John Cena, a US actor and wrestler, has announced his retirement from competing in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) events.
Cena made the surprise statement to fans during his performance at the WWE Money in the Bank event in Canada on Saturday.
The 47-year-old, who began his career 18 years ago, announced that his final in-ring competition will be in 2025 as part of a farewell tour.
Cena is widely recognised as one of the best professional wrestlers of all time, having won world championships 16 times since joining WWE in 2001.
John Cena, best known for his signature catchphrase “you can’t see me” and his Hollywood crossover success, addressed the audience while wearing a red shirt with the words “The last time is now” and a matching red hat.
He took centre stage at Scotiabank Arena to reminisce on his amazing career and show his appreciation to WWE.
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“Why am I here? Tonight I officially announce my retirement from the WWE,” Cena declared.
“I’ve been doing this a while. I’ve been in WWE for over two decades and in that time I’ve seen incredible waves of prosperity like we got right now. WWE is the hottest ticket in town, no doubt.”
Cena announced that his retirement tour will include appearances at next year’s Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, and WrestleMania in Las Vegas.
He invited his competitors to make the most of his remaining time in the ring, saying,
“This farewell does not end tonight, it is filled with opportunity, everybody, RAW makes history next year when it moves to Netflix.
I’ve never been a part of RAW on Netflix. That is history, that is a first and I will be there.”
“The 2025 Royal Rumble will be my last. The 2025 Elimination Chamber will be my last and I’m here tonight to announce that WrestleMania Las Vegas in 2025 will be the last WrestleMania I compete in.”
John Cena continued, “I know that’s a lot to take in, probably a lot of questions out there, which is why I’m telling you right now I am going to kick off the press conference right after the show and I will be fielding any and all questions to do with my retirement.”
Speaking during a press conference, Cena said, “it’s not gonna end in wrestlemania, wrestlemania be my last wrestlemania. Hopefully if everything goes as planned, we’re going straight through from January to December, we’re gonna do a long list of dates, I think right now tentatively it’s hovering between mid 30s to 40s because I’m still gonna try juggle a lot of stuff is going on, and that will be the end of my in-ring competition.
Now part of this business plan that I proposed and I guess they accept it thank you they was me remaining in the WWE family for an extended time to come, I’ve always said to the audience that WWE is my home and I love it just because I physically feel I’m at my end doesn’t mean I need to distance myself from something I love, I have passion for this business, I still watch Money In The Bank and yell on the screen, yell on the guys for what they’re doing, what they could be doing, I feel I have some wisdom locked up here that could be of some value, so I look forward to ending my participation in the ring in the best way I possibly can and being a member of the extended WWE family for quite sometime to come”
Watch him speak below…
