John Cena Reveals Surprising WWE Retirement Plans
How much longer does 'Big Match John' want to wrestle, and where does he want to end his career?
John Cena surprisingly chose London's O2 Arena for the ideal site of his last ever match, and has confirmed that the time for such a thing may well be approaching.
He spoke on his possible retirement plans whilst on the media tour for his latest movie Argyle, noting on BBC One's The One Show that;
“Fans in the UK...WWE fans... they’re the best. Fans in London specifically they will let you know how they feel, and I don’t think I’ll be able to choose my opponent but if I could choose a venue it’d be the O2 in London.”
He fleshed this out further during an interview that aired hours later on Entertainment Tonight in the States. Speaking definitively on the matter, he said;
“That’s not a maybe...That time is gonna come and it’s gonna come soon...I’m gonna be 47 this year. I feel great. So inside I feel great, but I know what it takes to be a WWE performer night in and night out and I don’t ever wanna just go out there and do it to do it...I wanna have the passion — the same passion as the fanbase — and I wanna give them exactly what they give me. The miles on the speedometer say 'hey, that's gotta be done before 50' [Years Old]".
On what 2024 holds, Cena added;
“I’ve had at least one match every year in WWE for the past 23 years...I’ve never missed a year, and as long as I can perform, I don’t intend to miss a year.”
Cena worked eight matches alongside a host of other Raw and SmackDown appearances in 2023 thanks in-part to the SAG-AFTRA strike pausing his Hollywood obligations. That was more than his singular appearance in 2022 but less than the 15 dates he made in 2021 when WWE returned to the road following when pandemic lockdowns ended.