As WWE legend John Cena continues his emotional farewell tour, he recently opened up about the unique, ever-changing nature of WWE storytelling and how his final year has reflected that flexibility.
In an interview with Collider.com, Cena discussed the creative direction of his retirement run and how WWE’s ability to adapt on the fly has made the farewell experience truly special—and unpredictable.
“I don’t want to spoil any of the stuff for the final year, but I think your question is great,” Cena began. “I’ve been in a lot of avenues of entertainment. I’ve read the morning news, I’ve hosted award shows, I’ve had slime poured all over me. I’ve done episodic television. I’ve been able to be on screen. I’ve been able to be on your phone, and I’ve been in arena life. There is no more adaptable form of storytelling than WWE. WWE can change a story as it happens live.”
Cena revealed that as of now, 18 of the planned 36 farewell dates have already taken place, and along the way, WWE has been making major creative pivots—many of them happening in real time during shows.
“So far over the farewell tour dates, the 18 of 36 so far, we’ve made a ton of pivots, a ton of pivots right there in the moment,” he said.
Looking ahead to the second half of the tour, Cena hinted that fans will play a much larger role in dictating the final direction of his send-off.
“As we get close to the end of this thing, what dictates those pivots is the audience. And I think the audience will begin to feel differently, because now we are truly coming to the end. So, if you ever had a voice to use, if you ever wanted to say something… I hate to steal my own cliché, but the time is now.”
Cena concluded by praising WWE’s agility and creative flexibility, calling it the company’s greatest strength:
“I applaud the WWE for always being able to think extended but pivot on a dime in a moment, as it happens. I think that’s their strongest suit.”
John Cena’s farewell tour continues in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned to PWMania.com for updates on the tour, reactions from fans, and all future Cena developments.
