John Cena takes subtle shots at The Rock, Travis Scott in pre-SummerSlam showdown with Cody Rhodes

WWE star Alexa Bliss talks to Fox News Digital about partnering with Charlotte Flair in pursuit of tag team titles at SummerSlam.

John Cena appeared to come to his senses with just over 48 hours to go before he defended the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam in a street fight.

Cena had been the villain since he aligned with The Rock and Travis Scott in February at Elimination Chamber. He kicked Rhodes in the groin then and got Scott’s help at WrestleMania 41 to defeat Rhodes for his 17th championship reign – the most in WWE history.

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Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Travis Scott, and John Cena look on during WWE Elimination Chamber at Rogers Centre on March 1, 2025, in Toronto, Canada. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)

On Friday’s edition of "SmackDown," the crowd that packed the Prudential Center in Newark got a classic Cena promo. He thanked Rhodes for pulling him out of his bad-guy persona, declared that he wasn’t going to try to ruin wrestling anymore and instead wanted to take his belt with him when he left WWE, because he didn’t want the fans to forget about him.

Cena said Rhodes’ beatdown gave him the kick in the butt he needed to dig down and find himself and also had subtle shots for the Rock and Scott.

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John Cena in action against CM Punk during Night Of Champions at Kingdom Arena on June 28, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images)

"For 25 years, day in and day out I had forged a reputation off of hard work, honestly and respect. And now I realize, five months ago, I flushed it all down the