Cody Rhodes to lose his WWE Title to John Cena for one major reason; believes Dutch Mantell
With WWE WrestleMania 41 just two weeks away, wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell offered a bold prediction for a major title match. At The Show of Shows, Cody Rhodes will defend his Undisputed WWE Championship against John Cena.
The Doctor of Thuganomics won the 2025 Men's Elimination Chamber on March 1. In a shocking turn of events, the 47-year-old star joined forces with The Rock to betray The American Nightmare and brutally assaulted him that night at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada.
Since the Elimination Chamber PLE, the two rivals have clashed in promo battles across three consecutive RAW episodes. Their most recent segment on the flagship show, held in London, England, ended with Cody Rhodes delivering his finisher to John Cena.
Speaking on his Story Time with Dutch Mantell podcast, the 75-year-old veteran speculated that WWE might allow The Cenation Leader to defeat The American Nightmare for the World Title at WrestleMania. Mantell believed this was a possibility to enable John Cena to surpass Ric Flair's iconic record of 16 World Title reigns.
"Let's break it down. [John] Cena has won how many? 16 [...] And [Ric] Flair won 17 [overall]! [...] That [16 World Title reigns] is recognized. I think, hey, there's a good possibility they [WWE] could slip it over to Cena," he said. [From 11:58 to 12:28]
Check out the video below:
Dutch Mantell says John Cena could beat the "living c*ap out" of Cody Rhodes before WWE WrestleMania on condition
In the same podcast, the erstwhile Zeb Colter shared his two cents on what possibly could go down between John Cena and Cody Rhodes before 'Mania. The veteran claimed that The Franchise Player might launch a brutal beatdown on his rival before The Showcase of the Immortals only if the Stamford-based promotion decides to have a physicality angle between them. Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell said:
"Now it's just going to be talk time. There's no need to do it anymore because they [Rhodes & Cena got physical on RAW in London]. If they do a physical angle, I think it'll be Cena doing something to Cody and beating the living c*ap out of him or something."
Only time will tell if John Cena will become a record-breaking 17-time World Champion by beating The American Nightmare later this month.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
