WWE legend and 17-time World Champion John Cena officially ended his illustrious pro wrestling career in December 2025, following a 12-month Retirement Tour. During this period, he faced off against decorated rivals such as Randy Orton, CM Punk, AJ Styles, and Brock Lesnar.
Cena lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam 2025. Unfortunately for the 17-time champion, the night took a turn for the worse when Brock Lesnar made his return after a two-year absence and attacked him. Cena ultimately faced Lesnar one last time at Wrestlepalooza, but the match received negative feedback from fans, as Lesnar decisively defeated the WWE legend in just over eight minutes.
At Fanatics Fest 2026, Cena spoke with Undisputed about various topics, including what he considers to be the toughest match of his entire WWE career.
Cena said, “I’d always say my next match was going to be my toughest, but that’s not true now that I’m retired. The toughest one was from the retirement tour against Brock Lesnar. The reason I say that isn’t just because it was physically demanding—any match with Brock is physically demanding. What was tough about that one is I’ve had my butt kicked by Brock Lesnar before, and you guys loved it. In Indianapolis, I got my butt kicked by Brock Lesnar, and you hated it. So that made it physically and mentally tough. It was easily the toughest match of my career.”
(H/T to the Wrestling Observer for transcribing the above quotes)
