Why John Cena Is Guaranteed to Defeat Cody Rhodes at WWE WrestleMania 41 in Vegas

For the sixth time in his legendary career, John Cena will compete in the main event of WrestleMania when he challenges Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship on Sunday night.

It is the first time since 2013 that Cena has competed in that spot on the biggest card of the year with a championship on the line. Much like that night in East Rutherford, New Jersey when he squared off with The Rock, he is as close to a guarantee to win gold as there is.

The former franchise player of WWE returned to the squared circle at the Royal Rumble, kicking off his Farewell Tour with a loss. A month later at Elimination Chamber, he won the same-titled men's match to cash his ticket to WrestleMania.

He then proceeded to shock the wrestling world by selling his soul to The Rock and betraying Rhodes, initiating a heel turn that drastically changed his character.

Gone was the superhero fans had known and in his place was a damaged, bitter competitor in the sunset of his career, with one last chance to etch his name in the history books by capturing a record-breaking 17th world championship.

It was a brand-new role for Cena. He spent so long preaching the values of hustle, loyalty and respect that the idea of him taking the leap into a heel run in his final year with WWE was seemingly unfathomable.

But this is where we are entering the most important show of the year and his final dance on the grand stage.

Cena did not have to make that change. He could have easily rolled into WrestleMania, played his greatest hits, pandered to the crowd, won the title and gone away in December, and everyone would have been happy.

That he made the change he did and has successfully transitioned into a villain is the reason he is guaranteed to win Sunday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

WWE did not go through the trouble it did, and Cena did not take the risk he did, just to have him lose to Rhodes on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

There is a bigger story at play here that will write its latest chapter at WrestleMania. It's a chapter that relies on Cena winning the title and embarking on one last great run in WWE before dropping the gold and turning babyface so he can end his career as a beloved star.

We will all get to that part later, but for now, Cena as champion is a guarantee. Otherwise, Triple H and the creative team will have fumbled one of the most significant moments in modern WWE history, a turn as historically important as Hulk Hogan's at Bash at the Beach in 1996.