John Cena Reveals Just How Soon His WWE Retirement Really Is (And His Next Opponent Isn’t Brock Lesnar)
John Cena felt like he turned back the clock at WWE SummerSlam, delivering a classic match against Cody Rhodes with WWE’s biggest prize on the line. While he didn’t win the match, it was still a stellar performance, and that was before the shocking reveal that Brock Lesnar was going to be his future opponent. With only a few dates left in his retirement tour, Cena crossed one more off the list with tonight’s WWE SmackDown, and not only did he reveal just how many dates he has before his retirement match, but also that his next opponent won’t actually be Lesnar.
Cena hit the ring and got the crowd hyped, though they didn’t need much help in that regard. After a bit of hyping up the fans, Cena then got vulnerable a bit about his retirement and his last few matches in WWE. Cena said, “Trust me, it doesn’t last forever”, which drew Thank You Cena chants from the crowd.
The Final Run
“I’ve been coming here for over two decades. I have shared many, many valuable moments in this ring. Man, thank you. You guys know that after tonight, I have 11 of these left. I’m starting to understand that, and I just want you to know that in terms of being afraid, every time that a day goes by, I become more and more afraid, and I thank you for that,” Cena said.
It was previously estimated that Cena had around 9 appearances left, excluding tonight. Thankfully, Cena confirmed the exact number, which is actually 11, and that will include several matches over the course of the next few months. One of those matches was revealed tonight later in the segment, and it was surprising to learn that while Lesnar is looming, that won’t be the next match on Cena’s farewell tour.
Cena did address Lesnar later in the promo, but first, he got a bit personal. “I want to lean into this for a second because it’s important that I get it off my chest. I’m afraid that no matter how much I can give to you in this limited amount of time, it won’t be enough and I will let ya’ll down. I will also admit that after I’m gone and the WWE moves on, as it should, that you guys are going to forget about me,” Cena said. “I got all these fears on my mind, heck, I’m even afraid of Brock Lesnar. I don’t know in what universe me right now would ever actually choose Brock Lesnar as an opponent, but you and I, we’ve known each other for a long time, and you know there’s no universe that I ever back down from Brock Lesnar.”
“Am I afraid? Yes. I’m afraid Brock Lensar just got himself a John Cena problem! I’m afraid that every WWE superstar just got themselves a big John Cena problem. Time is winding down, and if any of ya’ll saw SummerSlam, you know that I am not going down without a fight. If you want some, come get some,” Cena said. “And to anyone brave enough to come down the aisle to face off against the last real Champion, just know that I plan on going down guns blazing.”
Cena’s Actual Next Opponent
That’s when Logan Paul’s music hit and elicited a chorus of boos from the crowd. “John, John, John, stop, just hear me out. John, whatever this is, whatever version of you this is, John it’s making me sick. I respected you John, I really did, but now I don’t even know you. Montreal what you whining about? At least Logan Paul never switched up,” Paul said.
Cena then responded by saying, “You might have just made the biggest mistake of your life”, but Paul was undeterred. Paul said, “We’ll see about that John Cena. Let me tell you something, you don’t know who you are. These people don’t know who you are. I’ve been real since day one. And whether you guys like it or not, Cena said it himself, Logan Paul does WWE better than any professional wrestler, and that includes you.”
Cena did own up to saying that, but he also added some new context, saying, “Whoa, hold on, he might be right about that. I did say that. I’d also like to say that Logan Paul is the biggest dumbass I’ve ever seen in my life.”
That irked Paul quite a bit, and he decided to do something about it. “John Cena is a liar. He came out here, he says whatever he says, the bosses tell him what to say,” Paul said. “He says Montreal, you are the show, false, I am the show. And John Cena, you turned into a charity case, you’re here giving out matches, damn, how about this John? I want one!” Cena said that sounded pretty good, and then Paul said that the match wouldn’t take place here, but in Paris.
Then Drew McIntyre ambushed Cena and celebrated with Paul, but Cody Rhodes ran out next to make the save and take on McIntyre. Cena then said he accepts the challenge from Paul for Clash in Paris, and then he said that since Paul wants to fight, he might have a partner. Cena then said that he is teaming up with Rhodes to take on McIntyre and Paul in the main event of tonight’s SmackDown.
Now, we could still see Lesnar involved in the Clash at Paris match, but right now it seems more likely that he will interfere in some way and set up a one-on-one match with Cena down the line, perhaps at a place like Survivor Series. We’ll have to wait and see when Lesnar shows up next, but in the meantime, let us know who you hope to see Cena face during his retirement tour in the comments. You can also talk all things wrestling with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
