also headlined SummerSlam. In that match, Rhodes beat Cena to win the world championship for a second time.

Cody Rhodes learned a major lesson from John Cena in WWE

Though Rhodes and Cena were opponents and rivals for much of their time together in WWE, Rhodes still walks in Cena's footsteps as the current face of the company. In a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Rhodes revealed the most important thing he learned from Cena along the way.

"it sounds basic and it sounds like 'oh, everyone does that,' but they really don't. And this is the biggest thing. Listen to the audience," Rhodes told Chris Van Vliet regarding the most important thing he learned from John Cena. "Listen to every piece of it. The cheers, the boos, the likes, the dislikes. Every piece of it.

"Listen to the audience and be honest with yourself. Your character doesn't always have to be honest with itself, but we're talking about looking in the mirror. Be honest with yourself as a performer. What can you do that night to capture their imagination."

Randy Orton won the men's Elimination Chamber match this year and earned a shot at the WWE Championship because of that victory. Rhodes and Orton have a long history together. Both men were stablemates in the Legacy faction nearly two decades ago. Now, they'll collide for the biggest prize in the game on the biggest stage.

WrestleMania 42 airs live on ESPN Unlimited and Netflix internationally on April 18 and April 19 from inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Other announced matches for the show include CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Jade Cargill vs. Rhea Ripley for the WWE Women's Championship, and Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan for the WWE Women's World Heavyweight Championship.