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In the middle of the Money in the Bank, John Cena shocked the world by announcing that he is retirement from WWE, with his final match coming at the end of 2025, not at WrestleMania 41.
Fans were shocked by the surprise announcement, excited that he has some nine months left in the ring, and ultimately curious to see who Cena would wrestle his final match against, with the 16-time champion letting it be known that he doesn't have a performer handpicked for his final match, nor would he want to, as he's always been willing to do his best with what WWE hands him.
And yet, that doesn't mean there aren't some very interesting options that could come into play over the nine months, including three very different paths WWE could take things.
Three interesting options for John Cena's retirement match.
3. Bron Breakker
For years, what was the biggest knock against Cena? That he simply refused to put over promising young stars when they were on the precipice of stardom and instead halted their careers when it mattered most.
He did it with the Nexus, he did it with Wade Barrett solo, and he did it he did it to Ryback, Alex Riley, and legions more WWE stars who dared to get popular while he was on top of the industry. Cena's unwillingness to share the spotlight – real or imagined by fans – was one of the biggest stories of his time in the main event picture, and is a big reason why “Let's Go Cena” chants were always followed close behind by “Cena Sucks!”
So what better way to go out as a full-time in-ring wrestler than to put over a promising young star like Breakker, who is widely considered WWE's hottest prospect? Sure, the second-generation Steiner didn't win his Intercontinental Championship match at Money in the Bank, but he could easily secure a title between SummerSlam and Survivor Series 2025 and could give Cena the business in either a title defense or as a contender against “The Face That Runs the Place” with everything on the line.
If Cena wants to “right his wrongs” and go out doing the job for the next generation of WWE, giving Breakker that sort of rub would be an incredible way to close out his career.
2. Randy Orton
Back in January, the last time Cena retirement speculation was a hot topic in professional wrestling, Randy Orton was asked about his long-time in-ring frenemy on The Bump and let it be known that he would love to share the ring with “The Champ” for one final time at WrestleMania, calling a title match between the duo a “dream come true.”
“A dream match for me would be to somehow find myself in a situation where I’m fighting Cena at WrestleMania for the title,” Randy Orton explained on The Bump via Fightful. “I don’t know how you get there, I’m not saying it’s gonna happen. But I have never wrestled John at WrestleMania in a singles match. We had some wars back in the day, so being able to revisit that after all this, I think it’s not only something that I would want, I think the fans would eat it up too.”
As things presently stand, Orton and Cena are both babyfaces, and neither are WWE Champions. And yet, there's a lot of time between then and now, so who knows, maybe WWE could make some magic happen and allow Orton to get his big moment?
1. Cody Rhodes
And last but not least, if there's one obvious man who feels most likely to secure that final John Cena rub, it has to be Cody Rhodes, the man who has effectively taken his spot in the WWE Universe as the promotion's new babyface hero.
On paper, it makes sense, right? While Rhodes is only eight years younger than Cena, he certainly feels like he's a generation younger than the 16-time champion and has clearly based much of his presentation on what “The Champ” put on tape, combining his influence with the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, Captain America, and Homelander. Rhodes has been open about how often he talks to Cena about everything from merch sales to future plans, and that mentorship leads to a natural storyline that could be anything from babyface-babyface, to heel-heel, depending on how Paul “Triple H” Levesque wants to frame things.
Is Rhodes a safe choice to retire Cena? Yes. Would their match be middle-of-the-road, considering where Cena is at the moment in his career? Yes, while Rhodes can wrestle, he isn't an AJ Styles-level worker who can push anyone to a five-star match. And yet, is Rhodes the correct man for the job? Yes, he most likely is.
