John Cena made his debut on WWE SmackDown in October of 2000, and was soon relied upon to help fill a huge void left by the company’s ‘Attitude Era’ trailblazers like ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, but at 47 years of age, and having now taken Hollywood by storm, Cena has announced that he plans to retire from ring. Fortunately, there will be plenty of opportunities to see the legend before he hangs up his famous jorts however. M&F has all the info on John Cena’s retirement.
John Cena is one of those rare professional wrestlers that becomes bigger than the industry he started out in. With his chiselled good looks and insane physique, the man from West Newbury, Massachusetts grappled and even rapped his way to stardom, gracing multiple Muscle & Fitness covers and leading the charge of WWE’s “Ruthless Aggression” era. Decades on, and with countless magical moments behind him, one of the greatest to ever step in the squared circle will be giving fans a final victory lap in 2025.
John Cena’s 5 Biggest Accomplishments in WWE?
- 16-time world heavyweight champion
- 5-time United States champion
- 4-time tag team champion
- 2-time Royal Rumble winner (2008, 2013)
- Money in the Bank brie winner (2012)
While the full list of Super Cena’s accomplishments in the ring deserves its own story, this performer is perhaps most proud of being a prolific Make-A-Wish wish granter. In 2002, the Guinness Book of World Records honored him for most number of wishes granted by a single person. That number was an astonishing 650 back then, and continues to rise as the star still takes time out to put smiles on faces today. “If I can offer a fantastic experience, I’ll be first in line to do my part,” explained Cena in an interview with Reuters.
John Cena’s retirement plan from WWE?
On Sunday, July 6 in Toronto, Canada in a surprise announcement during WWE’s Money in the Bank 2024 premium live event, Cena explained that he plans to:
- Be part of WWE television programming when it heads to Netflix in January 2025
- Enter the 2025 WWE Royal Rumble on Feb 1 in Indianapolis, IN.
- Wrestle on the 2025 Elimination Chamber card (date and location to be confirmed)
- Wrestle his final WrestleMania match on either April 19 or 20, 2025 in Las Vegas, NV
During a press conference later that evening, Cena explained that he will continue to wrestle past WrestleMania 41 in Sin City, hoping to fulfill somewhere between 30-40 appearances in all, meaning that the star may well show up in your local city or an area near you before the ‘Doctor of Thuganomics’ holds his last appointment. However, he really does plan to wrestle his last ever match in 2025. “If you’re a WWE superstar, if you want some, hurry up and come get some,” said the legend at Money in the Bank. Cena currently ties with Ric Flair for holding a record 16 world titles. The WWE Universe now waits with baited breath to see if he can climb the mountain one more time.