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With John Cena's retirement from professional wrestling officially announced for December of 2025, fans, wrestlers, and even the CCO of WWE, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, have been getting nostalgic about “The Face That Runs the Place” and his storied career.
Discussing the 16-time champion's decision to say goodbye and his overall impact on the business after Money in the Bank, Triple H let it be known that, after two decades of incredible effort, he considers Cena not just “The Champ” but also “The GOAT” of the WWE Universe.
“John’s contributions to the business are second to none,” Levesque said via Fightful. “A lot of people talk about legends and icons, and so much speculation made about who would be on Mount Rushmore. I don’t care what metric you use, John is at the top of all of them. He’s had an unbelievable career that I’m incredibly proud to have seen it from the beginning. Seeing him as a representative of this company before he ever got hired and went to OVW. All the way to now, at a point where he’s calling his own shot on how he ends it. Most people don’t get to do that. Most people could do that, and choose not to, I don’t know why that is in our business. That’s the best way. For an athlete, for a professional, for an artist. Whatever you want to call and label what we do. To be able to call your shot in and out, to be able to walk out healthy, happy, and content, that, to me, is where it is.
“I’m happy John is able to do that and it’s going to be an exciting 2025. I can’t wait to watch it unfold. It’s going to be an incredible year, and John continues to make a lot of memories and moments for people while they, in return, get to make those memories and moments for him. It’s always been a part of what John does, which is this connective tissue and back and forth with the audience. I’m excited for him to get to do that for another year and then call it a day on his terms. For me, personally, I want to say thank you to John for everything he’s done for WWE, the superstars here, and what he’s done for sports entertainment and pro wrestling in general. Against his will, he was being called The Greatest Of All Time. He truly is. I believe that.”
Alright, technically speaking, Levesque's comments aren't totally correct, as Cena himself told reporters after Money in the Bank that WWE approached him about his retirement tour, as opposed to the other way around, but the sentiment remains the same; Cena is one of the top performers to ever stand in a WWE ring and considering Triple H is also in that category, his endorsement holds considerable weight.
Trish Stratus celebrates Triple H for maintaining WWE's structure
Speaking of Triple H's spot as the CCO of the WWE Universe, the host of Money in the Bank, Trish Stratus, commented on what it's like to work under Levesque in 2024 versus the previous administration on Inside the Ropes and let it be known that while the decisions may be different, the process is surprisingly similar.
“I don’t know, I think as a mature talent, one that’s been around for a long time like me, the creative process was quite the same. It was sort of about pitching the ideas, speaking about what we thought, and I was able to execute sort of the timeline that I thought would be great and that I knew that I wanted to deliver, and we were all on the same page with things,” Trish Stratus told Inside the Ropes via Fightful.
“I was on the same page with Vince storyline wise except for that he didn’t want me to come back, he just thinks baby face, they’re never going to boo you. I’m like, ‘Yeah, they are.’ I think the process sort of seemed the same. There was a little bit changing of the guard that happened like wait, who do we talk to? That was a bit of a confusing time, but besides that, it’s about how you handle your business, I guess, in a way. You talk to your writers, you figure out the storyline, you find the best way to execute it, and I found that it was pretty seamless for me.”
While absolutely no one will compare the booking decisions of Levesque and McMahon before him, it is interesting the learn that they have maintained a similar system within the WWE backstage to allow wrestlers to pitch ideas, discuss creative, and work through the process. If that allows stars like Stratus to seamlessly transition back into the organization after months away, then the decision is clearly a positive one.
