John Cena’s retirement tour is winding down, and the 17-time World Champion may have just dropped a major hint about his final opponent. In a cryptic, captionless post on his official Instagram account, Cena shared a photo of his long-time rival, The Miz. The post, which was made on The Miz’s birthday, has sent fans into a frenzy of speculation that the two men could be headed for one final encounter. While the rumored opponent for Cena’s last match on December 13 has been GUNTHER, this new tease has thrown another major name into the mix.
The timing of the post is significant, as it comes just after The Miz himself expressed his frustration about being overlooked as a potential final opponent for Cena. In a recent interview with The Schmo, the two-time Grand Slam Champion was vocal about his desire to have one last match with the man he has had such a storied history with.
“It pisses me off as a WWE Superstar because I feel like I have had a big rivalry with Cena, I’ve had multiple WrestleManias with John Cena,” The Miz said. “And yet the fans aren’t sitting there saying, ‘Hey, we want The Miz vs John Cena.’ They’re saying, ‘We want AJ Styles vs John Cena.’”
The rivalry between John Cena and The Miz is one of the most significant of the modern era. The two men feuded over the WWE Championship in 2011, a program that saw The Miz successfully defend the title against Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 27. Their paths have crossed numerous times in the years since, including another WrestleMania encounter in a mixed tag team match. Cena has also been a vocal supporter of The Miz, previously stating that he considers the “A-Lister” to be one of the most underrated WWE stars of all time.
While the Instagram post could simply be a birthday wish for his former rival, John Cena has a well-known history of using his social media to post cryptic images that often have a deeper meaning related to his on-screen storylines. He has stated in the past that it is up to the audience to interpret his posts as they see fit, a philosophy that has only fueled the speculation surrounding this latest tease.
With only a few dates left on his retirement tour, every move Cena makes is being heavily scrutinized, and this latest post has certainly given the fans something to talk about as they await the announcement of his final opponent.
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