John Cena’s retirement tour is nearing its end, with the veteran star having only two scheduled in-ring appearances remaining. Despite a final year filled with career highlights—including turning heel, main-eventing WrestleMania, and winning a record-breaking 17th World Championship—Cena admitted in a new interview that he is not leaving the company on his own terms.
Speaking on the WWE Raw Recap show, Cena explained that his retirement is rooted in a commitment he made to WWE fans decades ago, driven by a determination to protect the quality of the product.
“I’m not going out on my own terms. If I could do this [to] infinity, I would do it. I made a promise to the fan base when I started that when I got a step slower, I gotta walk away. Yeah, I could probably squeeze out more matches, but at what cost? I do harm to myself, I do harm to the product, and you as a fan who’s allowed me the opportunity for over two decades to spend time with you, you leave feeling bad or sad.”
Cena’s final run saw him wrestle several nostalgia matches as nods to his career, taking on opponents such as Randy Orton, CM Punk, R-Truth, and Sami Zayn. This week’s episode of Raw marked Cena’s final appearance on the red brand.
He opened the show before being confronted by the former Intercontinental Champion, Dominik Mysterio. The confrontation led to both an Intercontinental Championship rematch being set for Survivor Series and a six-man tag team match, where Cena, Rey Mysterio, and Sheamus were victorious over Dominik, Finn Balor, and JD McDonagh.
The WWE audience does not yet know who Cena’s final opponent will be at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13. The company is currently holding a “Last Time Is Now” tournament to crown that opponent, with Gunther and Solo Sikoa both advancing this week on Raw.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit WWE Raw Recap with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can watch the show on the WWE Network.
