John Cena Beats Cody Rhodes to Win Historic 17th WWE World Title at WrestleMania 41

John Cena made history in the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 41 on Sunday night, beating Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Championship and become a record-breaking, 17-time world champion.

Cena was toying with his food to start the match, taking his time to avoid any counters while dishing out maximum punishment to Rhodes. Just when it looked like The American Nightmare might mount a comeback, Cena gouged his eye and nearly secured the pin.

Rhodes looked nearly lifeless until he returned the favor with an eye poke of his own and finally began to show some fight.

He somehow survived three Attitude Adjustments and broke free from several STFU attempts, before landing a Cross Rhodes to hold Cena down for what would have been a three-count—if the official hadn't been knocked out moments earlier.

The interruption came from rapper Travis Scott, who sauntered to the ring and embraced Cena—only to save him moments later by dragging the referee out of the ring during another near-fall.

Rhodes challenged Scott to step inside the ropes, then dropped him with a Cross Rhodes and sent him out of the ring.

As The American Nightmare turned around, though, Cena was waiting and looked ready to hit him with the championship belt.

Rhodes was able to remove the belt from the veteran's grasp but could not find the heel within himself to strike his opponent with it. Cena instead struck with a low blow and then the belt to claim a record-breaking 17th world title.

Last month, Cena won the men's Elimination Chamber match to earn a title opportunity against Rhodes on The Grandest Stage of Them All, but it was what occurred afterward that commenced a heated and personal rivalry.

Prior to Elimination Chamber, The Rock made his return to WWE programming and presented Rhodes with a proposal. The Final Boss told him that he wanted his soul and wanted him to be his champion.

The Rock gave Rhodes until Elimination Chamber to decide, and that segment closed the night after Cena's big Chamber match win.

With Cena and Scott looking on, The American Nightmare emphatically turned The Rock down, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Cena celebrated as well and even embraced Rhodes in a hug, but it was all a setup for one of the biggest, most unexpected and most impactful heel turns of all time.

At the direction of The Rock, Cena dropped Rhodes with a low blow and then launched a vicious attack against his former friend. Cena wrapped a Rolex around his knuckles and punched Rhodes in the face and then hit him in the head with a microphone.

Cena and Scott held Rhodes down so The Rock could whip him in the back with a weight belt that had the words "Cody's soul" emblazoned on it.

After being a beloved fan favorite for more than 20 years, Cena sold out for a chance to win his 17th world title, and that seemed to light a fire under Rhodes during the build toward WrestleMania 41.

However, Cena arguably had the advantage going into the match since he had The Rock and his very real power and influence on his side.

The decision to turn his back on his fans ultimately worked in Cena's favor, as he defeated Rhodes and broke a tie with Ric Flair for the most world title reigns in major pro wrestling history.

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