John Cena Announces Plans For Retirement
16-Time World Champion To Step Away After 2025
WWE’s July PLE (Premium Live Event) took place Saturday in Toronto in front of a sold-out crowd that saw Drew McIntyre unsuccessfully cash in his Money in the Bank contract vs Damian Priest and Seth Rollins, thanks to CM Punk, Tiffany Stratton capture the Women’s MITB briefcase and Solo Sikoa pin Cody Rhodes. The biggest news had nothing to do with the squared circle.
16-time world champion, John Cena, returned to the ring to announce his plans to retire from professional wrestling in 2025. Cena clarified his comments in the press conference following MITB that he will have around 30 or 40 events from January 2025 through December.
Cena, 47, has said for years he wouldn’t wrestle past 50, but no one ever stays retired forever. Even CM Punk joked about pulling Cena back into the ring in 15 years.
Cena signed with WWE in 2001 and started his career in OVW (Ohio Valley Wrestling) until 2002 when he debuted on Smackdown and his career took off. He won his first WWE Championship in 2005 vs JBL and the rest is history.
The 16 world championships for Cena is truly remarkable and maybe he gets to 17 to pass Ric Flair but what he has done outside the ring impresses me the most. In 2022, Cena set the Guinness World record for most Make-a-Wishes at 650. Cena is an incredible human for what he has done to help fans, mostly children, highlighted in the videos below.
I am intrigued with the possibilities of who could be some of John Cena’s final opponents. Some of the newer faces in WWE like Gunther, Bron Breakker, Logan Paul, LA Knight and Ilja Dragunov come to mind and could have their careers elevated thanks to John Cena. Cena could reignite his story with Austin Theory, who took down Cena at Wrestlemania 39. The way Wrestlemania 40 ended with The Rock and John Cena being involved in the main event, it could be thrice in a lifetime.
To me, the final opponents for John Cena are simple. Cody Rhodes, CM Punk and Randy Orton. Cody Rhodes is now the man in WWE and a program with John Cena only helps Cody but then you have to wonder who is the heel in that feud as Cena hasn’t been a heel in over 20 years.
CM Punk and John Cena have a historic rivalry dating back to Money in the Bank in Chicago in 2011 when CM Punk defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship and left the company with the title, returning a few days later. They had one of the best matches of all time on Raw in 2013 with the opportunity to face the Rock at Wrestlemania.
Randy Orton and John Cena have been linked since their early days in 2002 in OVW and have had one of the best feuds of the past 25 years. To me, Orton is the best booking decision for the few feud of John Cena’s career.
John Cena will step away from the ring at the end of 2025 but his legacy will live on forever for what he has done for the sport and fans of professional wrestling. We will never give up and always embrace Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect thanks to John Cena.