John Cena announced that he will be retiring from professional wrestling in 2025.
Cena shared his plans for the next chapter of his career during a surprise appearance at WWE's Money in the Bank wrestling event in Toronto on Saturday, July 6.
At the event, he shared with fans that he was there to “officially announce” his retirement from the WWE.
“This farewell does not end tonight,” the 16-time WWE champion shared during his speech. “It is filled with opportunity. Everybody, RAW makes history next year when it moves to Netflix. I’ve never been a part of RAW on Netflix. That is history. That is a first, and I will be there.”
Cena, who made his WWE debut in 2002, also shared his plans to participate in his final Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, and WrestleMania in 2025.
“Everybody, I want to say thank you,” he said to the fans at the end of his speech. “Thank you so much for letting me play in the house that you built for so many years. Thank you so much always for your voice because it’s really loud, and your honesty, because it’s beautifully brutal.”
In a press conference after Money in the Bank, Cena shared details about his retirement and “farewell tour.”
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“It’s not going to end at WrestleMania,” he clarified, referring to the event that will be held in April 2025. “WrestleMania will be my last WrestleMania, but hopefully, if everything goes to plan, we’re going straight through from January to December.”
His 2025 plans include a “long list of dates” that will “tentatively” span into the 30s and 40s to mark the end of his “in ring competition.”
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Cena also gave fans insight into his involvement in the WWE after he ended his competition days, sharing, “Part of this business plan that I proposed and they accepted 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,” he explained. “Just because I physically feel I’m at my end doesn’t mean I need to distance myself from something I love.”
Cena previously discussed some potential plans for retirement during an appearance on TODAY in January when he was asked by Sheinelle Jones if he would make the decision to retire when he turned 50.
“That sounds pretty accurate, right? 50 is half of 100,” he said at the time. “I love being in the ring, that’s the one thing I wish I could do forever, but the crop of these superstars in there now, the sport is fast, it’s young, and it’s exciting. I got the exciting and enthusiasm part, I don’t have the fast or the young.”
The 47-year-old said his wrestling career has been a “big chapter” and a “meaningful one” in his life, but noted that he is “not totally defined” by his work.
“I’m ready to do the best I can for the business and I want to create lasting moments for the WWE, but I believe that energy is neither created nor destroyed, so I want to be able to pass that onto the new generation and let them run with it,” he added.
In a January interview with TODAY.com in January, he clarified his retirement plans, explaining, “I’m giving myself, like, hey, if you don’t figure it out until (the age of 50), you’re just done.”
“If we don’t come up with something that we can present to our WWE universe as a wave goodbye, if it doesn’t happen by then, I’ll just silently announce it on X or whatever the platform is,” he added.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
