John Cena and Cody Rhodes delivered a classic at SummerSlam, and it helped the 17-time champion achieve something he hasn’t done since 2009.
Rhodes defeated Cena at SummerSlam, taking back his WWE Championship after an incredible main event match.
The match was overshadowed by Brock Lesnar’s shocking WWE return, but it’s still been dubbed one of Cena’s best ever matches.
The star rolled back the years with Rhodes, achieving something in WWE that he had not done for 14 years.
John Cena’s WWE match with Cody Rhodes was his longest since 2009
Cena is set to retire from WWE in 2025, but that didn’t stop the 17-time champion from producing a classic at SummerSlam.
The 48-year-old wrestled for over 37 minutes in the SummerSlam main event, making it Cena’s third-longest match ever.
Only two matches were longer, with his 60-minute Iron Man match with Randy Orton at Bragging Rights topping the list.
| John Cena’s longest WWE singles matches | Location | Year | Length |
| John Cena vs Randy Orton | Bragging Rights (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) | 2009 | 60:00 |
| John Cena vs Shawn Michaels | WWE Raw (London, England) | 2007 | 55:49 |
| John Cena vs Cody Rhodes | SummerSlam (East Rutherford, New Jersey) | 2025 | 37:42 |
| John Cena vs CM Punk | Money in the Bank (Chicago, Illinois) | 2011 | 33:45 |
That’s followed by his incredible 55-minute WWE Raw epic against Shawn Michaels in London, England, from 2007.
Considering Cena was in his prime for those matches, it’s incredible going for his match with Rhodes to place so highly.
The SummerSlam main event came in four minutes longer than Cena’s classic with CM Punk from Money in the Bank in 2011.
John Cena has been an iron man on his WWE retirement tour
Cena has not been taking it easy on his WWE swansong, with the 17-time champion competing in several lengthy matches in 2025.
The star featured for over 30 minutes in the 2025 Royal Rumble and followed that up with a 32-minute appearance in the Elimination Chamber.
Cena matches against Rhodes at WrestleMania 41, Orton at Backlash, and Punk at Night of Champions each topped the 25-minute mark too.
Now that Cena is back as a babyface, there’s every chance he continues his run of incredible – and long – matches.