John Cena retirement: Potential opponents and considerations for the legendary superstar as he prepares to retire
John Cena appeared at the WWE Money in the Bank premium live event over the weekend, using this surprise appearance to announce his full retirement from wrestling. However, the Cena show is not over yet, as he has announced that he will compete until “all the way” to 2025 before he is officially and officially gone. Complete withdrawal from in-ring competition,
It’s unclear what Cena means by competing throughout the year, but Cena has reportedly already committed to the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, and WrestleMania 41.
With such a big announcement, speculation is rife about what 2025 could hold for one of the biggest stars in WWE history. Could Cena win a world title for the 17th time in his career, breaking Ric Flair’s record for most World Champions? Could he win a singles match for the first time since 2018?
Let’s have some fun and take a look at some potential stops during the John Cena retirement tour.
Winning the Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber
Cena’s last stint in WWE should not be like his last few sporadic appearances, where Cena was used to push up younger talent, losing singles matches to Austin Theory and Solo Sequoia. This time around, Cena needs to enjoy time as a major player in the main event.
When Cena does head to WrestleMania, it should be in a main event role, not a random midcard match. As mentioned, another run as World Champion would give Cena the record for most runs as World Champion in wrestling history. Cena can get the necessary title shot at WrestleMania 41 in one of two ways, either by winning the Royal Rumble or by winning Elimination Chamber, which are scheduled to take place in January and February, respectively.
If WWE plans on giving Cena the title shot and he does not plan on competing after WrestleMania, there could also be an option of him winning the World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble event, but it seems like there isn’t enough time to include Cena in a world title match.
Winning the World Heavyweight Championship
Assuming Cena wins any of the above matches and gets a solid chance to win the title at WrestleMania, it would make sense for him to run for the World Heavyweight Championship. The Undisputed WWE Championship held by Cody Rhodes could be tied up in some version of the match with someone from The Bloodline. Rhodes vs. Cena would get a lot of attention as an epic clash of elite-tier babyfaces, but the easier route for Cena would be to run for the World Heavyweight Championship. It also makes sense if you buy into the thought that Cena’s retirement tour will help give Raw’s transition to Netflix a big kick-off.
At least for now, it looks like Gunther will win the World Heavyweight Championship before the end of the year, possibly before SummerSlam. Cena has a history of basically playing the wrestling version of a superhero, which would pair well with a powerful heel like Gunther.
Retro rivalry with Randy Orton
Orton and Cena have a long history, including multiple pay-per-view matches. Cena’s final years should be remembered as one of their most iconic rivalries and key points in his career. Orton has been involved in storylines related to Bloodline since returning from injury, but he doesn’t really have a defined direction as a singles wrestler.
It looks like that could change soon for Orton, possibly with a heel turn. If Orton turns heel in the coming months, he could become a great foil for Cena at some point during his return. This could happen before or after a potential Cena title win, but fans will certainly be ready to accept the return of one of the defining rivalries of the late 2000s and early 2010s in WWE.
Other potential Cena opponents
- With The Rock back, WWE could generate a lot of interest by pairing Cena and The Rock for one final match. It seems unlikely that would happen due to Rock being so deeply invested in the overall Bloodline storyline and splitting up the combined power of The Rock and Cena would probably be the best business move. Still, the idea of these two giants clashing is enough to get the blood boiling.
- CM Punk and Cena put on the best match of Cena’s career and one of the best matches in WWE history at Money in the Bank 2011. Punk and Cena are a magical pairing. Punk is everything Cena is not, a Punk who had to work very hard to get to the top of a company that had picked on Cena before he could make a single ripple. Again, a classic Cena callback should be on the menu for 2025.
- There’s not enough juice for a long program, but the reintroduction of Uncle Howdy and his Wyatt Sick6 could make for an interesting short program with Cena. After all, Cena did have an iconic pandemic WrestleMania “match” with Bray Wyatt at the Firefly Funhouse. Cena playing that game with Wyatt’s brother for a bit would be a fun and somewhat touching moment.
