John Cena will compete in Elimination Chamber this Saturday in Toronto for an opportunity to face Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Wrestling legend Dutch Mantell recently shared his perspective on why Cena might not be the right choice to win the match.
When Cena began his farewell tour on Raw’s Netflix debut, he expressed his desire to win a record-breaking 17th World Title. He entered the Royal Rumble and came close to winning before Jey Uso eliminated him.
During an episode of his Story Time podcast, Mantell examined the logical challenges of having Cena win at Elimination Chamber.
I don’t know how it works. It doesn’t really grab me, but if Cena could do some really really deep interviews about it because what your first thought when you hear that Cena and Cody Rhodes are going to have a match? Who’s going to win? But first thing you say is that Cody’s gonna win unless something gives you the feeling that Cena is really going to tip is his last match, if he wins what happens then?
Mantell continued his analysis by considering the timeline of Cena’s farewell tour:
If he says ‘I’m finishing up in December, that’s my last match,’ he’s not going to leave as a champion because he is either gotta get beat or he’s got to give it up.
The current storyline landscape heading into WrestleMania 41 involves multiple intersecting narratives. If Cena wins at Elimination Chamber, questions arise about whether he should defeat Rhodes, who is currently involved in a storyline with The Rock.
A loss for Cena at Elimination Chamber would maintain the narrative focus on his farewell tour and quest to break Ric Flair’s championship record. This creates a compelling story arc regardless of Saturday’s outcome.
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