7 John Cena Retirement Tour Moments Fans Hope End His Story

Shawn Michaels had Bret Hart. Stone Cold had The Rock. John Cena had… the fans. Well, he has them for one more year.

Tonight, the Leader of the Cenation returns to kick off his farewell tour on WWE Raw’s Netflix debut. As far as we know, his semi-full-time run will feature around 36 appearances, including the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, and Wrestlemania 41, as well as a number of international shows.

Retirement tours are rare in the world of professional wrestling, but it feels fitting for Cena. He was the WWE’s biggest attraction for over a decade and his relationship with the WWE Universe is unlike any other superstar’s, past or present.

At last year’s Money In The Bank press conference, the former champ was asked who he considers his biggest rival. Cena didn’t miss a beat: “That’s an easy one… The audience has been my dancing partner for over two decades.” For most of his career, “Let’s Go Cena! / Cena Sucks!” echoed emphatically through arenas, but since becoming a part-timer, those chants have been replaced by the more holistically positive sing-along to his “My Time Is Now” theme song. As the adage goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and it’s clear that fans have come to appreciate the 16-time champ’s contributions to the industry. That respect is mutual.

“I’ll never be able to put into words how much the audience means to me,” Cena reflected at that same press conference. “Without them, I’m nothing.”

Now comes the fun part. As the 47-year-old’s time ticks down, and his legendary catchphrase (“you can’t see me”) will soon ring truer than ever, we get to enjoy the final chapter of a historic career. Here’s our wishlist for the John Cena Farewell Tour.

It’s the elephant in this wishlist room, so let’s jump right into it. For many of his prime wrestling years, WWE fans clamored for a John Cena heel turn. We always knew he’d overcome any odds inevitable. We could see his signature Five Moves of Doom coming well before he leapt in the air to tackle opponents like a lineman. Let’s not forget about his colorful shirts and the jorts he’s worn for years. In life, you can expect death, taxes, and John Cena the babyface.

Cena himself revealed that a heel turn had been “real close” in 2012 before he faced The Rock at Wrestlemania XXVIII—so close, in fact, that he recorded a new theme song and collected ring gear to reflect the character shift. He even began considering how he could flip his elements of hustle, loyalty, and respect on their head. Thirteen years later, with a legacy cemented in sweat and smiles, one question remained: Would WWE dare make John Cena a heel? Equally important, how would they do it?

To properly execute a maneuver of that magnitude, WWE would have to thread the smallest of needles. Fans are smart. If you’re going to turn the unturnable man, it has to be because he’s done something truly unforgivable and gut-wrenchingly deplorable, yet also believable.

It’s safe to expect love and loyalty rather than hate and betrayal during Big Match John’s retirement tour. Still, imagine the insanity if he finally embraced his inner villain.

Cena is on record saying that his rap career is over, which is unsurprising given that the Doctor of Thuganomics has only sparingly flashed his “degree” over the years. Just ask The Rock. That said, WWE loves tapping into nostalgia, most recently via their (successful) revival of Saturday Night’s Main Event.

By no means should (nor will) John Cena portray his Doctor of Thuganomics character on a consistent basis during his retirement run. For one final night though? Where he tells Dominik Mysterio to choke on something that rhymes with stick, and throws a bag of peanuts at him? That sounds like a worthy homage, especially since the gimmick is what helped him win over the WWE Universe in the first place.

It feels like the ultimate jinx to write this, but a successful and satisfying John Cena retirement tour is contingent on his health.

To his advantage, Cena has always been bionic in nature, much like LeBron James, with his unmatched longevity, minimal injuries, and insane physique. His most serious ailment came in 2007, when he tore his pectoral muscle completely off the bone. Still, Cena proved just how durable he was, rehabbing and returning three months earlier than expected to win the Royal Rumble. That’s not normal, even for a then 29-year-old.

Now he’s 47, and he’s got the mileage to show it. He competed 300 days a year for nearly two decades, traveled the world a number of times, and routinely performed in the highest intensity matches. See: the “suplex city” squash match with Brock Lesnar.

The good news is, Cena’s 36-date schedule will enable him to focus on quality of match (and recovery) rather than quantity.

A John Cena retirement tour would feel incomplete if he doesn’t cross paths with the superstars who helped build his legacy the most.

Randy Orton is the ultimate John Cena foe; his pure evil viper character serving as the perfect foil for the Cenation Leader’s virtuous ethos. The duo have won a combined 30 world championships and competed in upwards of 250 matches. The rivalry defined the PG Era, so not pairing the two together in some capacity in 2025 would feel criminal.

Of course, there’s CM Punk, who aired his grievances about the WWE and Cena’s fixed position atop the card in his infamous pipe bomb. The promo—a direct challenge to Cena’s character and the status quo of the WWE—created an anti-hero that fans were craving, and it led to unforgettable bouts and mic exchanges between the two. You’d be hard pressed to find a more anticipated match (with higher stakes) than their Money In The Bank classic in 2011. A couple of years later, their match on Monday Night Raw was arguably just as good, if not better. Reuniting these two polarizing figures–the GOAT and the Best In The World–after a decade writes itself.

Edge no longer works for the WWE, but his AEW contract is up at the end of 2025–around when Cena’s farewell tour concludes. The Rated R Superstar perfectly encapsulated everything that John Cena wasn’t during their mid-to-late-aughts rivalry: conniving, disloyal, disrespectful, selfish. He tried anything and everything to pry the world title from John Cena’s hands, which he initially did by famously cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase at New Year’s Revolution in 2006 (after a bloodied and battered Cena barely escaped his elimination chamber match with a victory). Their electric chemistry is worth igniting one last time.

From a developmental standpoint, the best use of John Cena’s dwindling time in the squared circle is to help strategically elevate talent. Most recently, he put Roman Reigns over at Summerslam 2023, adding credibility and cache to the Tribal Chief’s 3-plus-year run as champion. What better way to ride off into the sunset than to help the next generation of stars shine?

Imagine Cena facing Gunther for the Universal Championship, the former on the receiving end of the deadliest chops in the business, or watching Bron Brekker spear Cena out of his armbands. Better yet, maybe we see Cody Rhodes—the consummate company man, much like Cena was a generation ago—go toe-to-toe on the mic and in the ring with his predecessor.

Or maybe, just maybe, we see a major AEW superstar make the shocking jump over to the WWE to prove that he can compete with the best of the best. While certainly a long shot, an MJF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman) vs. John Cena program would blow the roof off and deliver a final epic rivalry for Cena with someone poised to carry the pro wrestling torch forward.

He’s got to break the record, right?

When John Cena captured his 16th world title back in 2017, he tied The Nature Boy for most in WWE history. Winning the gold once more feels like an unspoken requisite for a John Cena retirement tour, the final accolade in an illustrious career. Fans want it, Cena deserves it, and he has his eyes on it.

“I would love that opportunity [to capture a 17th world title]… I know from a straight competitive standpoint, I gotta work my way up from the bottom,” Cena said at the 2024 Money In The Bank Press Conference.

While there’s a sense of inevitability to Cena accomplishing the feat, it’s the “how”—the journey to get there—that will keep people invested. If you’re going to put the strap on Super Cena, it has to be in a way that’s representative of him: doing it with his back against the wall, the odds stacked against him, fighting (and ultimately prevailing) with honor.

To really raise the stakes (and intrigue), have him win the belt toward the end of the tour, with time running out. Even better, maybe WWE mirrors what they did with Cody Rhodes last year: have friends (Ric Flair, even?) and foes interfere to help and harm, with Cena ultimately emerging victorious.

Does the world need a John Cena documentary? Probably not. Would it make for great television? WWE has proof of concept in The Last Ride, the successful docuseries that pulls the curtain back on the end of Mark Calloway’s legendary run as The Undertaker.

Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, and the Chicago Bulls knew their dynasty was coming to a close in 1998, propelling them to a final NBA title, and inspiring them to allow a camera crew to film what would become The Last Dance. It proved to be appointment viewing that kept us all sane during the pandemic.

Cena and the WWE could use a similar formula: capture behind-the-scenes footage of the 47-year-old’s final run, intersperse it with talking head interview retrospectives, and flash back and forward from earlier moments of his momentous career.

The final chapter of Cena’s career has all the makings of being great. The story about that final chapter could be just as incredible.