#4. Became “The Never Seen 17” at WrestleMania 41
The heel turn proved to be a controversial decision, but it did yield dividends for John Cena. Cena’s new villainous persona provided a stark contrast to Cody Rhodes’ natural babyface aura. This played into the closing moments of their WWE Championship showdown at WrestleMania 41: Night Two.
Rhodes had neutralized Travis Scott, but the referee was still down. Cena wanted to blast The American Nightmare with the title, but the champion caught him, and a tug-of-war ensued. Rhodes snatched the title away from the challenger, who feigned a change of heart. However, Cena had fully embraced his wrongdoings and struck his opponent with a low blow.
Cena smashed Rhodes’ skull with the title and covered him to win his 17th World Title. The match was underwhelming, and the celebration was far from a feel-good moment. Nonetheless, this was The Champ’s first singles win in nearly 7 years. Thus, the dirty tactics made sense.
With 17 World Titles to his name, John Cena had overtaken Ric Flair and rewritten the history books. From thereon, Cena demanded that the announcers call him “The Never Seen 17.”
