After spending a surprisingly expansive period of time as a member of the WWE Universe due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, John Cena quietly exited the promotion in November when, in a match with nothing but honor on the line, he was absolutely whooped by the enforcer of The Bloodline, Solo Sikoa, who hit him with about a dozen Samoan Spikes right to the throat in order to take away his biggest tool: his voice.

And yet, after just under two months off of WWE television, Cena returned on the final SmackDown of the 2023 calendar year to deliver – verbally – a toast to the fans who supported him in his return and who will hopefully continue to support him when he returns again for what might just be the final run of his wrestling career.

“WWE Universe, John Cena here, all dressed up to celebrate a wonderful group of people. A toast to the WWE Universe for making my 2023. As you know, I was able to return to SmackDown in the fall, and the reception and the respect, I will never forget,” John Cena shared to the SmackDown audience. “I do not know how much time in the WWE I have left, but I do know in recent times when I've been able to return home, you have always welcomed me as one of your own. I am forever indebted to your generosity, your empathy, your respect, and your excitement. I look forward to the next time we can get together, but I wanted to take a moment to truly say thank you for making this a wonderful year for me and for my family. To the WWE Universe. Until the next round. Cheers.”

Will the day eventually come when Cena has wrestled his final match as a member of the WWE Universe? Sure, by hook or by crook, every professional wrestler will eventually wrestle their final match, even if they don't know it at the time, but in Cena's case, his departure will hit exceptionally hard because he truly came up as a member of the WWE Universe, as he wrestled his third-ever match as a member of WWE and was working in developmental within a year of his debut as the “Prototype.” After decades as the top guy in the WWE, his eventual exit will take some getting used to.

This isn't the first time John Cena has reflected on the end of his career.

While John Cena's words added a little melancholy to an otherwise jolly occasion on SmackDown, this isn't the first time he's talked openly about the end of his professional wrestling career, as he was pretty open about the situation after Fastlane, where he worked a match with LA Knight against The Bloodline. Despite securing a win in the match, Cena ackowledged that he wasn't sure what the future held for him, as, at 46, he simply can't wrestle forever.

“It’s exceeded my expectations because the energy and the talent in the WWE locker room is incredible. This is truly the golden age of sports entertainment. I don’t think there has ever been a better time to be in the sports entertainment business or in WWE. We can all romanticize about the Attitude Era, the Ruthless Aggression Era. There has never been more opportunity to be a WWE superstar than right now. If there is ever an example of someone gives you an inch, you make it a mile, it’s LA Knight. I don’t know if that happens in any other era because of how few spots there were. I’m overwhelmed by where the state of the union is at,” John Cena told the Fastlane press conference via Fightful.

“At the same time, selfishly, this trip back has been a gauge for me to test where I’m at and what the future holds for me. Some of y’all watched the match, I was in the thing. I got some work to do and I got to realize that I got some figuring out to function at the level that I’m used to, to be able to perform at a level that is worthy of what I’m familiar with and what the audience is familiar with. That’s selfishly what this episode in the WWE is for me. To take stock in myself, where I feel physically. I’m 46, I’ve told everybody this ain’t the last one, but I know the last one is on the horizon. I’m just taking stock of where I’m at. I’ve always promised that I don’t want to ever offend the WWE Universe with the effort I put out there. I’m trying to give it all I got. I have to work out some tweaks and find the mojo somewhere. I’m grateful for my partner for picking up the slack.”

Goodness, if Cena was feeling that down after winning a match with LA Knight at Fastlane, imagine how down he must have been when he suffered a huge loss to Sikoa at Crown Jewel, assuming he could talk at all after that many Samoan Spikes. If you're a fan of Cena, make sure to enjoy his time in the WWE Universe the next time he rolls around, as it very well may be his final trip down that dusty road.