When John Cena publically announced that 2025 would be his last year as a professional wrestler in WWE, fans just had to know wrestlers would start lining up for one more chance to work with “The Champ.”
On paper, it makes sense, right? Cena is the biggest star of the last generation of professional wrestling, and considering his pedigree, getting a win, let alone a match against “The Face That Runs the Place” before he calls it a career, has to be considered a priority for young stars who will quite literally never get the chance again.
And yet, it isn't just the Bron Breakkers and Trick Williams of the world who are lining up to get their hands on the 16-time world champion; veteran talents, too, would like to have one final moment with the legend before their own careers come to an end.
One such performer who firmly falls into the latter category is Sami Zayn, one of WWE's current locker room leaders who is coming off of a fun run with the Intercontinental Championship. Discussing the prospects of Cena retiring in 2025 and what his final year in professional wrestling could look like on Cheap Heat, Zayn noted that he would never turn down a chance to work with “The Champ” again, as even now, such a match would be a career highlight.
“I would never avoid an opportunity to get in the ring with John Cena. That’s who you want to be in the ring with. That’s who you aspire to be in the ring with,” Zayn told Cheap Heat via EWrestling News. “You work your entire career in hopes of sharing the ring with John Cena. You just want to perform at the highest level with the best people. When you look at the landscape … it just didn’t seem attainable 15 years ago to share a ring with John Cena.“
Alright, technically, Zayn has shared the ring with Cena on multiple occasions, including in a singles match back in 2015 and in a tag team match that also featured Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns on the final SmackDown of 2022. Still, if the opportunity comes up, Zayn is correct to gun for another shot to work with Cena, as whether working as friends or foes, their efforts together would be notable all the same.
John Cena hopes to return to the UK before he retires
With Cena now on borrowed time, “The Champ” has been asked at seemingly every turn for his own opinion on his forthcoming retirement tour, including who he would like to wrestle and where he would like to appear.
While he isn't technically in charge of his booking or where he is booked, Cena did tell TalkSPORT that working in the UK is on his list, as he's been advocating for a WrestleMania in England for literally years now.
“I really hope so. As you know, I'm retiring from in-ring performing next year and we'll start in January and we'll do our last match in December 2025. I really hope there are some UK dates involved in that farewell. I meant what I said, and I said the same thing in Canada, the UK and Canada have been such strong supporters of the WWE, through thick and thin,” Cena told TalkSPORT via Fightful. “I campaigned for WrestleMania to be located in London because I think London has absolutely earned the right to host the Grandest Stage of Them All. Nick Khan and Triple H were just there talking to the mayor of London. Hopefully, I don't know, things work out and maybe WrestleMania in London in the future. It's not going to happen in 2025, so unfortunately, I won't have a match there, but if it does, I will absolutely be there as a fan.”
With London looking like a real possibility for a future WrestleMania as Paul “Triple H” Levesque and company politik with Mayor Sadiq Khan, it looks like Cena may ultimately get his wish, even if it happens after his career has already come to an end. Still, considering everything he's done for WWE, there's little reason to believe the promotion couldn't get something on the books explicitly for him, be that a simple SmackDown taping or something more elaborate like Backlash, Payback, or even Bad Blood. One way or another, Cena will certainly get to say goodbye to his fans in the UK, and considering their pension for ruckus chants, it's safe to say he will be afforded a hero's exit on his way out of the door.
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