In a hard-hitting, emotionally charged street fight, Cody Rhodes defeated John Cena to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship. The match opened with a respectful hug between the two before quickly descending into chaos. Cena took early control, tossing Rhodes outside the ring before both men traded momentum by whipping each other into the steel steps.
In one of the night’s more memorable moments, Cena borrowed a crutch from Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton and struck Rhodes across the back. He then launched the steel steps from the ring onto Rhodes at ringside. The action escalated as both men grabbed steel chairs and clashed, with Rhodes ultimately landing a shot to Cena’s back.
Cena connected with the Five-Knuckle Shuffle, but Rhodes countered with a Cody Cutter for a close near fall. The momentum swung back and forth, with Cena hitting an Attitude Adjustment, and Rhodes answering with a piledriver. Playing possum, Cena sprung up to deliver another Attitude Adjustment.
The fight spilled to the outside, where Cena executed a Code Red and followed it with a massive Attitude Adjustment through the commentary table. Back in the ring, Rhodes avoided a charging Cena and delivered Cross Rhodes, but still couldn’t finish the job.
Cena introduced a table, but Rhodes countered with a DDT and then suplexed Cena onto a steel barricade near the crowd. The two vanished beneath the stage before Cena dramatically reappeared in Rhodes’ entrance elevator, delivering yet another Attitude Adjustment on the ramp. He dragged Rhodes back to the ring, only to be thrown through a table and struck with another Cross Rhodes—yet Cena kicked out once again.
Rhodes escalated the violence by unscrewing a turnbuckle and using the exposed metal to strike Cena twice. Cena countered a third attempt by locking in an STF with the loosened rope, but Rhodes escaped and hit a trio of Cross Rhodes. Still, Cena refused to stay down.
In the climax, Cena hit two more Attitude Adjustments and a third from the second rope—but Rhodes miraculously kicked out. Finally, Rhodes landed an avalanche Cody Cutter through a table, followed by one last Cross Rhodes to secure the victory.
While the match may have run a bit long and included an odd mid-match elevator spot that felt overly theatrical, it was a marked improvement over their poorly received WrestleMania clash. Cena’s face turn on SmackDown felt mishandled, but the match itself delivered intensity and grit in a way that honored both competitors’ legacies.
