With rumours of a huge match against Austin Theory at WrestleMania 39, confirmed fans are wondering about the future of John Cena.
Many have speculated about whether the 16 time WWE Champion had retired from wrestling, but John Cena has confirmed he has not retired from wrestling in the WWE when he accepted Austin Theory’s challenge for this April.
After he lost to Roman Reigns at Summerslam, fans were worried that it could be the last they saw of John Cena in the ring. Cena has moved on to become a star in Hollywood, starring in his own spinoff, Peacemaker, or the hit blockbuster movie The Suicide Squad.
After the loss at Summerslam, many people expected to see John Cena again at Wrestlemania 38. He has however since confirmed that he will not be appearing at the event, and John Cena does not currently have a match scheduled for Wrestlemania 38.
Earlier this year, Cena said “WrestleMania is usually in late March, early April. I don’t know if I’m going to make it this year. That’s a good conundrum to have because there are a lot of good opportunities coming up, which I would love to take. If all those things line up, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make WrestleMania.”
Is John Cena retired?
Despite not appearing at WWE’s biggest show of the year Wrestlemania, John Cena has confirmed he is not retired from wrestling, and doesn’t plan to any time soon.
In an interview with Ellen host Ellen DeGeneres, John Cena spoke about his in-ring future. John Cena confirmed he was not retiring from wrestling in WWE, calling WWE his “home” and expressing his desire to return to the company when his busy schedule allows.
“I will tell everybody watching, I’m not done with WWE by a long shot. That’s my home, I love it. I was able to go back during the summer for a few months and entertain audiences when they welcomed audiences back to arenas and I’ve far from had my last performance.“
John Cena on not retiring from wrestling
However, John Cena did give hints as to when he would retire, during an interview with Good Morning America. The former WWE Champion told the hosts that he would retire when he feels he is “offending the consumer” and not pulling his weight inside the ring. In a nutshell, he thinks that when the crowd don’t want to see him anymore, then he will exit gracefully and not try to cling on to his role as John Cena in WWE.
“You know, I think… and I’ve made this comment before, I think I will try to do the best I can until I feel as if I’m offending the consumer. A lot of times you want to kinda hold onto that lightning bolt. There is nothing like the energy of being in that ring with the audience around you. There’s nothing like it. I’ve had the fortune and opportunity to do a whole lot of stuff…. that energy is indescribable, that place is my home, I wouldn’t be who I am without it.
John Cena on retiring from WWE
Whilst the date of John Cena’s retirement is unknown, fans will be disappointed to not see him wrestle at Wrestlemania 39. Fans have not been able to see him wrestle at Wrestlemania live in front of crowds since he faced The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 34.
His last Wrestlemania match came a year later, in the pre-taped Firefly Funhouse Match against Bray Wyatt. This match took place during the COVID pandemic, so it would be a shame if, like the Undertaker, John Cena’s last Wrestlemania match took place without the fans in attendance.
Is John Cena going to retire?
There is no set answer for this question as it has not been confirmed by John Cena himself.
However, many people believe that John Cena is going to retire soon. The main reasoning behind this belief is Cena’s age.
Cena is currently 42 years old, which is considered to be relatively old in the world of professional wrestling. Additionally, Cena has been in the wrestling business for over 20 years and has accomplished a great deal in that time.
He is a 16-time world champion and is widely considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Given all of this, it seems likely that John Cena will retire in the near future.
John Cena shocks fans with retirement rumours
John Cena looked visibly upset when he made his return to the WWE on March 6th, 2023 to accept Austin Theory’s challenge for WrestleMania 39.
The 16-time World Champion was visibly very emotional during his entrance. After the event, Cena explained his reaction, tweeting:
Last night was the first time I entered the arena and had the thought that it might be the last time.
I’ll never be able to put into words how much I love the #WWEUniverse
“I tried to put it in words in Twitter. I guess I didn’t explain myself correctly. It was the first time I came out into the arena knowing that this has a definitive end.
“Normally, you come out, you get all excited, OK, this is the next one and I’m waiting for the next one. I’m not done, of course.
“I made that statement accepting a match at WrestleMania so I know I have at least one more in front of me. But what I was trying to convey was, that was the first time I looked at all that excitement and energy and realized this is the twilight of that journey.”
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42 is far from old. Brock and Lashley are in the title mix and Edge for the midcard titles. Those guys are all 45 years old or over. Goldberg still does about three matches a year, and he’s 55.
@John-Michael Delton White,
@John-Michael Delton White, Not to mention the Undertaker hit his second peak in wrestling from 2005-2010, while in his 40s