Appearing on TMZ Inside The Ring, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry shared his surprising choice for John Cena’s final opponent, arguing that the legendary superstar should use his retirement match to elevate a rising talent rather than face another established legend. His pick: TNA Wrestling’s Joe Hendry, who is expected to join WWE in 2026.
“In my mind, I want it to be Joe Hendry,” Henry declared. He pushed back against the idea of a legend like Chris Jericho getting the spot. “If John Cena wants to give back to the business, you give it to somebody that’s going to have a career. Just like him when he came in and him and Kurt Angle went at it. Him having an initial reaction with Kurt Angle is what forged the level of where he was going to be. Why not give it back? You got to give the rub.”
Henry believes Hendry is the perfect candidate because he is already organically popular with the audience. “Joe Hendry is chosen by the fans, and you always have to go with that,” he said. “I don’t care how polished or how great you are. If the fans don’t choose you… Joe is over as hell, but he doesn’t have any skins on the wall. He beat Nick Nemeth, and he’s beaten a bunch of people at TNA and several at NXT. But that’s not like beating Triple H… You beat John Cena on his way out. Holy shit.”
John Cena is currently on his retirement tour, with his final match scheduled for December 2025. Joe Hendry, one of TNA’s most popular stars, has been featured on WWE programming several times over the last year.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit TMZ Inside The Ring with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
