Cody Rhodes became a two-time WWE Champion by defeating John Cena in the main event of SummerSlam.
Rhodes defeated Cena in an epic WWE clash, which was unfortunately overshadowed by Brock Lesnar’s shocking return.
Cena and Rhodes brought the house down with their SummerSlam main event, in stark contrast to their drab WrestleMania 41 bout.
The match saw Rhodes very nearly break a record that he holds from his WrestleMania 40 clash with The Rock.
John Cena match was Cody Rhodes’ longest since WWE clash with The Rock
The SummerSlam night two main event was over 37 minutes long, meaning it was Cena’s third longest match in WWE history.
It’s also one of the longest matches of Rhodes’ WWE career, coming in at second place behind his huge bout with The Rock and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40.
Rhodes teamed with Seth Rollins to take on The Bloodline pair, which saw The Rock pin Rhodes ahead of his WWE Championship bout with Reigns.
That match lasted an incredible 44 minutes at the Philadelphia show, meaning it still holds top spot for Rhodes despite his lengthy run with Cena at SummerSlam.
The SummerSlam main event is by far and away Rhodes’ longest match of 2025, clocking up over 12 minutes longer than his bout with Kevin Owens at Royal Rumble.
Cody Rhodes vs John Cena was longer than any of his AEW matches
Rhodes vs Cena at SummerSlam was longer than any match he ever had in his former company, AEW, however.
The American Nightmare helped found AEW in 2019 and stayed in Tony Khan’s company until he switched back to WWE in 2021.
Rhodes’ longest match for his prior employers came early on in his AEW career, against The Young Bucks alongside Dustin Rhodes.
The American Nightmare lost the match with his brother at AEW’s Fight for the Fallen in over 31 minutes back in 2019.