John Cena’s retirement tour is approaching its final stretch, with only two in-ring appearances remaining. Despite a historic farewell year that included turning heel for the first time in his career, main-eventing WrestleMania, and capturing a record-breaking 17th World Championship, Cena revealed in a new interview that his exit from WWE is not happening the way he would ideally choose.
Speaking on WWE Raw Recap, Cena explained that his decision to retire stems from a personal promise he made to fans decades ago—one centered on preserving the integrity of WWE and the quality of its in-ring product.
“I’m not going out on my own terms. If I could do this [to] infinity, I would do it,” Cena admitted. “I made a promise to the fan base when I started that when I got a step slower, I gotta walk away. Yeah, I could probably squeeze out more matches, but at what cost? I do harm to myself, I do harm to the product, and you as a fan who’s allowed me the opportunity for over two decades to spend time with you, you leave feeling bad or sad.”
Throughout his farewell tour, Cena revisited some of his most celebrated rivalries, competing in nostalgia-driven matches against Randy Orton, CM Punk, R-Truth, and Sami Zayn. This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw marked his final appearance on the red brand.
Cena kicked off the show before being confronted by former Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio. The tense exchange led to two major announcements: an Intercontinental Championship rematch set for Survivor Series, and a six-man tag team match later that night. Cena teamed with Rey Mysterio and Sheamus to defeat Dominik, Finn Balor, and JD McDonagh.
Cena’s final opponent has yet to be determined. WWE is currently running the “Last Time Is Now” tournament to decide who will face him at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13. Gunther and Solo Sikoa both advanced this week on Raw, bringing the tournament one step closer to its conclusion.
