Say "Goodbye" To John Cena On WWE SmackDown After Tonight... (WWE News)
Tonight's WWE SmackDown expected to be 17-time World Champion John Cena's last before retiring.
Tonight's WWE SmackDown is expected to be John Cena's last appearance on the blue brand before retiring at the end of the year.
WrestleVotes' WWE sources "quietly expect" this to be the case. The soon-to-retire legend has only seven dates left on his farewell tour, only two of which are still to be announced, meaning him showing up on SmackDown again after tonight isn't likely.
Poetically, tonight's venue - Chicago, IL's Allstate Arena - is the same in which Cena made his SmackDown debut in June 2002.
WrestleVotes tweeted:
We’re told some within WWE are quietly expecting tomorrow night to be John Cena’s final SmackDown. According to a source, with only seven remaining dates left—and just two yet to be announced—it’s unlikely another will be a SmackDown event, meaning Cena will have debuted and ended his run on the blue brand in the very same building, Chicago’s Allstate Arena.
WWE announced Cena's appearance on the 5 September SmackDown back in July. The 17-time World Champion was also announced for next Monday's Raw at the time. The promotion has actively advertised tonight as Cena's final WWE appearance in Chicago.
Cena, 48, will wrestle his final WWE match in December. WWE has yet to confirm the exact show, location, or opponent, but Cena's Boston, MA hometown has been speculated.
A match between Cena and the returning Brock Lesnar is expected before John's retirement, following 'The Beast Incarnate' returning to WWE and attacking Cena at SummerSlam 2025. This was Lesnar's first appearance in 18 months, since being cited 44 times in Janel Grant's sex trafficking lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE.