John Cena has been all over the place this week to promote “The Last Time Is Now” retirement match, which we now know will be against Gunther, at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event next Saturday, December 13, 2025, live from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
“The Greatest of All-Time” has made stops on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the Bill Simmons podcast, and many others to promote his highly-anticipated WWE swan song next weekend.
During an appearance on the The Bill Simmons Podcast, the future WWE Hall of Fame legend opened up on the Vince McMahon controversy that led to his WWE departure, what he learned from the former longtime WWE Chairman, why he views the infamous CM Punk ‘pipebomb’ promo from WWE’s past differently than most and more.
Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview where he touches on these topics with his thoughts. Also embedded below is a complete video archive of the discussion.
On WWE without Vince McMahon: “So of all the things he did and of all the things he taught me, one piece that was very important is that no one is irreplaceable. And that’s the truth. The one thing that needs to stand firm is the consumer’s belief in what we do. And Vince has so much knowledge. I think what’s happened is unfortunate because you have this individual with so much depth of field, who can who can still offer things. And we no longer can pull from that well. But it doesn’t mean we don’t have able-bodied folks who can’t put on creative programming.”
On learning that lesson from McMahon: “So yeah, I never wanted Vince to go, because I love him. And I know how much he loves the business. But he taught me like, we’re all going to go. All of us. And he taught me that not only through saying, [but] through his actions. I was there the day he fired Stone Cold. ‘You missed a date. Gotta go.’ His biggest attraction. ‘I got to let people know this isn’t okay.’ So things happen. We got to let people know this isn’t okay. It’s time for you to go. Everybody goes, man. Everybody goes. So because of his words, yeah. Yeah.”
On wrestling being in the Golden Age: “We’re kind of in the middle of another boom in wrestling. You know, there’s multiple avenues of competition, there’s multiple outlets of programming out there. WWE has so much programming out there. And to somebody like me, who just doesn’t have a lot of time to invest in everything, it’s like, ‘Man, I don’t know how we sustain all this.’ But to our consumer, they want more. The more we can give them, the better. People are actually going to sit down and listen to this, because this hopefully is going to drop some breadcrumbs on December 13th, and they want more. They want to hear more. If I could sit down with you for five hours, I have a feeling our consumers would hang in there for it. It’s just –we’re in another another golden age.”
On some past Golden Ages: “Certainly one was when it nationalized and WWF was put on cable television. I think that Hogan on the cover of Sports Illustrated, I think that was one. I think the the Attitude Era, and the height of WCW/WWF competition was another one. And I think here we are in yet another golden age, like a boom.”
On his feud with CM Punk not being a Golden Age moment: “So like, a moment of relevance is different. That unbelievable night that Punk had was amazing. And when it gets picked up by genuine sports outlets like, ‘Oh man, he really did something great.’ I think it was good for everyone. The Montreal Screwjob is another moment that’s like, ‘Wow, this got picked up by a lot of folks,’ And it was a moment, but it was kind of in a lull in the business. And I mean like, boom, sustained bull market. Wrestling is on everybody’s mind from 1984 to like 1988. And then from like 1997 to 2001. And now it’s been like — I think COVID helped us out a lot. We were the only program that ran during the pandemic to give fans entertainment. But it’s probably been like ’18, ’19 to ’25. It’s grown exponentially. The better TV deals, being able to reach more global audience. Having a crop of new stars, and having the old stars kind of fade and transition, but like having the bullpen stacked. I think [it] has helped. And the fact that now it’s relatively easy to be a performer on TV — and I’m saying comparatively speaking. Before there was only one Monday Night Raw with two hours of broadcast time on it. Now there’s a bunch of different shows. TNA just announced another TV deal. There’s there’s a lot of stuff going on, There’s a way for you as a performer to put your business card out there. It’s been a great time to be a wrestling fan and it’s been a great time to be a wrestler.”
On why it makes him happy: “And it really warms my heart to be able to look around the arenas and see the place jam-packed, and the people excited to see the promotion thriving. To see the talent really do well for themselves in a performative aspect. And certainly a financial aspect. They’re getting paid a whole lot more than I was. But instead of shaking my fist and saying, ‘Well, back in the day we only made this much’– I think that’s a great way to show like, ‘I just want to leave the place better than I found it.’ So now we got a bunch of millionaires because the company’s doing well. Like, it’s leveled up. It is leveled up in every aspect. Sports families are bringing us in. ESPN’s welcomed us into our our family. Netflix has welcomed us into their family. We’re out there all the time. We used to have to struggle to get like a good time slot in Germany, and you had to do all these international TV deals. But now we’re just on Netflix. So that helps global touring, which can keep demand high in the States. It does so much which can keep the business hot for longer. Which [means] we can pay talent better and create more stars. It’s all really, really good. I’m just happy to be able to like see the beginning of this snowball and get kicked downhill and see where it goes.”
Make sure to join us here at WrestlingHeadlines.com on 12/13 for live WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event results coverage from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., featuring John Cena’s WWE retirement match.
