John Cena To Face The Rock In His Retirement Match?, CM Punk’s WWE Return Script Trashed By Triple H, Raini Rodriguez Reacts To RAW Visit
John Cena recently reflected on a piece of invaluable advice he received from the late Eddie Guerrero during their time together on SmackDown in the early 2000s.
At the time, Cena was still finding his footing in WWE, while Guerrero was already a respected veteran. The two shared the ring several times both on and off television, and Guerrero’s guidance left a lasting impression on the future 16-time World Champion.
Speaking at Fan Expo Denver, Cena was asked whether Eddie had ever shared advice with him that he now passes along to younger talent as he nears retirement. Cena confirmed he had, calling Guerrero’s wisdom some of the most impactful he’s ever received in his career. Cena said,
“For those of you who aren’t WWE fans, we’re going to go inside baseball a little bit. You’re just going to have to bear with me. You saw one match with me and Eddie Guerrero. I was lucky enough to have a bunch of live event matches with Eddie Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero is one of the greatest of all time, and for those of you who don’t know how WWE works, some matches are televised, some matches are not. So Eddie was one of the people that mentored me and one of the last individuals who was an improviser. I take a lot of my skills from Eddie Guerrero because he was a genius. Not only was he brilliant in his execution, he knew when to do things and what y’all don’t know is he was just making it up as he went along. So he was that astute to the audience. The most influential thing I learned from Eddie Guerrero and something I’ll never forget, WWE went through a boom in the Attitude Era, and then all those guys- we fired Stone Cold, The Rock left, The Undertaker got hurt. We changed the name, the XFL failed. There was a lot of upside down stuff. We started SmackDown and it had Kurt Angle as its anchor, but we brought Eddie Guerrero and a bunch of (others) like Edge and me and a bunch of other new guys and people trying to find their way. Eddie was our champion for a certain period of time, and he used to tell me that it is the night when the fewest people show up that you have to work 10 times as hard because the presence in that area isn’t as strong. When I get a crowd like this, working the room is easy. If it’s just you five in the front, I gotta give my whole self to you. Not that I don’t. But it’s on those nights where business is bad, do not ever, ever, ever phone it in. As a matter of fact, you work 100 times harder to get those people to go out and be like, ‘yo, dude, you missed that show’ and you want to go back the next time. He was a person that was able to weather the storm through some of those lesser attended events and still put on these spectacular matches. He took being the champion very seriously, and that’s something that I’ll definitely not forget under his tutelage. He also taught me to listen to the audience. I’m one of the loudest talkers out there. If you’re sitting close enough in the WWE show, you get the match before the match, but that’s okay. Because the tool I learned from Eddie Guerrero was to listen to the audience because they’re the biggest piece of energy and they’re the biggest star we have. If you don’t do something when they want you to do something, lose their attention. They’ll be generous, they’ll give you once or twice, but you lose them that third time, they don’t care about your match, and Eddie was always so surgical about not only doing the right thing, but doing it at the perfect time. He taught me to improvise, he taught me to listen, and he taught me to work hard.”
John Cena recently addressed the possibility of stepping into the ring with The Rock one last time.
The two megastars share a legendary rivalry, having clashed in back-to-back WrestleMania main events — WrestleMania 28 and 29 — each scoring one victory apiece. With the series tied at 1-1 and Cena nearing the end of his in-ring career, fans have long speculated about a potential tiebreaker.
During a panel at the Denver Fan Expo, Cena was asked whether he’d be open to one more showdown with The Rock. While he didn’t confirm anything, Cena made it clear that he’s not opposed to the idea. He said,
“Gosh, fantasy booking. For those who are not inside baseball, fantasy booking is when you take an idea in your head and you’re like, man, it would be cool if… That’s what I’m hearing here. Man, it would be cool if John Cena could fight The Rock one more time. That, to me, that would be cool. I’ve survived and kept a level head over 25 years in the WWE by not setting expectations, by showing up every single day, doing what I’m told and asked to do it to the best of my ability. Where I ask for freedom, where I ask for creative expression is not in the selection of my opponent. It is in the process of how we put forth the work to you guys. That way I can be accountable for all my failures. You guys say I buried the Nexus. I got to shoulder that cross forever because that’s me. But there are some wins along the way. There are some people that’s like, man, you’re doing your best work now, and it seems like you’re in a different place and all that. And I can live that triumph as well. I don’t like to choose opponents because a lot of times that doesn’t work out. What I like to do is get a plan and say, ‘hey, well, can I, as the artist, can I be creative with the plan?’ I’ve earned enough trust that they’ll let me do some stupid stuff, and I appreciate it.”
CM Punk shocked the wrestling world with his return to WWE at Survivor Series 2023, appearing at the end of the show following a hard-fought WarGames match. The main event saw Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, and Randy Orton score a victory over The Judgment Day — Damian Priest, Finn Balor, “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh — and Drew McIntyre.
A lot had changed in WWE since Punk’s departure after the 2014 Royal Rumble, with Triple H now steering the company’s creative direction.
In an interview with Josh Lawless of SportBIBLE, Punk revealed that Triple H stepped in to spare him from delivering a scripted promo upon his return. He said,
“I come back and I sh*t all over Randy’s moment at Survivor Series. Randy’s been gone, he’s rehabbed, he’s got a new spine. He comes back and here’s CM Punk to just step all over it. The following week, he has a match, I think it’s with Dom [Dominik Mysterio], and they go over on their time. It drastically cuts my promo time. We’re all hooting. I’m laughing about it. ‘Whatever, this is fun.’ Whatever I don’t get to say this week, I’ll just say next week, that’s the beauty of doing 52 live shows a year. I was running around with a piece of paper in my hand that had whatever I was supposed to say. I keep looking at it. Triple H gets up and comes up to me and goes, ‘What are you doing, man? You’re freaking everybody out.’ ‘What do you mean I’m freaking everybody out?’ ‘Nobody here has ever seen you hold a script in your hand and read it like you’re not just going to go out there and say whatever the hell you want.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, well, you know, I’m new around here. I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes.’ He grabbed the piece of paper, crumpled it up, and threw it out. ‘You’re CM Punk. Just go out there and talk to the people. ‘Right. Right.’ That’s what I needed to hear because I’m trying to move in a certain way and he’s like, ‘No, go be you. That’s why you’re here.’”
Raini Rodriguez had a surprise moment on WWE Monday Night RAW this week — without even being announced. While WWE spotlighted Houston icon Mattress Mack in the front row during the show, eagle-eyed fans noticed someone familiar in the background – Rodriguez herself.
The former Disney Channel star, best known for roles in Austin & Ally and the Paul Blart: Mall Cop films, was seen just behind Mack during his on-camera appearance. WWE later shared a clip of Mack’s moment on social media, highlighting his connection to Houston, and fans quickly spotted Rodriguez in the shot.
Rodriguez reacted to her unintentional cameo on social media, sharing her excitement at being caught on camera during the broadcast.
Though this wasn’t an official appearance, Rodriguez has worked with WWE before — she’s appeared in WWE content celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and has been a longtime fan of the company, often attending shows as part of the audience.
WHEN IN HOUSTON! 👀 pic.twitter.com/fDnvThRmWp
— WWE (@WWE) July 22, 2025
When in Houston…😏🤷🏽♀️ #wweraw https://t.co/73lP2gzu21
— Raini Rodriguez (@Raini_Rodriguez) July 22, 2025
(h/t – Fightful)
