John Cena’s WWE career is winding down, but one wrestling icon insists he should ‘never’ call time on his stay in the ring.
Cena, a multi-time world champion and arguably one of the finest performers of his generation, brings the curtain down on a glittering spell in the squared circle in 2025.
Few WWE wrestlers can boast a career quite like John Cena’sWWE
The grappling great confirmed back in the summer that, following a 25-year stint in WWE, he’ll be ending the active portion of his career with one last run in the forthcoming calendar year.
Stunning fans at July’s Money in the Bank, he declared: “I officially announce my retirement from the WWE. I have been doing this a while, I’ve been in WWE for over two decades. And in that time, I’ve seen incredible waves of prosperity like we’ve got right now.
“I have been doing this a while, I’ve been in WWE for over two decades. And in that time, I’ve seen incredible waves of prosperity like we’ve got right now.
“WWE is the hottest ticket in town, no doubt,” Cena added, saying: “Thank you so much for letting me play in the house you built for so many years.”
In the months following, multiple theories have emerged amongst fans as to who should get the honour of wrestling against Cena in his final stretch of matches.
The legend has made clear he’ll feature across several events in the calendar year, with Randy Orton telling talkSPORT he’d love to take a crack at going up against one of his greatest rivals one more time.
One man less keen to see Cena go out in a blaze of glory – or at all – is WWE Hall of Famer Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler.
The veteran wrestler and commentator has urged the 47-year-old to avoid retiring altogether, insisting there’s still plenty he can accomplish.
“I don’t think anybody should ever retire,” said Lawler.
“There’s too many things that you can do without using the word ‘retire.’ When I hear about somebody retiring, I look for them to die pretty soon.
Cena has transitioned into a successful Hollywood star following a full-time wrestling careerWWE
“I would never say that he’s going to retire.”
Cena first wrestled under the WWE banner in 2000, making his television debut two years later against Kurt Angle.
He’s since gone on to wrestle in a match for the company every year, right up to his April bout on Raw when he teamed with The Miz and R-Truth to beat The Judgement Day.
Throughout his career, Cena has won 16 world titles in WWE as one of its most decorated talents, as well as enjoying two Royal Rumble match wins and five runs with the United States title among a string of others.
Lawler, meanwhile, was on hand to call many of Cena’s early matches as he established himself as a WWE superhero of sorts.
The King was a firm fixture behind the commentary desk for the company from 1994 up until, 2020, but no longer features in that role after a string of health issues over the years.
Looking unrecognisable from his Attitude Era fame alongside Jim Ross decades prior, he quietly eased away from the screen and, in 2023, suffered a stroke that initially impacted his speech.
