John Cena made a surprise appearance at WWE’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view on Saturday night in Toronto and dropped some major news. The 16-time world champion declared he’ll be retiring from pro wrestling in 2025 and that he will be competing in a number of matches throughout the next calendar year as part of a retirement tour.
Cena confirmed he’ll be on the Netflix premiere episode of Monday Night Raw on Jan. 6 as well as the 2025 Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania 41 pay-per-views, though he did not go into detail about what he’d be doing at those shows or who his opponents might be. During the post-show press conference, Cena confirmed he’ll work “30 to 40 dates” all the way up through December 2025.
With his acting career on the rise, Cena pivoted to a part-time role with the WWE in 2018 but has competed in a number of high-profile matches in the years since. His last televised match took place on the April 8 episode of Raw when he arrived as a surprise partner for The Awesome Truth when they faced The Judgement Day in a six-man tag team match.
While he did not compete at WrestleMania XL, Cena was one of the many wrestlers to assist Cody Rhodes in defeating Roman Reigns for the undisputed WWE championship in the show’s main event.
Cena emphasized that he has no intention of wrestling again once the tour is over. He also stated that while his time as an in-ring competitor is at an end, his relationship with the WWE will continue for years to come.
