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John Cena Announces WWE Retirement, Final Match Will Be at WrestleMania 41

Posted on by angelo
John Cena Announces WWE Retirement, Final Match Will Be at WrestleMania 41

Update (07/07/24): At the Money in the Bank post-show press conference, Cena spoke more about his “farewell tour” and confirmed that Wrestlemania would not actually be his last match and that he would wrestle until the end of 2025.

He said the final schedule is still very uncertain, but he hopes to appear in 30 to 40 matches between January and December of next year. At the end of 2025, his career as a WWE in-ring competitor will end.

However, he will remain part of the “WWE family in some capacity for a long time to come.”

“I’ve always told the public that WWE is my home and I love it,” Cena added. “Just because I feel like I’m physically at the end of my rope doesn’t mean I should walk away from something I love.”

The original story follows.

John Cena has announced his retirement from WWE and confirmed that his final match will take place at Wrestlemania 41 in Las Vegas in 2025.

At WWE’s Money in the Bank premium event on July 6 in Toronto, John Cena made a surprise appearance to thunderous applause. Donning a T-shirt that read “The Last Time is Now,” the 16-time world heavyweight champion announced his retirement tour.

“Tonight, I’m officially announcing my retirement from WWE,” Cena said before the crowd went wild. “I’m hearing mixed reviews. A lot of questions, maybe, right?! Like, ‘Hey! Why here?’ And I want to talk about that here for a second. I want to talk about Toronto. Actually, I want to talk about Canada. Actually, I want to talk about Canadians.”

He then thanked his fans in Canada for always being there for him, through thick and thin, and shared that their support was the reason he chose to announce the news tonight.

Cena’s announcement of his retirement from in-ring competition was accompanied by confirmation that he would wrestle at other upcoming premium live events leading up to WrestleMania 41.

These include the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and Monday Night Raw, once he leaves USA Network for Netflix in 2025. Cena concluded his retirement announcement by promising to share more information regarding his status with the company during the Money in the Bank post-show press conference.

For more from the world of wrestling, check out our article on whether Cody Rhodes should lose the WWE Undisputed Championship before facing The Rock.

Isaiah Colbert is a freelance journalist for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.