1 day Ago By Graham GSM Matthews
Nearly a year of excitement and anticipation for WWE Raw's arrival on Netflix will culminate a super-stacked show on Monday night, live from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. In addition to the many marquee matches on tap, The Rock confirmed on social media Sunday that his presence will be felt at the history-making event. There's any number of directions WWE can go in with him heading into what's shaping up to be yet another newsworthy WrestleMania season.
John Cena will also be attendance for the blockbuster episode to kick off his retirement tour, though what exactly he has in store for fans on Raw remains to be seen. Confirmation of his participation in the upcoming men's Royal Rumble match is the most likely scenario, but his first opponent in the new year should be revealed as well. Cena's road to WrestleMania is as unclear as anyone else's at the moment, but potential matches with Cody Rhodes and Gunther have been speculated.
Regardless of who he winds up facing at The Show of Shows, he doesn't need to win a world title this early in his final run. This installment of Quick Takes will delve into when Cena should hold gold again, what AEW must avoid with its own world title scene, the perfect 'Mania challenger for Tiffany Stratton, and more. The Rock's random return at the end of October's Bad Blood, where he was shown standing on the stage staring down Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns, did little to further his story in a meaningful manner.
Prior to that premium live event, The Final Boss had not been seen on WWE TV since the post-WrestleMania Raw last April. It was there that he put newly-crowned Undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes on notice and announced his intentions to challenge for that title again down the road. Rock's role at WrestleMania 41 doesn't seem to be set in stone quite yet due to his hectic schedule beyond the squared circle, but his appearance on the first Netflix Raw all but confirms he'll be in Las Vegas for The Show of Shows and will be involved in a high-profile program.
Rock vs. Rhodes is the obvious bout to book, but it would make more sense for Rock to resurface following the Tribal Combat match between Reigns and Solo Sikoa and effectively end Sikoa's stint as the self-proclaimed Tribal Chief following his expected loss to Reigns. Rock vs.
Reigns doesn't appear to be in the cards for WrestleMania 41, but either attacking Sikoa or officially calling out Rhodes for a championship match would be a much better use of Rock on Raw than an inconsequential promo or a quick cameo that accomplishes nothing. It would be egregious for John Cena to be back in WWE for the entirety of 2025 and not challenge for a world title at least once. His retirement tour is intended to be his final farewell to the fans, but giving it some stakes in the form of one more chase for a championship is too strong of a story to pass up.
Rumored matches with either Undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes or World Heavyweight champion Gunther at WrestleMania 41 make Cena an odds-on favorite to reign supreme in the 2025 men's Royal Rumble, which would tie him with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin for most Rumble victories ever if he were to win. Both bouts are WrestleMania-worthy matchups for a competitor of Cena's caliber, and it's very possible Las Vegas is where he makes history once again by becoming a record-setting 17-time world champion. As monumental of a 'Mania moment as that would be, Cena should spend the full year chasing the gold.
To rush into it by the spring would eliminate a lot of the drama the remainder of his retirement tour would have, not to mention that an extensive run for Cena as world champ isn't necessary at this stage of his career. Cena can and very well should capture the Undisputed WWE or World Heavyweight title one last time later on in 2025, but not on The Grandest Stage of Them All. Adam Copeland shortening his ring name to simply "Cope" on last Wednesday's AEW Dynamite was a hot topic of conversation among fans on social media in the days that followed, but it's far from the biggest issue AEW has to worry about in regards to its main-event scene at the moment.
Jon Moxley retained his AEW World Championship in a rather lackluster four-way at Worlds End and wasn't left with any obvious challengers waiting in the wings aside from Darby Allin, who is clearly being saved for when Moxley ultimately loses the title. Cope was a logical choice given his level of credibility and that he's already over with the audience, but as someone who will forever be synonymous with WWE and is still relatively new to AEW, the feud doesn't fit the narrative of him wanting to fight The Death Riders on behalf of the company. Allin, the injured Eddie Kingston, Page and various others are more "homegrown" than Cope, who should be strictly be a filler opponent for Moxley.
It's a suitable storyline for the time being, but AEW can't get into the habit of showcasing the older guard—Jeff Jarrett included—at the expense of younger talent who have the potential to break through to the next level. Cope pinning Chris Jericho being the focal point of a six-man tag team match on Saturday's Collision should be exactly what AEW aims to avoid. WWE has hardly put much effort into making a bigger deal of the "transfer portal" that was originally announced prior to the holidays with Braun Strowman being the only one to switch shows so far.
Drew McIntyre has made a handful of appearances on SmackDown as of late but has yet to secure a spot for himself on the roster. That could be coming after he settles his score with Jey Uso on the Raw Netflix premiere to put that rivalry to rest once and for all. McIntyre has been a recurring highlight on the red brand for the better part of the past year.
His rivalries with Seth Rollins and CM Punk have made him a fixture in the main-event scene, but with Roman Reigns possibly making the move to Monday nights as soon as this week, McIntyre shifting over to SmackDown would be a worthy trade. The Scottish Warrior's confrontation with Cody Rhodes on the Jan. 3 edition of SmackDown planted the seeds for a future feud between the two.
That would ensure McIntyre remains prominently featured, as he should be. There's plenty of other programs for him on Friday nights ahead of such a pivotal period. The many tiresome teases for Tiffany Stratton cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase resulted in a tremendous title win on the Jan.
3 SmackDown when she betrayed and beat her "best friend" Nia Jax for the WWE Women's Championship. Now that Tiffy Time is officially underway on Friday nights, the question immediately becomes who her WrestleMania 41 opponent will be, provided her reign isn't short-lived and she doesn't lose the belt right back to Jax by the Royal Rumble or soon after. Of the many notable names from the blue brand's women's division that could step up, Charlotte Flair stands out as the most compelling challenger of them all.
It's been over a year since Flair was sidelined with several injuries that kept her out of action for 2024. A return to the ring is undoubtedly imminent and it's safe to assume she'll have Stratton in her sights once she's back in the fold. Not only would their respective characters compliment each other nicely with a heel Flair being the perfect foil for a babyface Stratton, the match itself would also be excellent and put Stratton in a spot to shine no matter the outcome.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant , and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content..
