Tag: John Cena

John Cena explains why fan response to WWE retirement match was ‘perfect’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The finish of John Cena’s retirement match received a mixed response from fans — and Cena feels that was a “perfect” end to his WWE story.

During an appearance at Fan Expo New Orleans this month, Cena reflected on his December 13 retirement match against Gunther. He thanked the fans for how they responded to the match, both positively and negatively. Cena’s career was often polarizing, so he feels this was a pretty fitting way to end it.

“Thank you [for reminding] me that you’re allowed to have your opinion, and thank you for not just conforming to a certain set of standards,” he said. “Thank you for being vocal enough to express how you felt, because every moment can be a teachable moment. I put together — my job is to try to put together a story that I think you all will enjoy.

“And when there’s critical opinion out there, I’m all ears. I don’t ignore the critics. I’m thankful for them for [Washington] D.C. and every match I had before that. And like I said, I guess a kind of parallel to my career, I think it was a perfect end. Because a whole lot of people thought it sucked, and a whole lot of people thought it was special. And that’s kind of been my story for 23 years. So I thought it was perfect.”

Cena losing his retirement match was criticized by some fans who were hoping for a happy ending. Him tapping out to a sleeper from Gunther was also controversial given Cena’s “Never Give Up” motto. Cena has explained that the moment — with him flashing a smile across his face — was supposed to mirror someone passing away peacefully after giving all they had.

In his post-retirement career, Cena is under an ambassadorial contract with WWE. He will still make appearances for the company in the future but has promised that he is a man of his word and will never wrestle again.

Liv Morgan reflects on John Cena spot: ‘I really kicked him’

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Following an absence of several months and a shoulder injury, Liv Morgan made her shocking return at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames. There, she kicked John Cena in the groin and re-joined forces with Dominik Mysterio, helping him win the Intercontinental Championship. Recently, appearing on Stephanie McMahon’s What’s Your Story podcast, Morgan opened up about that night and the spot where she kicked Cena.

“I really kicked him, too. I kicked him right in the wee wee. And this, too (hitting John Cena with the title belt), I just gave everything. I never kicked someone in the d**k before. I just was like bam! I went straight up. No, there was no discussion (on whether she had discussed the spot with Cena). I just knew the assignment. I had one job, it was kick John Cena in the d**k and hit him with the title.”

Morgan further opened up on her initial moments during the return and how the audience reacted to Morgan jumping into Cena’s arms.

“Never in my life would I have thought that I would have a moment where I’m jumping into John Cena’s open arms, wrapping myself around him while I have a boyfriend,” Morgan continued. “That was so funny to me because everyone was like, ‘Okay, she turned on Dominik. Shocking, but okay, and she’s looking at John Cena weird.’”

“This was the part where people weren’t understanding. They weren’t getting it. They were like, ‘What is she doing? Why is she smiling at him?’ And I jump into his arms, and they’re like, ‘What the…’ If you watch the online reactions, people are like, ‘What are they doing?’ And then the face dropped, and they’re like, ‘Oh, she’s gonna do it.’ My eyes dilated too.”

Survivor Series: WarGames 2025 marked Cena’s final PLE before he retired at the December 13th edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event against Gunther.

John Cena Roku series announces return date

Posted on by Joseph Currier

“What Drives You” — a Roku Channel series hosted by John Cena — is returning with more episodes later this month.

Season two of the series will be available to stream for free on The Roku Channel starting on Friday, January 16. There are four episodes in the season, with WWE star Charlotte Flair among the celebrity guests. The concept of the show is Cena spending time with famous people and finding out what drives them — both in terms of their motivations and the actual vehicles they drive.

“John Cena is back, fueling his two biggest passions: cars and connecting with people,” a press release said. “This season, singer and rapper Saweetie, WWE champion Charlotte Flair, country superstar Kane Brown, and future baseball hall of famer Mookie Betts join John in the driver’s seat. John spends time with each of these successful and talented celebrities, talking about their journey and discovering what drives them – both on the road and in their hearts.”

Season one of the show debuted in 2025 and had The Miz, Logan Paul, and Jelly Roll as guests.

Cena, who retired from the ring with a loss to Gunther last month, is now contracted to WWE in an ambassadorial role. His upcoming acting projects include starring alongside comedian Eric Andre in the Netflix movie “Little Brother.”

The trailer for season two of “What Drives You” can be seen below.

Undertaker reflects on initial John Cena & The Rock impressions: ‘Ain’t gonna make it’

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

On the latest edition of the Six Feet Under podcast, The Undertaker reflected on his initial impressions of John Cena and The Rock. Recalling his thoughts about how neither of them was going to “make it” in WWE, the Hall of Famer shared more details about it.

“Early on, there was two people that I watched them work day one, and I was like ‘This guy ain’t gonna make it’. I was wrong; I can admit when I’m wrong. There’s some people in the business who can’t do that. I will tell you when I was wrong, and I missed with him. You know who the other one was? Dwayne [Johnson].”

Reflecting on The Rock’s debut in WWE, the 60-year-old shared his honest thoughts about it.

“You’ve got to go back, though, you’ve got to go back to day one when he had the things hanging off of him [his outfit], and he came out there, and he was ‘Rah rah’, and he debuted in the Garden. I was like ‘Oh, this poor kid.'”

“And to have the legacy, obviously, his grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, his dad Rocky Johnson, and then you have these expectations and you come out with that thing on. I was like ‘Oh man, this is not gonna be good.’ It took them [Cena & Rock] a minute to find their stride, and I guess they had ok careers.”

Despite a rocky start to their careers, both Cena and The Rock transitioned into two of the most popular stars in the pro-wrestling industry, as well as in Hollywood. While The Rock hardly wrestles, Cena has now completely retired from in-ring action.

Netflix shares first look at upcoming John Cena movie

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Netflix has shared a first look at “Little Brother” — an upcoming comedy movie starring John Cena.

Cena plays one of the lead roles in the film alongside comedian Eric Andre. In the movie, Cena is a famous real estate agent whose “carefully curated world is upended when his eccentric ‘little brother’ (Andre) unexpectedly reappears in his life.” There is no exact release date for the movie yet, but it’s scheduled to come out this year.

Today, Netflix posted a first-look photo showing Cena and Andre in their roles.

“I have wanted to work opposite Eric for a very long time and this photo is many, many years in the making,” Cena wrote. “Cannot wait for you all to stream and enjoy the work of this incredible cast on
@netflix!”

The film is directed by Matt Spicer, whose credits include the 2017 comedy “Ingrid Goes West.”

Hollywood has been Cena’s main career for a while now, but it will now take up a bigger share of his focus following his WWE retirement. Cena competed in his final match by losing to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13. Though he’s stepped away from the ring, Cena is still under WWE contract as an ambassador.

CM Punk reveals ‘bucket list’ wish involving John Cena and Batista

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

After spending years together in WWE, CM Punk has now revealed his ‘bucket list’ wish of starring in a movie with the likes of former wrestlers, John Cena and Batista (Dave Bautista). While Punk actively wrestles in WWE, Cena and Batista have moved on, with both currently having successful Hollywood careers. Speaking on My Mom’s Basement, Punk opened up about potentially starring in a movie with the two former WWE World Champions.

“I’ve had a couple meetings, and that topic has come up. I can only imagine what John’s slate looks like; it’s probably super, super busy,” Punk continued. “I’d imagine some time in the future we’ll be working together. I’ve got like bucket list names I wanna work with, and selfishly a lot of them are my friends; Dave (Bautista) and John are probably like the top two.”

Cena retired from wrestling on December 13, 2025, when he tapped out to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event, something which Punk found “beautiful.” On the other hand, Batista moved on from WWE a long time ago, having wrestled his possible last match against Triple H at WrestleMania 35.

CM Punk on John Cena’s final match finish: ‘I thought it was beautiful’

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Almost a month after John Cena’s WWE retirement match against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event, CM Punk has shared his opinion on it. Speaking on My Mom’s Basement with Robbie Fox, Punk claimed that he found the match’s finish ‘beautiful.’

“Just like the John Cena and Gunther finish. I feel like it’s the same thing. Some people, maybe I don’t think you understand what you’re watching,” Punk stated while recalling Cena tapping out to Gunther last month in December, 2025. “If you didn’t like it, I can also understand that. To make it your entire personality and spend an unhealthy amount of time talking about it, I’ll put it this way, if John won, they’d be mad about that too, but we wouldn’t be talking about it anymore.”

“We’re still talking about that finish. The smile, the tap. ‘Oh my God, the guy who said don’t give up, gave up.’ Did he? I thought it was beautiful.”

Cena and Punk shared a storied rivalry during their prime in WWE, with both facing each other multiple times in both title and non-title matches. Cena and Punk also faced each other one last time during Cena’s retirement tour last year in Saudi Arabia.

While Cena is now retired, Punk recently defended his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker on the WWE RAW-Stranger Things episode on January 5th, 2026.

JNPO: December 2025 wrestling year in review | John Cena literally calls it quits, AEW Worlds End controversy, TNA’s new TV deal

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: WWE

The grand finale of the 2025 pro wrestling year in review series on Josh Nason’s Punch-Out has arrived with a stop in December and not one, but two debuting guests.

We kick off with Mike McGuire of ⁠CelebrateWrestling.com⁠ to talk the month in WWE and everything surrounding John Cena’s final match.

Then, Josh talks with Case Lowe of ⁠VoicesofWrestling.com⁠ and Q101 out of Chicago about the month in AEW and Japan.

Josh then takes it home with all the NXTNAAA and junk drawer happenings.

It’s two hours of audio power to close out the series — all of which are available on this very feed for free.

Click here to listen for free or stream for free on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Steve Austin reacts to John Cena’s WWE heel turn: ‘It was okay’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Steve Austin was neither a huge fun nor a big detractor of John Cena’s WWE heel run.

While appearing on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Austin reflected on his own heel turn from 2001, admitting that it did not work and should not have happened. Van Vliet then followed up by asking Austin to give his thoughts on Cena’s 2025 heel stint, which has drawn parallels to the Austin turn.

“Everybody — not everybody — a lot of people wanted to see at least one John Cena heel turn in his run. It was okay,” Austin responded. “It was okay, you know? I like him better as a babyface. I wanted to see him as a heel at some point during his career. The way that it was done — and I’m not knocking booking — just like, man, this far in? Forget about it. Just let him do his thing, f*cking kids love that guy.”

Cena’s heel turn happened at Elimination Chamber 2025 and initially drew intrigue from the audience. However, the follow-up was widely criticized. The Rock and rapper Travis Scott played key roles in the initial turn but then disappeared from the angle, with Cena reverting back to a babyface by SummerSlam and finishing out his retirement tour as a fan-favorite.

Though Cena has no regrets about how things played out, he’s said the heel turn was mostly about creating a big moment at Elimination Chamber.

Austin’s turn saw him shake hands with Vince McMahon at the end of WrestleMania 17. The moment was not something fans wanted to see, and Austin has always said that he wishes he would have read the crowd’s reaction and dropped McMahon with a stunner after the handshake.

“Nobody wanted me to turn heel, but I was just set on turning heel because I’ve always liked working heel so much,” Austin said on Insight.

“It didn’t work. It wasn’t successful. We got a chance to, you know, push the character in different directions and different dimensions. But I don’t think we were really ringing up the box office doing that.”

John Cena, Kazuchika Okada, others comment on Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement

Posted on by Ian Carey

The wrestling world has been paying tribute to Hiroshi Tanahashi in the wake of his retirement.

Tanahashi’s final match headlined Sunday’s Wrestle Kingdom 20 at the Tokyo Dome, where he was defeated by Kazuchika Okada. Following the match, several of Tanahashi’s former rivals and allies came to the ring to honor him. The tributes have continued on social media, with Okada, John Cena, and others sharing comments about Tanahashi.

Cena posted an image of Tanahashi to his Instagram page on Sunday. As is typical with Cena’s posts, he did not include a caption.

Okada wrote (translated): “Tanahashi-san, thank you for your hard work. Let’s meet again, everyone in Japan.”

CMLL’s Atlantis wrote (translated): “Respect and admiration for Hiroshi Tanahashi in his retirement match. His influence marked generations and elevated Japanese professional wrestling to the world. Legends don’t retire, they transcend.”

CMLL wrote (translated), “Today we bid farewell to a legend of the ring. Hiroshi Tanahashi leaves an indelible mark on the history of Lucha Libre and on that of CMLL, where in 2013 he was crowned Universal Champion, demonstrating his greatness, respect, and love for this sport.”

TNA World Champion Frankie Kazarian wrote, “I raise a glass to @tanahashi1_100 One of the very best. What an incredible career. It was an honor to share the ring with such a talented and well rounded ambassador to our industry. NJPW is in great hands.”

MJF wrote, “Solid career kid, you’re welcome for the rub 😉”

Ricochet wrote, “You did great things, Ace. I got it from here. 👑”

Rush wrote, “GRACIAS AMIGO. Respect and admiration !!”

Christopher Daniels wrote, “Congratulations to @tanahashi1_100 on his incredible career & amazing retirement! Thank you Ace! And may your presidency bring @njpw1972 unrivaled success in Japan in the coming years! 💐 💐 💐“

Tanahashi wrote following the show, “I’m home. Tokyo Dome event. Super packed. Lots of cheering! Thank you so much. I’m tired~”

John Cena on Matt Cardona’s WWE return: ‘Making luck through effort’

Posted on by Ian Carey

John Cena has commented on Matt Cardona’s return to WWE.

Cardona was revealed as an official member of the SmackDown roster on Friday’s show from Buffalo. He had previously appeared on the November 14 episode, wrestling under his old Zack Ryder persona in the Last Time Is Now tournament for a chance to be Cena’s final opponent.

On Saturday, Cena posted to social media that both Cardona and his wife Chelsea Green, who previously returned to WWE after her own release, are examples of “making luck through effort.”

Cena wrote:

“Persistence and preparation tend to help manufacture luck. I couldn’t be more proud of both @TheMattCardona and @ImChelseaGreen. They stand as a tremendous example of making luck through effort. Welcome home Matt. ☕️🍸”

Cardona also released a statement on his WWE return on Saturday, saying there are too many people to thank. Triple H, Brian Myers, Joey Janela, and others have also commented. Cardona’s return comes nearly six years after he was released from WWE in April 2020.

Cena’s social media post is below:

JNPO: November 2025 wrestling year in review | AEW, WWE, Ridge & The Walkout

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: WWE

It’s a special weekend edition of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out as Josh’s pro wrestling year in review series is nearly complete.

Josh and returning guest Paul Fontaine of this website and Fight Game Media talk all about the month of November and over 600 topics like:

  • Samoa Joe winning the AEW World title at Full Gear and all the happenings from the PPV
  • John Cena’s final PPV/PLE match as part of WWE Survivor Series
  • A month where both WWE and AEW held double cage matches
  • The announcement of Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final ever opponent
  • Ridge Holland speaking out about his WWE release and financial situation
  • Nixon Newell and Miranda Alize walking out of AEW Collision and the fallout
  • The best of WWE, AEW, CMLL, TNA, AAA and more

Click here to listen for free or stream for free on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts

John Cena thanks fans, co-workers for making 2025 unforgettable

Posted on by Joseph Currier

2025 was a year that John Cena will never forget.

Cena closed out his in-ring run with a WWE retirement tour that lasted from January-December 2025. For the first time in more than 25 years, being an active pro wrestler is no longer part of Cena’s identity. He sent out a tweet on New Year’s Day reflecting on the past year and thanking everyone who made 2025 so unforgettable.

“Life goes on and we all move onward, as 2026 is here I’ll fondly remember so many moments from 2025,” he wrote. “Thanks to ALL fans, co workers, critics and anyone around the world who used their voice to make 2025 a year that I’ll never forget. Omnia Dedi. Pro omnibus gratias ago.”

Cena has adamantly vowed that he’s a man of his word and will never wrestle again. His final match took place on December 13 at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, with Cena tapping out to Gunther as he was locked in a sleeper. The moment was supposed to feel like Cena going out peacefully, similar to someone passing away at the end of their life after giving everything they had.

Though his acting career and Hollywood pursuits now have his full attention, Cena will remain with WWE as an ambassador for the company.

Nikki Bella says Fearless Lock is different from John Cena’s submission

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

Recently, on the December 29th episode of RAW, fans witnessed Stephanie Vaquer defend her Women’s World Championship against Nikki Bella and Raquel Rodriguez. However, one mid-match moment caught fans’ eyes when Bella locked in the Fearless Lock move on Rodriguez, leading to “Thank You Cena!” chants from the fans. To which she instantly responded to it by yelling, “No! Thank me!”

Now, a few days after the bout, Bella opened up on the Nikki & Brie Show and shared more insights on the move. Clarifying how her ‘Fearless Lock’ is different than John Cena’s submission move ‘STF’, she opened up about its origin.

“I think people forgot, not everyone, but I used to do the Fearless Lock. Yes, it was during a period of time when John [Cena] and I were together, but the Fearless Lock is different from his submission, it really is. He lays on top of people and grabbing the front face,” Bella continued. The Fearless Lock is a legit submission Shayna (Baszler) gave me. We named it the Fearless Lock because of Fearless Nikki, and coming back from my broken neck, I was training a lot with Nattie [Natalya], Shayna, and Bayley at the PC. I went to an MMA place with Shayna, and she was teaching me legitimate moves.”

Further speaking on the podcast, Bella addressed her reaction to the “Thank You Cena!” chants from the fans.

“I said, ‘I want to come back from this broken neck with a submission.’ She showed me this, and she’s like, ‘It’s not at all what John’s is.’ I get the step in makes people think that, but I’m on the side, and how I lock in, you see it. You’re yanking the person back,” Bella added. “Raquel [Rodriguez] was the first person I did it on over six feet tall, and it looks a lot different. It felt different. I wasn’t expecting anything with John, so when they started chanting, ‘Thank you Cena,’ the old Nikki came alive, ‘Thank me!’ I loved it.”

Bella and Cena were once one of the promotion’s most popular couples and were even engaged when Cena proposed to her at WrestleMania 33 in 2017. However, their relationship fell apart, and their engagement was soon called off.

Rob Van Dam explains what set John Cena apart from other WWE stars

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Rob Van Dam believes John Cena’s “amazing” work ethic is one thing that set him apart from other WWE stars.

While appearing on the Toronto Sun’s No Holds Barred podcast, Van Dam opened up about the respect he has for Cena. The WWE schedule was grueling for everyone back when they worked together, but Cena took on additional responsibilities that gave him even less time off. Van Dam credited Cena for being both the face of the company and the hardest worker in the entire promotion.

“The more I watched and looked at him, the more I realized this guy is the hardest worker in the company,” Van Dam said. “It’s one thing to be able to kind of picture yourself in a better position and say, ‘Man, I wish I was making the money this guy was.’ But when you think about it, he works every day. You know? He was. I was working almost every day it felt like, and I was getting some days of sleep, but it wasn’t enough. And this guy was going and doing Make-A-Wish meetings on those days off. Just being the face of the company, he was always the guy they were pushing forward to do everything to promote the company. And that is goals for wrestlers, to get up to that point. But, honestly, not everyone could do it. The guy’s work ethic is amazing.”

Cena wrapped up his in-ring career by losing to Gunther at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13. Van Dam was among the former WWE stars who attended the show. The ECW legend was the opponent for one of Cena’s most memorable matches, with the two facing off at One Night Stand 2006 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.

Another Cena vs. Van Dam match could have potentially happened during Cena’s retirement tour this year, but Van Dam suffered two broken heels that forced him out of action. He has now recovered from the injury and has an indie match in Australia coming up in February 2026.