Summary
As the tears of wrestling fans across the world slowly begin to dry, the reality of John Cena’sWWElast dance is upon us. Following the sad news thatJohn Cena is to retire from WWE, the movie star and Fruity Pebbles ambassador will be calling time on a legendary in-ring career that has spanned over 22 years. In 2025,the WWE’s first year on Netflix will see the legend taking part in a Farewell Tourthat will take in “between 30 or 40 dates” including next year’sRoyal Rumble,WrestleMania,Money In The Bankand, you would expect, other major PLE’s.
While his retirement will see one of WWE’s most consistently solid draws and popular superstars stepping away from the ring, the year-long tour does present some opportunities. This should be taken as an opportunity to give fans some truly great matches before it ends. Scouring the WWE roster, these are the opponents that would maximize the final months of the in-ring career of John Cena.
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10The Rock
The Biggest WWE Brands Need One Last Clash
Their history is plain for all to see, with the pair having headlinedWrestleMania’s28and29, as excellently explored by A&E as part of their WWE Rivals series. They are tied at one victory each in single’s competition against one another, andthe rubber match is an absolute certainty.The only logical question surrounds what event that match takes place at.
WrestleMania28, headlined by The Rock vs John Cena, garnered over 1.3 million PPV buys worldwide, generating over $67 million.
9Logan Paul
The Divisive YouTuber-Turned-Wrestler Is A Big Draw
Love or loathe him, social-media-star-turned-human-highlight-reel pro wrestler Logan Paul has proven to be a major attraction in WWE on pure merit. His matches may be sparse but they are never less than exhilarating. On top of that, his obnoxious mic work is the perfect foil for Cena’s wholesome vibe and, crucially,he will make the 47-year old relevant in all the right places for WWE.
John Cena will never need to be carried, but, if a lot of his opponents are going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting, it is worthy noting (and impressive to boot) that Logan Paul is more than up to that challenge when considering he has so little WWE in-ring appearances to his name.Paul is so good that he could even win, and it wouldn’t be too much of a shockdue to what he’s created.
Logan Paul (26.9M) has more Instagram followers than John Cena (20.7M)
8CM Punk
One Of Cena’s Definitive Rivals Should Step Up
“I always looked at (us) like Superman and Batman. Superman is great. He’s cool if you like that sort of thing. But then there’s Batman, and who doesn’t like Batman?”
Taken from the post-show atMoney In The Bank2024, CM Punk astutely got right to the beating heart of what always made the interactions between him and Cena so enjoyable.The ultimate doer of good versus the rebellious vigilante, there is a real argument for it to be between Punk and Randy Orton as to who could be considered Cena’s definitive rivalry.
Their history would probably havethe smart money on them interacting either at or aroundMoney In The Bank,given the history of The Pipe Bomb promo and everything around their historic 2011 encounter at the event in Chicago, butthis is also a match that never happened atWrestleMania. Punk’s biggest gripe has been that he hasn’t headlined the show of shows. Is 2025 the year?
7Dominik Mysterio
Judgment Day Awaits The Dirtiest Player In The WWE Game
No matter the city, State or country the WWE travels too, one truth is immutable: Dominik Mysterio will be the recipient of the evening’s biggest boos. He is a one-man heat magnet. His slimy love life and running battles with his Deadbeat Dad, Rey Mysterio, have captivated audiences for well over a year at this point. Still,if anyone is going to beat some good old-fashioned family values into the upstart, it’s the most wholesome man who ever pulled on a pair of jorts.
John Cena’s Farewell Tour should be all about his history and his legacy and not take in much of the kind of action that saw Kurt Angle have his last encounter in a WWE ring with an up-and-coming Baron Corbin. That said, if any villain outside WWE’s Main Event scene is worthy of a program with The Face That Ran The Place, Dirty Dom is that guy.
6Randy Orton
Will The Apex Predator Turn Legend Killer Once More?
Randy Orton and John Cena have headlined PLEs and shared the ring for a gauntlet match,Hell In A Cell, an I Quit bout, multipleRoyal Rumble’s andElimination Chambers, an Iron Man Match, a TLC encounter, anda staggering 23 different title matches over the years. The first time they appeared in a ring and on TV together was back in OVW in 2002. Good luck to all involved in trying to tie all of this together as part of their last dance!
In truth, this is a story that doesn’t even need a great narrative. Their history means that this needs no introduction and isarguably the biggest no-brainer of all the possible opponents. Also, as with CM Punk but perhaps more remarkably, the pair have never met atWrestleMania.
John Cena and Randy Orton have been in the same match on WWE television an astonishing 93 times.
5Bron Breakker
The Rookie Of The Year Versus The Old Dog
The WWE’s 2024 Rookie Of The Year is nailed on to be one of the biggest problems for everybody within the company in 2025.Bron Breakker has every necessary component to exist at the top of the pro wrestling food chain, much in the same way that Cena had that “it” factor from the second he arrived on our screens and spat out the words “ruthless aggression”.
It remains to be seen how much of the Farewell Tour is dedicated to interacting with newer talent but, if anyone is a lock, it is surely him (given they have already interacted on NXT television).Every departing legend must pave the road for future talent on their way out of the business. It’s just that, in this particular scenario, the monstrous rising star is likely to make the retiring icon nothing more than roadkill.
4AJ Styles
A Styles Clash Is Surely In Cena’s Future
Cena’s Farewell Tour simply cannot be allowed to happen without one more opportunity for AJ Styles to “beat up John Cena”. The Phenomenal One’s arrival in WWE back in 2016 came at a time when Cena’s in-ring work was under most scrutiny. Not only did the pairing’s feud that summer rubber-stamp AJ as someone who could integrate into the WWE system at the highest level, but he alsoprovided Cena with some of the finest pro wrestling of his lifeand a warm glass of Shut The Hell Up for all snobby naysayers.
Perhaps most fascinating is that Styles has been very open about this being the final inning of his career.Is there a world in which Big Match John retires AJ Styles as part of this final run?
“I’ve had a lot of tough opponents throughout my career. I will say that a guy that surprised me with how good he was in the ring would be John Cena. I had some of my better matches against this guy". AJ Styles on John Cena,The Halftime Show
3Solo Sikoa
In terms of storyline alone, Solo Sikoa is probably the opponent that makes the most sense for Cena.John Cena took one of the most severe beatings of his entire career at the hands of the young Samoanlast year in Saudi Arabia atCrown Jewel. He would have his revenge atWrestleManiathis year, delivering an Attitude Adjustment to the new Head Of The Table, butThe Bloodline neither forgives nor forgets.
By the time the beginning of the year rolls around, there’s every chance that this spot makes more sense for The Samoan Werewolf, Jacob Fatu, but for canon and where we are in the here and now, this isvery likely to be John Cena’s first point of call in January.
In their last match atCrown Jewel2023, John Cena took Solo Sikoa’s Samoan Spike finishing move 10 times.
2Kevin Owens
2025 Marks A Decade Since THAT Debut
Of all of Cena’s runs and gimmicks over the years, hisUnited States Championship Invitational Challenge is one of the most fondly remembered. In an attempt to restore some prestige to the title, John would extend the offer of “you want some, come get some” every Monday night and out would step an unnamed challenger.
The subsequent clashes were every bit as awesome as described andits most thrilling moment was when then NXT champion Kevin Owens arrived, the two had an A+ microphone stand-off, and it ended with everybody’s hero taking a pump-up powerbomb by the new Big Bad.
Now established as a man who has main-evented at WrestleMania and a marquee name in WWE, Kevin Owens vs John Cena has history on its side and blockbuster box office potential in its future.
1Cody Rhodes
Cena Faces His American Nightmare
While the focus of this wishlist is to think about the foes that await John Cena over the duration of his Farewell,he’s going to need a lot of allies along the way too. The names are plentiful for who could assist the Head of the Cenation as he writes the final chapters of his own story: Main Event Jey Uso, LA Knight, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn. Maybe Roman Reigns?
Chief of the possibilities is surely WWE’s current white knight, The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes. Butwhat is wrestling without the best of friends becoming bitter rivals?It has yet to be seen since his triumphant return to WWE in April, 2022, and it is easy to forget because he is on the hottest babyface run since the heyday of John Cena himself, but Cody is a devilish villain when the mood takes him, and he would be an incredible opponent for Cena’s final hurrah.
Truthfully, it doesn’t have to be something as drastic as Cody Rhodes turning his red, white and blue heart cold. With wrestling’s tradition of retiring superstars going out on their shield,the only hope is that Cena’s final bow alters the future landscape of WWEor it’s overall trajectory.
