What do John Cena and holidays have in common? They only come around a few times a year, and each one becomes more and more special as the years go on.

Now sure, Cena did just have a pretty lengthy run in WWE last fall during the SAG-AFTRA strike and will inevitably do something for the promotion in 2024 if for no other reason than to keep his match streak alive for another year, but as he approaches his final run in WWE, Superstars will begin lining up to get one final shot at “The Champ.”

But could that line include stars outside of WWE?

Discussing his wrestling goals in an interview with Matt Hardy, TNA star Joe Hendry boldly declared that he wants a crack at Cena before he hands it up, as he believes he could produce a viral moment with the first-ballot Hall of Famer.

“I’ve seen things happen in my life that have got no business happening. I started amateur wrestling at 26 years old, and I became a two-time national champion just because I believed that I was going to run through the competition. Lord knows how I did it, but it happened. I’ve had this happen where there’s things in my life that have no business happening, and there’s something that Dorian Yates said, he said, ‘Why not me?’ I’m kind of in that mindset,” Joe Hendry told Matt Hardy via Fightful.

“So I told this story about John Cena, and then I just kept seeing John Cena, kept seeing John Cena. Then I saw something about, ‘Oh, he’s rumored to wrestle at next [WrestleMania]. Then I thought to myself, ‘Well, Jordynne [Grace] did the Rumble.’ I’m looking at the reaction, I’m saying, ‘The gap from where I am right now to facing John Cena is smaller than the gap that I’ve taken to get here.’ I’m thinking, ‘Why the h*ll not?’ My clip is WWE’s biggest clip on X this year. So I know I’m bringing something to the table, and I’m doing great business for TNA and WWE. I really believe I’m being a great soldier for both of them right now. So I’m gonna trust myself to be bold and say why can I not put my name in the hat to be the next person that wrestles John Cena? Why not? Because things happen in the business that have never happened before all the time, and I feel I can make a strong argument to do it.”

Should WWE give Hendry a crack at Cena? 100 percent, the moment would be incredible and could set the “Prestigious One” up a nice move to RAW or SmackDown when his contract expires. Will it happen? Eh, probably not, as it's hard to imagine the promotion, even down Vince McMahon, would give such a big push to an outside star.

Cody Rhodes wants to stay on the John Cena babyface path.

Speaking of John Cena, arguably his biggest disciple in 2024 is none other than Cody Rhodes, the babyface champion who currently holds the WWE Title on SmackDown.

Sitting down for an interview with WWE fan Ryan Clark and his co-hosts on The Pivot, Rhodes discussed the roles of babyfaces and heels in professional wrestling, especially in 2024, and let it be known that if he were to embrace his inner Homelander, it would be more like the “Final Boss” than “Hollywood” Rock.

“Being a heel in wrestling, it's very hard to be a heel today. What is a heel? If a heel is trying to actively take something away that you like. You'll hear people in wrestling say there is a wrong type of heat. There is truly no such thing as the wrong type of heat as long as you can manage it. As long as you can take it. Today, people get canceled for everything. Every hour, somebody is getting canceled and uncanceled. A heel's job is to get canceled. A heel's job is to not be cool and not sell merch. In wresting, the term has gotten more identified with The Rock types that aren't really heels. He's just The Rock. He's in a Disney movie. He's beloved. Watching him is a prime example. You have to really go to lengths to upset people and do something, Cody Rhodes explained on The Pivot via Fightful.

“In this case, he upset them greatly because he wa taking away a spot. He was smart enough to know, ‘that's a good spot to be in.' Most people are uncomfortable in that spot. Most people don't want to explore being hated. John Bradshaw Layfield, you couldn't sell his merch. Even in his hometown. If there were JBL shirts, he would go up to the stands personally and make sure they were not there. He was meant to be hated. He wanted you cheering for John (Cena) and Eddie Guerrero. That is a hard ask. There is a beauty if you can commit to being a bad guy. It's a unique space creatively. You have to be really vulnerable and open and blood hungry in terms of how you are on the microphone.

“There is a growing sect of fans that want to see that happen for me at some point. If you're really wishing for that, it's scorched earth. Then you might be, ‘We don't like that.' You have to really go scorched earth and in 2024, that is hard for anyone to understand. You're not meant to be cool. You're not meant to be the next Rock. You're meant to be a bad guy.”

Technically speaking, Rhodes is correct; John Cena's career was always meant to get fans excited and to sell merch for “The Face That Runs the Place.” While Rhodes does have a very hellish, jock attitude that runs plenty of people the wrong way, if he were to actually turn heel, he would be more like the murderous Homelander than the guy dealing with the ups and downs of superpowered fatherhood, and fans may not be able to put that back into the bottle even if they ultimately want to.