John Cena Announces WWE Retirement
16-time World Champ reveals plans to wind down in-ring career during Money in the Bank PLE.
John Cena announced Saturday night that he will retire from in-ring competition in 2025 after one final farewell tour.
The news, which Cena broke during Money in the Bank while wielding a towel reading "The Last Time is Now," stunned fans in attendance, but shouldn't come as a terrible surprise in many ways considering how infrequently Cena has appeared in recent years and how his acting career has taken off during that time.
During the post-PLE press conference, the 16-time World Champion revealed more details of the deal he worked out with WWE, most notably that this retirement tour will run from January to December of 2025, with the total number of events "hovering in the mid-30s to 40s" throughout the year, including several major shows. He would not speculate on a final match opponent.
Cena said that after his in-ring career ends, he would remain "in the WWE family in some capacity for an extended time to come," though he would hang up his jorts and wear a suit and tie.
Some notes on John Cena's retirement:
Advertisement- He could work 30-40 events and plans to work from January to December.- He's still juggling some other things.- He will remain in the WWE family after his in-ring retirement.- Will not be in jorts after he retires. He's going to suit… pic.twitter.com/cOArT4PQOy
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) July 7, 2024
Cena also noted that he hasn't won many matches in recent years. In fact, he hasn't won a televised singles match since Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018, losing singles bouts to The Fiend, Roman Reigns, Austin Theory, and Solo Sikoa. His most recent televised match was on the Raw after WrestleMania 40, when he teamed with new Tag Champs Miz and R-Truth to defeat Judgment Day.
Debuting in 2002, Cena quickly became one of the most popular -- and then famously the most polarizing -- superstars in the company, dominating the scene for more than a decade before stepping into a part-time role that grew more sporadic over time.
For what it's worth, CM Punk followed Cena at the press conference and scoffed at the notion that Cena, 47, would hold to his retirement pledge after wrestling his "last match" next year, joking that he'd pull him out of retirement 15 years later.