After announcing that he was going to take as many questions as possible at the Money in the Bank press conference, the soon-to-be-retiring John Cena sat down at the podium to talk about his retirement, his relationship with the current WWE roster, and… Vince McMahon?

That's right, while most of the questions “The Champ” received were fairly standard boilerplate stuff, he was asked about how the former Chairman of the Board impacted his career, and despite his declaration that anything goes, he gave a pretty big non-answer when it mattered most.

“Well, uh, surely an uncomfortable question. And, man, I really would much rather talk about what's ahead of us, and that's really important,” John Cena told reporters after Money in the Bank. “And I've been pretty honest about my opinion, to answer that question, and if you didn't see it, I know you can dig it up. I think we're on the precipice of something special, and as the business evolves and continues to evolve, d**n it's in pretty good hands with the TKO folks. So I am happy to be where I'm at and again, if you want that information, you can dig hard enough and find it.”

Dig a little deeper, you say? Well, Cena was correct; it actually wasn't too hard to find, as on The Howard Stern Show earlier this year, he made some comments that certainly made fans feel sort of strange in the moment.

“I don't think it's complicated to talk about. It's complicated to listen to. That's why I don't necessarily put a lot of time and equity into it. There’s still a long way to go. I can say this, I’m a big advocate of love, and friendship, and honesty, and communication, in the same breath, I’m also a big advocate of accountability. If someone's behavior lies so far outside of your value system that the balance shifts of, ‘I can't operate in a world where this works.' That's the end result of being accountable,” John Cena explained via Fightful.

“Right now, I’m gonna love the person I love, be their friend. ‘I love you, you have a hill to climb.' There is the saying of, ‘You don’t know who your friends are until s**t hits the fan or your back is against the wall.' That doesn't make any of what's going on any easier to swallow. Just telling someone you love them, it’s a hill to climb, and we’ll see what happens.' That's that. It sounds so cliche, but it has to be one day at a time. I've openly said, I love the guy, I have a great relationship with the guy, and that’s that. It's largely my construct of operating with honesty and communication. Those are strong leads to handling any problem or achievement. The whole thing is super unfortunate, and it sucks. It deals with an individual I love and an entity I love. I want everyone to have the experience that I have. Not only do I tell a friend that I love them, but I switch to the entity and say, ‘How can I help?'”

Would Cena have delivered a similar response six months later, showing some support for McMahon while he is persona non grata in the WWE Universe? I mean, probably not, but considering he didn't give a response, it's impossible to know.

Article Continues Below
More WWE News
WWE Superstar Nikki Bella, who mispronounced Stephanie Vaquer's name, at the 2022 Royal Rumble.
WWE star Nikki Bella finally addresses Stephanie Vaquer name flubAndrew Korpan ·
WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg, who is gearing up for a match against Gunther, at Georgia-Florida Hall of Fame Luncheon.
WWE legend Goldberg drops hype training montage before Gunther matchAndrew Korpan ·
Sabrina Carpenter next to silhouettes of WWE NXT stars Sol Ruca and Zaria, who recreated the album cover for Man's Best Friend.
2 more WWE stars recreate Sabrina Carpenter’s new album coverAndrew Korpan ·
WWE Superstar Gunther, who will face Goldberg in a match at Saturday Night's Main Event, during an interview.
WWE star Gunther trolls Goldberg with 8 wordsAndrew Korpan ·
WWE Fright Night SmackDown logo, which will revert to a two-hour runtime soon.
WWE making SmackDown runtime change soonAndrew Korpan ·
WWE Superstar Liv Morgan, who will miss several months of action due to her shoulder injury.
WWE star Liv Morgan’s injury gets devastating timeline updateAndrew Korpan ·

John Cena will not retire at WrestleMania 41

Elsewhere in his post-Money in the Bank press conference, John Cena addressed his actual retirement plans and quickly dispelled the belief that he was retiring at WrestleMania 41, as he actually has dates on the books through December of 2025.

“Here’s where we give you some of the deets of the farewell tour. It’s not gonna end at WrestleMania [41]. WrestleMania will be my last WrestleMania. But hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, we’re going straight through from January to December. We’re gonna try to go a long list of dates. I think right now tentatively, it’s hovering in the mid-30s to 40s, because I’m still gonna try to juggle a lot of stuff that’s going on. That will be the end of my in-ring completion,” John Cena told reporters via Fightful.

“Now, part of this business plan that I proposed and I proposed, thank you, they, was me remaining in the WWE family in some capacity for an extended time to come. I’ve always said to the audience that the WWE is my home, and I love it. Just because I physically I 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 at the screen and yell at the guys for what they’re doing or what they could be doing, so I still, 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 that I possibly can and being a member of the extended WWE family for quite some time to come.”

Welp, there you go, folks; Cena will be in WWE for all of 2025, not just the first third of the year, and as a result, WrestleMania 41 will simply serve as a stop on his retirement tour instead of the final destination. The real winner of this news? The fans who get 40-ish dates of “The Champ” before he says goodbye.