IWC Scum — Fallout From Mania: Vegas & The Rock TKO’ing John Cena’s Heel Turn

Welcome back to the column that puts the incessant whining and complaining in IWC. I’m SkitZ, and this is my cheeky rebuttal to all the crap that’s gone down in the wrestling world over the past 5 days. 

So the hangover from WWE’s extended stay in Vegas is in full effect, and the biggest heel coming out of the weekend ain’t even Seth Rollins. It’s a dude who didn’t even show up on either night. Wrestling fans are ready to burn The Rock’s house to the ground with his entire family inside, and Dwyane’s appearance on Pat McAfee’s podcast only added more heat to the wildfire currently engulfing The Final Boss. That’s what happens when you screw with the WrestleMania main event two years in a row. People don’t forget, ESPECIALLY the pitchfork wielders who make up the IWC. Rest assured The Rock isn’t losing sleep over any of this, but the millions (and millions) who watched Cena anticlimactically win #17 sure did!  

Now before we start going in on the man who’s ruining wrestling on purpose, I wanted to give my two cents on WM41. Yeah yeah it’s yesterday’s news, but just humor me for a few minutes while I get it out of my system.  

Jackpot: Both Triple Threats were Gold 

— Everybody knew Rhea/Bianca/Iyo had the potential to steal the show on Night 2, and they certainly did. As hot of an opener as you could ask for, and the crowd on Sunday put Saturday’s audience to shame. Nonstop action, excellent counters, and the animosity between Ripley and Belair felt palpable. Super stoked for Iyo finally receiving her WrestleMania moment.  

— While the story made all the sense in the world, I admittedly had my doubts about Reigns/Rollins/Punk headlining Night 1. As much as yours truly can be a Phil Brooks fanboy at times, I worried that he might be outworked and outshined by Seth and Roman, but Heyman’s former best friend looked great throughout the match. Plenty of people predicted Rollins going into business with The Wiseman, but the turn was executed so well that there were no complaints. Easily the MOTN, which is how it should be, however…  

Better Luck Next Time: The Undercard Matches with No Stakes Added Little Value

— Naomi versus Jade could’ve benefitted greatly from a stipulation and a couple extra minutes. I enjoyed the creative spots they sprinkled in though. No matter how much character work Naomi put in to make the feud a success, you’re crazy if you think anybody but Cargill was winning here. Jade delivered so many power moves that both nipples popped out of her top at one point. A belated thanks to whichever pervert went back and screenshotted that for the rest of us.

— Does it really hurt Fenix that much losing his 4th match in WWE? I think not. Rey was bound to eat a pin sooner rather than later, and he doesn’t have a character conducive to a long undefeated streak anyway. Besides, Penta took his first L less than 3 months in. Criticize Gable’s silly luchador gimmick all you want, but I was happy to see Chad finally pick up a singles victory at WrestleMania. The circumstances surrounding Rey’s injury just sucked plain and simple. 

— I went in expecting Paul versus Styles to be fast paced, but that shit draggggggged. Allegiant Stadium was on fire through the first 4 matches of Night 2, and this plodding effort cooled them right down. Whichever agent produced it is clearly some crotchedy old-timer who hates flippy wrestlers. I understand WWE making a conscious effort to legitimize Logan in the eyes of their fans, but this match bored me to tears. AJ was so overly generous with letting Paul dominate offensively that he wasn’t even able to get his own stuff in. Aging gatekeeper or not, Styles deserved better. So does Karrion Kross for that matter, but it may be a case of too little, too late with him. 

Breaking Even: Jey Outwrestles The Ring General

— No qualms with The YEET King becoming champ and finally winning the big one. It’s how they got there that rubbed me the wrong way. Jey and Gunther slowed the action down to a crawl, and it took the buzz out of the crowd a bit. Then just when it appeared like we were ratcheting things up a gear, the match ended. Also didn’t love Gunther tapping so quickly, but that’s a minor nitpick. This felt inferior to their banger at Saturday Night’s Main Event back in January. Does Sami turn on Jey soon and challenge him for the World Heavyweight Title? We were all waiting for it Monday night during their segment. As Vince would famously say, “smells like money”. 

Jackpot: Both Midcard Championship Bouts Were Money

— We’re often jipped out of these altogether at Mania, which is a shame because they can add a great deal to the event. The United States and Intercontinental Title matches were everything they needed to be, and more. Despite LA Knight and Bron Breakker getting dethroned, I believe both men are in for major runs between now and WrestleMania 42. The Megstar and second generation Steiner elevated their respective belts, and then passed the torch to the next crop of up-and-comers in Jacob Fatu and Dirty Dom. Trips booked it perfectly. 

Breaking Even: Say His Name and He Appears for a Brief Appearance

— This one not so much. To be fair, I loved almost every aspect of it, but forgive me for agreeing with the trending narrative. The reigning TNA World Champion competing at WrestleMania against Randy Orton is undoubtedly a huge honor, but Hendry losing in 3 minutes is still a bully move on WWE’s behalf. “Yeah we’ve got this talent partnership going on, and sure we’ll give your top guy a little exposure, but he’s jobbing to our star wrestler in a glorified squash. You’re welcome.” 

The Viper mentioned it being his 20th WrestleMania numerous times, and even went as far as paying homage to his rookie tights, just for it to play out like a heavily watched warmup? You couldn’t have given the two of them 10 minutes at least? Blink and you missed this. It felt very much like what happened to The Undertaker when he arrived at WM34 for his match with Cena.    

Better Luck Next Time: New Day and The War Raiders Fight for Their Right to Partake 

— Well they tried. As expected, Allegiant Stadium were tuned the fuck out, aside from the occasional half-hearted pop for an impressive spot. If it weren’t for watching RAW, I would’ve completely forgotten who won. Sadly, it’s not even a matter of fans being on the fence. Erik & Ivar can’t get over with the larger crowds to save their lives.  

Jackpot: Damian and Drew Kill it in Sin City

— The crowd needed some time to catch their collective breath after the women’s triple threat, but Priest and McIntyre helped provide them with a second wind thanks to their well-executed Street Fight. Was the outcome ever in doubt? Nope, but the right man won nevertheless. Where Damian goes from here is anyone’s guess. As for Drew, the next Paul Heyman guy perhaps?    

Better Luck Next Time: Austin’s Reckless Behind the Wheel

— And the award for Most Unintentionally Hilarious Moment of Mania Weekend goes to Stone Cold. This man must have been knocking back some Steveweiser’s Sunday night too, because that’s the only logical explanation for him missing that WIDE ASS RAMP on the side of the stage. Watching Austin whip around the ring and nail the crowd barrier is the type of tomfoolery you’d expect from a drunk redneck. The icing on the cake was that woman in the front row flopping like LeBron James; 2-3 second delay and all. Stone Cold was fully prepared to commit vehicular manslaughter and rack up a DWI in the process to make sure he announced that attendance record. What a pro. 

Breaking Even: The Man Comes Around for Judgment Day

— After watching it develop on RAW with the title swap and Becky turning on Lyra, Liv & Raquel being soundly defeated on Night 2 suddenly doesn’t seem quite as egregious as it initially did. Morgan still should be showcased more prominently; beyond just becoming a 26-time Tag Team Champion with Rodriquez. But hey, the division needs at least one consistently booked tandem to justify its existence.    

Jackpot: Battle of the Bitchy Blondes

— Wooooo this was as chippy as Stratton’s tooth afterwards. Or so it seemed at first when the camera guy got all up close and personal. I know a lot of people were torn on the quality of this match, but it fit the chaotic nature of their feud. Tiffy went into WM41 as a huge underdog despite being the champion, but she rolled with the punches, and earned hella respect for toughing it out against Flair who appeared to be sandbagging Stratton towards the ending. There were a few exchanges where Tiffy looked out on her feet, and I began to wonder if she was concussed. Congrats to the less plastic of the two for showing she’s the real deal when it counted most. 

Shortchanged at the Checkout: John Cena Makes History and The Crowd Goes Mild 

— I can’t even use the tagline ‘Better Luck Next Time’ in this instance; not with it being his last time and all. Ahhhh where to begin. It had the big fight feel. The fans were amped and ready to witness history. 20-25 minutes later, Cena won his 17th World Championship after hitting Rhodes with a low blow and the title belt, and I sat there dumbstruck thinking “that’s it?”. Excuse me for anticipating the completion, or at the very least a continuation, of the story that began at Elimination Chamber. We’ve been conditioned to expect surprise appearances and various interference based on what transpired at the conclusion of last year’s WrestleMania, so what gives? No Rock? No Seth Rollins? Nope, just Travis Scott paying Cody back for his cheapshot in Toronto. That ripoff sucked worse than a bandaid that’s glued itself to your body hair after being left on for too long. 

The Final Boss has since explained his absence on Easter Sunday, and apparently he no longer considers himself The Final Boss, which has gone over like an egg-scented fart in church. A thrown together angle designed solely to increase ticket sales for Mania, and now the rest is on John Cena to figure it out as the year progresses. This can’t be the grand plan, right? It is??? Dear Lord, pray for us. The only thing more mindblowing than The Rock washing his hands of the entire ordeal is WWE releasing a Netflix series this summer that’s gonna kill what’s left of kayfabe. 

Rodes versus Cena failed to live up to the precedent set by Cody’s pair of instant classics against Roman at WM39 & 40, and to think that might’ve been done by design is a truly depressing thought. I do believe there’s some truth to the theory that John Cena intentionally dulled down the Night 2 main event to piss off the fans, which is the most heelest shit a wrestler could ever do. It’s a dangerous game to play though, because where do you draw the line between denying the fans enjoyment and not giving them their money’s worth? These ticket prices are outrageous enough as is without being duped out of a proper WrestleMania main event.  

Between Cody’s multiple references during the leadup about how Cena can’t wrestle and the latter saying he didn’t even need to wrestle to win at WM41, we probably should’ve seen this coming. Now we’re all wishing Rhodes had been the one to join the dark side at Elimination Chamber, as was the original plan. Thanks again for squashing that, Dwayne. 

Flagbearing farewell Cena fighting for pride and honor in Las Vegas against evil corporate Cody suddenly doesn’t sound so bad, does it? What’s scary is there’s a strong possibility that Mister Hair Transplant not only holds the WWE Universal Title (or whatever they’re gonna call it now) hostage for the majority of 2025, but Cena will likely work all his remaining title defenses the same way he did WMM41. One last match against arch rival Randy Orton in his hometown with the roles reversed sounds pretty damn appetizing, until the reality of the situation starts to set in and cause nausea.

Is John Cena purposefully ruining wrestling by taking the fun out of it? The counters, the nearfalls, the false finishes, the roller coaster of emotions. Is that what he meant? This man has taken method acting to a whole other level, and you’ve seen the movies Cena’s been in. It doesn’t translate. 

My hot take? In his attempt to do something totally out of the box, John Cena has overthought this entire heel run and shown he’s not capable of selling himself as a believable bad guy. The man is such an unmistakable babyface that, even after WrestleMania, fans are blaming everyone BUT him. Triple H, The Rock, Cody, etc. He’s tried to strip away everything that’s synonymous with his song and dance by doing the opposite, but nobody’s interested in any of that without a captivating story to support the transformation. All that heat Cena felt on his first appearance on RAW following Elimination Chamber has slowly but surely evaporated into nothingness. 

And now WWE is literally stuck between a rock and a hard place because what’s the alternative? The cat’s out of the bag now. Dwayne Johnson has severed ties with this whole Cena heel thing, and if John intends on doing the same shtick he’s given us thus far, it’s gonna get ugly fast. We’re talking “go away” heat within the next month or two, which would be a shitty way to ring out Cena’s farewell tour. 

Fans have been questioning the creative direction since John’s first post-turn promo, but there was always that reassurance of The Rock eventually returning to loop everything back together. To fill the blanks. To advance the storyline. Well Dwayne just chucked that safety net right off the fucking boat, so what now? Does Triple H call an audible and end Cena’s title reign sooner than planned? Does immediate action need to be taken, or are we panicking before allowing the story to develop? Am I still suffering from wishful thinking? Or did The Rock just write WWE’s Creative Team into a corner with no satisfying conclusion?

And here I was willing to give Dwayne the benefit of the doubt after Elimination Chamber filled me with an incredible sense of excitement and optimism. The comedown is very real at the moment. Bummer, but at least I have the formation of Heyman’s new crew to fill that void for the time being. 

Oh, and lost in all this is the fact that nobody’s talking about Cody in the aftermath. Rhodes completes this generational story arc, the fans are wildly supportive, he defeats all threats to his throne for a whole calendar year, and now suddenly looks like a naive dumbass who’s just a minor foil in John Cena’s final chapter. Cody’s stock has somehow dropped so steeply since WM41 went off the air that I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s the WWE star Joe Hendry was referring to showing up at TNA Rebellion in his tour bus. I’ve gotta say… for a guy who gives the impression that he has Cody’s best interest at heart, The Rock sure does have a habit of screwing Rhodes over in and outside of the ring.