For the very first time since defending his WWE Championship in Saudi Arabia, John Cena will show up on WWE television next week during Friday Night Smackdown on the USA Network. This will mark his only appearance on WWE programming in July.
As announced on last night’s episode, The Undisputed WWE Champion and his SummerSlam challenger will be in one building for next week’s SmackDown. In a face-off segment, the current WWE champion John Cena and 2025 King of the Ring winner Cody Rhodes will be in the ring in a segment being advertised for both of them appearing “under one roof” segment on the Friday, July 18 SmackDown episode set for San Antonio, Texas.
In the main event of Night of Champions 2025, John Cena (c) defeated CM Punk to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship. This marked their 15th televised match against each other, culminating in their illustrious feud in WWE, with the score being 7-6 in the champion’s favor. The win wasn’t clean as Seth Rollins interfered and inadvertently helped him out.
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John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes for Summerslam was confirmed at Night of Champions
On that same night in Saudi Arabia, two weeks ago, Cody Rhodes earned his number-one contender status and the right to challenge John Cena for the WWE title at SummerSlam as he ended up winning the King of the Ring tournament. In the final match held at last month’s Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, The American Nightmare defeated his former mentor Randy Orton to win the tourney.
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WWE SummerSlam 2025 is the first-ever two-night edition in the history of the event, with the two nights set for MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Saturday, August 2, and Sunday, August 3. John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes for the WWE Title is the first match confirmed for the show, and it should also headline the summer PLE.
Also slated for the PLE is 2025 Queen of the Ring winner Jade Cargill challenging the WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton for the title. However, unlike John Cena, Stratton needs to retain her title to make the match as she faces Trish Stratus for the championship, this Sunday night at Evolution.