John Cena, a 16-time champion and future WWE Hall of Famer, has retired from in-ring competition. Cena, 47, announced a surprise appearance at the Money in the Bank Pay-Per-View event in Canada.
He revealed that 2025 would mark his final year in professional wrestling. He plans to appear at major events, including the first RAW episode of the year, the Royal Rumble, the Elimination Chamber, and his last match at WWE WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.
John Cena Emotional Farewell:
Cena officially declared his retirement in an emotional promo, calling it the most heartbreaking promo of his career.
WWE Head of Creative Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque shared a video clip of the two hugging backstage, captioned ‘The Greatest of All Time.’
Cena later clarified his plans to wrestle 30-40 dates before his final match, after which he will retire his iconic jorts and make subsequent appearances in suits.
End of an Era:
Cena’s retirement marks the end of an illustrious 23-year career with WWE’s main roster. During that time, he won the WWE championship 13 times and the world heavyweight title three times, tying with Ric Flair for the most top title wins.
Since transitioning to part-time status in 2018, Cena has made sporadic appearances to ‘put talent over,’ helping to elevate younger wrestlers. His last match was at Crown Jewel 2023, where he lost to Solo Sikoa.
WrestleMania Highlights and Recent Struggles:
Cena has headlined five WrestleManias, WWE’s flagship event, with his last win coming in 2017. In recent years, however, Cena’s WrestleMania appearances have been marked by losses, including a defeat to Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36, absences at WrestleManias 37 and 38, a loss to Austin Theory at WrestleMania 39, and a surprise return to assist Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40.
