John Cena has advised Cody Rhodes to focus on doing good work in WWE.
In recent months, Cody Rhodes has begun calling himself the QB1 of WWE and has made every effort to live up to the moniker and become the face of the company. However, in an interview with Busted Open, John Cena raised concerns that Rhodes is creating unnecessary stress for himself.
“Amazingly enough, I would say slang, like ‘Face that runs the place,’ and stuff like that, and in the theme song, ‘It’s the franchise boy, I’m shining now’, I always look at it as a team effort, and I’ve also experienced replacement of the front person. It is not something to strive for, it is simply a byproduct of good work. Whether I admire what Cody’s done, which I do, or not, my advice to him would be to get your focus off of that moniker. Just do good work. Take the stress off your back.”
As an example, Cena said that after main-eventing two WrestleManias back-to-back against The Rock, it was 13 years before he headlined the event again, but it wasn’t something he was concerned about in the interim.
“I wasn’t frustrated at all, I operated with absolute joy and fulfillment with my craft because I didn’t put any expectations on myself like, ‘I wanna be the champion,’ ‘I wanna be the face of the company.’ No, I just wanna do good work.”
Cena compared this attitude to CM Punk, who he says had an “obsession” to main event WrestleMania himself, something the 17-time World Champion thinks was a weight he didn’t need, much like Rhodes striving to be ‘QB1.’
“I think he’s carrying a weight he doesn’t need. That’s all. It’s not a weakness. I think he’s carrying a weight he doesn’t need. As far as Cody wanting to be this thing, bud, you are carrying a weight you don’t need. Just do great work, and the people will show up.”
“He’s carrying a weight he doesn’t need”
–@JohnCena on @CodyRhodes as QB1 pic.twitter.com/cnaRCD4A1M
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) October 5, 2026
John Cena Announces Namesake Event For December
After months of teasing, John Cena has confirmed that the John Cena Classic will take place in December. The event was first announced in May and will see NXT stars taking on main roster wrestlers in exhibition matches. At the end of the night, fans will be able to vote to determine who will be named the John Cena Classic Champion, with everyone who competed being eligible regardless of whether they won their match or not.
