The time has eventually arrived. John Cena has announced his retirement from in-ring competition. This will come into effect from next year. He has competed for over two decades. However, his in-ring appearances have become sporadic for the past 7 years. It's almost a logical decision that was made.
He said to a crowd this past Saturday night, "The 2025 Royal Rumble will be my last." The 2025 Elimination Chamber will be my last. And I’m here tonight to announce that in Las Vegas, WrestleMania 2025 will be the last I compete in." Towards the end of his speech, the fans chanted, "Thank you, Cena." He called it an "incredible gesture of kindness."
During his time in the ring, he became: a 16 time WWE Champion; 2x Royal Rumble match winner and a Money in the Bank winner. Cena has always kept up with his wrestling career and persona. The star tried to address why he was choosing now to step aside, referencing the WWE “Money in the Bank” event where he was speaking.
He continued, "Why now? Because it’s 'Money in the Bank,' the ultimate symbol of opportunity,” Cena said. “And this farewell does not end tonight - it is filled with opportunities." He went on to note that WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” is moving to Netflix, making history for the company. Cena will celebrate his many "lasts" along with these "firsts."
In a post-show press conference, Cena said he will stick around WWE and WrestleMania will not be his final match. He said his farewell tour will hopefully include dozens of dates between January and December 2025, with his final in-ring match at the end.
Cena told reporters that he proposed a plan that would keep him around the franchise in different capacities, even though he won’t be competing. "I’ve always said to the audience that WWE is my home and I love it." Just because I physically feel I’m at my end, doesn’t mean I need to distance myself from something I love."
Some wrestlers who announce their retirement do end up making comebacks or guest appearances, but Cena has no plans for that. "People say they're walking away, and two years later, they come back. I want to set the record straight right now: I'm done. This is it."
"If you ever wanted to be a part of this one last time, we're going to do it as big as we can and we're fighting everybody and we hope you come enjoy the fun," he said.
With everything that's going on in his life, it's not really that surprising to find out that he will be retiring. To me, having sporadic matches are pointless. The outcome is obvious and most of them are squash matches. The hype around these wrestlers when they do appear is real and extremely high but the quality of the matches are low and as mentioned above, the matches won't pull off any shocks. Wrestling on a part-time basis can be very frustrating as it remains unknown as to when they will return or IF they return. Another example is Brock Lesnar.
When all of this is done, I guess people will be able to "see" John Cena.