Raw recap & reactions: John Cena breaks up with us (2025)

Bad, Bad Man

“You lost your time to talk!”

For about thirty minutes, John Cena John Cena held court on a Monday night in Brussels. In what was possibly WWE’s most important angle follow-up in its history, Johnny delivered like his water broke after nine months. And he did so by doing something he almost did in 2012: He became wrestling’s George Costanza.

For anyone not familiar with the reference, there came a moment on Seinfeld when George decided that doing the opposite of every instinct he ever had was the right move. If his usual move was to twiddle his thumbs rather than talk to a beautiful woman, he did the latter.

On an interview for his dream job with the New York Yankees, he squelched his inkling to suck up and was brutally honest with management about their job performances. John showed that through complaining, whining, and taking pity on himself. He didn’t hustle to the ring. He showed no loyalty to anyone but himself, and he disrespected the fans who made him a star for two decades. And rather than debut with new music or a different look, he kept everything the same.

Why? Because he said we don’t deserve anything new. It’s the exact opposite of what most expect from a heel turn. John was angry at the fans—and shoutout to Jean Claude Van Damme’s homeland for being the best crowd ever—but that beneath that anger was hurt. Much like Bret Hart a little less than 30 years ago, John’s new alignment came because he believes we betrayed him. And to hear him tell it, this thing was coming for a long time.

What makes a heel turn great is being able to look back at moments throughout history and connect the dots. He who shall not be named didn’t receive the warmest welcome in WCW, so it made sense that he spray painted his beard black two years after arriving. John painted a picture of a man who was never accepted and did everything in his power to earn that acceptance.

Yes, he was booed on his first night. Yes, there were moments where he was unquestionably the coolest guy in the territory, but also yes, those moments seemed fleeting. And no matter how hard people booed, he just kept winning to, in his eyes, turn those jeers into cheers. It’s an incredible way to couch this turn on his terms, which is what a heel should do, and also make the pieces fit even if they’re a little jagged.

But what about the Cenation? The kids who never stopped believing and R-Truth? He had static for them too!

He lambasted that kid, and everyone else, for not giving anything to him. He’s given his fans everything but how have they supported him? It was such a brilliant inverse of his character. It showed his insecurities and stuck to his holier than thou script because he is the one breaking up with us. This is a toxic relationship and he is the victim. He’s the one always giving and not getting. He’s the one putting everything on the line while seeing no return for his efforts. And he’s the one who shows all the love but questions the adoration sent in his direction because he believes it comes from an insincere place.

By the time Cody Rhodes hit the ring, the work was done. The crowd was fully against John and ready for someone to shut him up. But Cody wanted no parts of that.

I thought John might avenge those words later in the episode because there’s no way the top heel can look that pathetic. But I was wrong. More importantly, I think it was the right move. Let him look pathetic for a week. Let it sink in that this is who he is while Cody drops his guard due to disappointment. It feels right and warranted. My only regret is we won’t see him (pun intended) until next week.

This was a home run and a testament to everything John Cena is and was in that ring. This enforces everything he said, but I will definitely appreciate him more once he’s gone than I did when he was around.

Hi, John. It’s me, I’m the problem.

B-Sides

Legal Drug Money

So this is goofy and I hope they make it easier than this. Please don’t let Rhea Ripley find some legal represtatnion that says her signing a contract means she’s a part of Bianca Belair and IYO SKY’s match. Especially after Adam Pearce shouted his lungs out that it doesn’t work that way. My hope is that IYO demands Adam put her in the match to prove she’s better than both of these women since they’re both taking her for granted. That’s my hope. But that contract signing looms larger over my head than a statute of Dikembe Mutumbo. I can’t shake the feeling we’re going that route. IF it has to happen, let’s just make it silly rather than even pretending this is a serious thing, while acknowledging that if Rhea can do that, what’s stopping anyone else from doing the same thing?

That aside, I liked the women getting physical and the follow up segment with them getting more physical. Bianca and IYO fighting over who gets to fight Bianca tickled the part of my brain that loves The Three Stooges. I’m down for the end result, I just hope the way we get there doesn’t make my head hurt.

Rarities

• What’s the big news coming out of Penta’s No Hold Barred Match with Ludwig Kaiser? Well, for one, I wish they utilized more holds. WWE has a nasty habit of constricting their no holds barred matches rather than letting them go wild. The best moment for me came when Ludwig held a chair to Penta’s throat and demanded that man say he was afraid. It came late in their mini feud but picking on the man with no fear simply to see if that moniker holds up is an interesting angle. Ludwig has the ferociousness and ego to pull off that sort of thing. But alas, no use crying over spilled angles. The next big thing is Penta put his sights squarely on the Intercontinental championship. Which tied directly into...
• Dirty Dom wants Penta to join the Judgment Day. How the f ever, that furthered the divide between him and Finn Balor. Why? Well, because Finn wants the IC championship too! Now, Dirty Dom claimed ignorance about Penta wanting the Intercontinental championship, which prompted a hilarious look and response from Carlito: “You don’t watch the show, do you?” I cackled.
• And sure enough, guess who showed up during a very dope main event match between Finn and Bron Breakker for the Intercontinental championship? If you said Shawn Michaels, then you too don’t watch the show. Late in the proceedings, Dom & Carlito made their way ringside to lend some very physical support to their guy. Of course things went sideways and Dom did a lot more harm than good. With Finn perched on the top rope, Dom attacked Bron. But that attack shook the rope, causing Finn to fall. Finn argued with Dom while Bron took out Carlito, smashed Dom, then put the finishing touches on Finn. That not only created more drama for Judgment Day but it put Penta firmly in the picture as the man who broke up the post match brawl. Penta saved Bron to show he’s an honorable man, and even handed him his belt. Does Finn get back in this for another triple threat at Mania? I’m not convinced. I think there’s some Judgment Day work ahead of us with either the Dirty One or the Prince making an exit.
• Dakota KAI picked up a nice win over Ivy Nile. A short but effective match that furthered the beef between American Made and the LWO. In fact, one might say Ivy took the L becuase LWO distracted her as they put hands on her teammates, which included Master Chad (sans mask).
• And that led into a tag match between LWO and American Made. Of course LWO won but of course the masked man showed up again. See, earlier in the show Chad came out rocking a suit. The masked man came out rocking a track suit. Therefore they can’t be the same person! But this guy who so isn’t Chad Gable got the better of LWO and then ran out of the building. This is fun.
• Seth Rollins is heading to SmackDown to tango with CM Punk and Roman Reigns. I liked his promo, didn’t love it. The moment that got me is when he noted that after all this time and even with his own wise man, Roman Reigns still can’t put together a great game plan. We’ll see what comes next in Italy.

This was an efficient and perfectly synced Monday Afternoon Raw. Everything fit together like a Swiss watch, with one thing leading to the next. There was no wasted energy or words. The crowd had a lot to do with my enjoyment too, as I note my belief that we should just have every wrestling show in Europe. Would it suck that I can’t see anything live? Yeah. But I’ll sacrifice that if it means crowds this hot. Although one can argue they’re only this hot because live events are a rarity. Either way, Brussels deserves a huge pat on the back. Raw cooked on all cylinders a month out from Las Vegas.

What say you, cagesiders? What did you think of John’s explanation?