At Night Two of WrestleMania 41, during the climactic main event, John Cena, with some help from Travis Scott, toppled Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes securing his unprecedented 17th World Title.
In a recent episode of his “Extreme Life” podcast, WWE’s Matt Hardy expressed some strong opinions about the direction WWE took for the Cena vs. Rhodes finale.
Check out the notable points from the podcast below:
Matt Hardy’s ideal ending: “Upon retrospection, particularly their one-on-one match, where Cody broke free from several [Attitude Adjustments], and even wriggled out from the STFU a few times, I figured, considering John’s age, he still delivered a solid performance for a main event after all the dust had settled. My main concern was the conclusion, how Cody was portrayed and how everything unfolded. I wished that The Rock would have made an appearance; it would have weaved everything together coherently.
“I would have preferred an ending where Cody secures a virtual pinfall and he attempts another one after performing Cross Rhodes, and suddenly, Travis Scott interferes by pulling out the ref – a move that actually does occur in the match. Then, Cody confronts Travis who then lures him on a chase around the ring. Meanwhile, John retrieves the title and attempts to swing at Cody. They both struggle for the title and just when Cody is about to hit Cena with the title, Travis comes out of nowhere and causes a distraction allowing [Cena] to strike him.”
Matt’s take on WWE’s portrayal of Cody Rhodes: “I’m not a fan of Cody being stripped of his title after a blatant beating from John Cena, which included a low blow. This simply grants Cody undeserved sympathy. Keeping Cody in such a spot is a tough ask. My desire is for Cody to maintain his cool status as the babyface champ. Positioning Cody to appear weak is undesirable. Protecting Cody’s character is critical in my view. If the endgame suggests that he gets a low blow and is then struck with the title, I can live with that. However, the lead-up to it is what I criticize predominantly.”