Look… I don’t think it’s crazy to say that John Cena’s final year as a professional wrestler hasn’t gone the way anyone thought it would. Whether it was a heel turn that people thought would never happen, the constant drama surrounding The Rock’s involvement (and then lack thereof) in storylines, the shocking return of Brock Lesnar, and everything in between… it has been one thing after another after another after another.
Whatever happened, and no matter who is at fault for whatever happened, is in the past. There’s nothing we can do about that now. What we can do, however, is look to the future. A future that is approaching quicker than I’m truly prepared for.
It’s time to talk about John Cena’s final match.
Everything about it is still rumor and speculation, but that’s what makes it fun to discuss.
The first rumor is that WWE is internally discussing the idea of having John’s final match take place on an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event in December that would take place directly against the World’s End pay-per-view that AEW will be putting on.
A month ago, I posted a column that looked at what I felt were WWE’s “missteps” in their attempt at declaring some sort of “war” with AEW. They were trying to counter some major AEW pay-per-view events by putting on second and even third-rate NXT pay-per-view shows. That put a lot of wrestling fans in a weird spot. You’d have diehard WWE fans who were forced to choose what to watch live, and they’d end up choosing AEW because those shows were bigger with much better cards.
I said that it would behoove WWE more to really push whatever agenda they’re trying to push. If you want to mess with AEW, whether it’s to try and put them out of business or just to send them a message that you’re capable of doing so, putting the biggest roadblocks in front of them is where it’s at. If either company is going to take any sort of shots at the other, make it count. I want to see chaos.
Having Saturday Night’s Main Event with Goldberg’s last match air against AEW’s Y’All In was a step in the right direction. It was still a less consequential televised show going up against the biggest North American show in AEW history, though.
Having John Cena vs Brock Lesnar take place at a yet-to-be-named pay-per-view in September to air head-to-head against AEW’s All Out pay-per-view is several steps in the right direction. That’s a giant match to make, and it shows WWE is now willing to pull out the heavy artillery to make whatever statement they’re trying to make.
Taking John Cena’s final match and putting it up against a “secondary” AEW pay-per-view? That’s exactly the type of thing I’m talking about! Is it going to be enough to put AEW out of business? No, of course not, but it’s a big enough deal to put a dent in their financials. On the flip side, it also presents AEW with an opportunity to step their game up on the creative side, having them put on the absolute best possible show with World’s End. If they can try to sway some people from watching SNME live, why not do it?
Jumping to the next debate about the final match of John Cena’s career… where do you have the show, and what kind of show is it?
As I’ve said, the early rumor was that an episode of Saturday Night’s Main event would be the vehicle for Cena’s final match. That makes sense, with the retirement taking place in December. WWE hasn’t held a pay-per-view event in December since TLC in 2020, so unless things change, that leaves SNME, Raw, or Smackdown for Cena’s swan song.
There are attractive reasons to have the match take place on Raw, Smackdown, or Saturday Night’s Main Event, without a doubt. The pettiness of having it go head-to-head with an AEW event might be too much for WWE to pass up, though. If I’m making decisions for WWE, that’s where my mind would go right from the start.
I’d also be on board with the rumor of the host city of Cena’s final match being Boston, Massachusetts. John was born and raised in Massachusetts… born 36 miles away from Boston, high school 30 miles away from Boston before transferring to another school 60 miles away from Boston, college 91 miles away from Boston… so that makes perfect sense. Every city on the globe would lose their minds for Cena on that particular night, but his “hometown” crowd would be especially emotional for him, and he would probably be especially emotional for them, too.
So, let’s recap so far…
I’d have John Cena’s final match take place on an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event, to air live against AEW’s World’s End pay-per-view on December 27th, and the event would take place in Boston, probably at the TD Garden.
Now, we get to the fun part.
Who should John Cena’s final opponent be?
When this retirement tour was announced, a bunch of names were immediately talked about as potential opponents for Cena’s final match.
Cody Rhodes was mentioned, but John faced him at WrestleMania and again at SummerSlam.
Randy Orton was mentioned, but John faced him at Backlash.
CM Punk was mentioned, but John faced him at Night Of Champions.
Logan Paul was mentioned, but John is set to face him at Clash In Paris in a couple weeks.
Obviously, that doesn’t take them out of the running to be Cena’s final opponent in December, but it sure makes the odds of them getting that spot a lot less likely.
If you’re looking for someone that shares a professional history with John, what about AJ Styles? How about Seth Rollins? What about Roman Reigns?
Of those three choices, Seth makes the most sense. I can’t imagine John’s December opponent getting a very strong face reaction, especially if the match takes place in Boston. Do you turn AJ heel before that match, or do you just roll with the punches of him getting booed? Roman is in a league of his own when it comes to stardom, so he’s always going to have a percentage of the live crowds cheering for him, no matter who he’s facing and where it’s happening. He’d have fans in Boston on his side, but is it worth it to have one of your biggest faces (even though he still acts the same as he did when he was a heel) getting booed? Seth is already a top heel, and is already looking to get booed as much as possible, so that would definitely work.
It’s not the direction I would take things, though.
I’m always of the thinking that you want to build stars for the future. Hell, I’m of the thinking that you want to build stars for the present, as well, but the future is my point here. Using the tried-and-true method of a wrestler putting someone over on their way out the door, I’d much prefer it if John does the j-o-b in his final match, giving someone the ultimate bragging rights.
WWE has long referred to John Cena as the greatest performer in company history. They don’t need to say it, but that also means they’re referring to John Cena as the greatest performer in wrestling history, as WWE views themselves as the only promotion that has ever mattered.
If that’s the case, and if John Cena truly is the GOAT… imagine what it could do for someone’s career if they hold a win over him in his final match. I don’t care that Cena has lost a bunch of matches by pinfall since transitioning from being a full-time wrestler. This is still an opportunity to MAKE someone with one booking decision.
I’ve seen people say Gunther should get the gig, but I disagree. He’s a two-time World Heavyweight Champion that has held some sort of title for nearly 80% of his WWE career. He doesn’t “need” the win over Cena.
I’ve also seen people say Uncle Howdy should be chosen for this spot, but I not only disagree, I do so vehemently. I think I’ve made my opinions on the Wyatt Sicks clear in columns past, and those opinions haven’t changed much at all. Besides, Uncle Howdy is more of a glorified manager and mouthpiece for the group at this point, only having wrestled three times in the last year, with two of those matches being eight-man tags. Giving him the win in a spot like this seems like a tremendous waste.
If I had a “wishlist” of names for the role of being the one who defeats John Cena in his final match, it would currently consist of six people. Let’s go over them, in no particular order, shall we?
Jacob Fatu: I think it’s pretty clear that WWE sees him as a huge piece of their future, and I agree with that wholeheartedly. What better way to propel him to what should be a main event run in 2026 than by having him send John Cena into retirement to end 2025? The only issue here is what I mentioned earlier, and that’s the risk of putting a face in this spot and turning most of the crowd against them for the match, and probably for the entire build leading up to the match, as well. Creative writing can get you around a lot of those situations without too much harm, but the risk is still there.
Bron Breakker: Not a single one of you should be surprised about Bron’s inclusion. He has been presented as a future WrestleMania main eventer damn near from the moment he debuted in NXT. I feel like he’s right on the cusp of truly breaking out, and something like this could really take him to the next level. If there’s a difficulty in pulling this off, it’s that Bron is in a group with Seth Rollins, who is probably going to want to retire Cena himself. Again, though, some creative writing can get you around that if it’s done correctly.
Penta: I suppose you could call this one a bit of a dark horse candidate. Penta is a big-time face, yes, but WWE has been looking to push the “next Rey Mysterio” for years. He can be a monumental force in the Latino community for WWE, and even more so if he can have something like this under his belt. I hate to be a broken record, but the risk here is that you’re going to hurt his face reactions from live crowds by placing him against Cena.
Carmelo Hayes: I think Melo is one of the most underrated names on the WWE roster right now. Clearly, I’m not the only one, as #WeWantMelo and similar things have trended on social media multiple times in recent weeks. The sooner he gets away from The Miz, the better, and something like this could go a long way towards making that happen. If he wants to prove that Melo, indeed, don’t miss, then making a name as the man who sent John Cena running off into retirement might be the ticket.
Dominik Mysterio: I’ve said it a bunch of times in the past, and I’m going to continue saying it… WWE has something special on their hands with Dominik Mysterio. He is an absolute heat magnet, and he simply understands how to do everything it takes to be a big star. The man is so good at being a heel that he looped all the way over to the other side of the scale and has built up the potential of being a world class face. It seems pretty clear that WWE wants Dom to remain a heel for now, so imagine the potential of his character with the bragging rights of officially ending John Cena’s career.
Oba Femi: Let’s get kooky. Oba has been dominant in NXT since he debuted on the brand, and he is quickly reaching “there’s nothing left for him to do there” status. If WWE had the testicular fortitude to do so, they could create a new star instantly by having Oba debut on the main roster and go after Cena right away. This is certainly the least likely option of any that I’ve listed here, but it also might be the most fun to watch if it’s done correctly.
An episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 27th, taking place at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, airing head-to-head with AEW’s World’s End pay-per-view, with one of those six men as John Cena’s final opponent. That works for me.
How about you? If you were in charge, how would Cena’s final match go? Would you put it up against AEW programming? Where would you hold the show? Who would his final opponent be? Would he “do the honors” on his way out, or pick up the victory? As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, or on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s get to my Weekly Power Rankings before we close things out with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
Brody King, Hologram, Tomohiro Ishii & Hiromu Takahashi vs The Young Bucks, Kyle Fletcher & Josh Alexander: Push Brody King as a singles star, you cowards!
The Street Profits vs DIY: The “Smackdown Six” made for absolutely must-see weekly television for WWE back in 2002, with any combination of the six being able to face off with each other and have incredible matches. Do we have a new version of that with the tag team division on Smackdown today? It certainly seems like we do. Any combination of the teams on Smackdown can face each other in a variety of match types every week, and they all make for some amazing matches. It’s a blast.
Kevin Knight vs Jon Moxley: The matches themselves are a ton of fun, but imagine how much more fun they would be if anyone, anywhere, actually thought Mox could lose any of them. That seems to describe the last few years for Mox, actually.
Iyo Sky vs Roxanne Perez: Is Iyo the best wrestler alive today? Many seem to think so, and she keeps giving them no reason to feel otherwise. She is as consistently great as they come.
JetSpeed vs Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta: This mini-feud between JetSpeed and the Death Riders sure hasn’t gone Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey’s way, has it? At least the matches are good, I guess.
FrAxiom vs Carmelo Hayes & The Miz: Push Carmelo Hayes as a singles star, you cowards!
Ace Austin vs Ricochet: The absolute last thing AEW needs is even more people on their roster, but they brought in Ace Austin, anyways. Sure, he fits right in with the AEW product, but there are SO MANY people on the roster who are incredibly talented and can’t even get on television, let alone receive any type of legitimate push. I have a sneaking suspicion that he’ll join that list sooner than later, and I say that as a fan of the guy.
Lash Legend vs Nia Jax: What’s the female version of a “hoss battle?” Whatever it is, that’s what this match was. Lash continues to improve, and she is showing that she could be a major force on Raw or Smackdown in the perhaps not-too-distant future.
AJ Styles & Dragon Lee vs Dominik Mysterio & El Grande Americano: An exciting “preview” of the TripleMania main event. Nothing wrong with that.
El Hijo del Vikingo vs Dominik Mysterio vs Dragon Lee vs El Grande Americano: Speaking of that TripleMania main event, here it is. The action was a lot of fun, as you would expect with the four men involved in the match, but holy hell, did it get overbooked. Way too much going on outside the ring, and that hurt the overall grade of the match a bit.
Oba Femi, Trick Williams, Moose & Je’Von Evans vs Darkstate: The members of Darkstate continue to impress me with their in-ring work, but I’m not sure what NXT sees their future to be. Sometimes, they look like they’re super strong and on the verge of dominating the brand. Other times, they look like nothing more than lower tier guys. It would be nice if there was a more dedicated focus for them and what their futures could be.
Jacob Fatu, Jimmy Uso & Sami Zayn vs Solo Sikoa, JC Mateo & Tonga Loa: Whether you like the story or not, it really has been fascinating to watch how long the Bloodline and all of its offshoots have been going in WWE. We’ve essentially been watching one storyline go strong for five full years now.
Kelani Jordan & Lola Vice vs Jacy Jayne & Fallon Henley: Jacy continues to get better in the ring, wrestling with a chip on her shoulder after everyone wrote her off as a “bad” champion when she defeated Stephanie Vaquer back in May to become the NXT Women’s Champion.
This Week’s Playlist: “Hate Being Famous” by That Mexican OT… “Baby Mad At Me” by That Mexican OT & Lil Wayne… “Accessories” by That Mexican OT & Peso Peso… “Ride” by Chance The Rapper & Do Or Die… “Annihilate Me” by I Prevail… “Prison Of Flesh” by Lorna Shore… “Bedroom Posters” by Yellowcard… “Catching Bodies” by Sekou… “In It With You” by Craig David & JoJo… “Dominoes” by Craig David… “Honest” by Leela James… “Function” by E-40, YG, Iamsu! & Problem… “What We Do” by Freeway, Jay-Z & Beanie Sigel… “Sinister Mob” by E-40 & Nate Dogg… “For Real” by Rittz… “Shoot Outs” by Jadakiss & Styles P… “Move That Dope” by Future, Pusha T, Pharrell Williams & Casino… “Man Of The Year” by ScHoolboy Q… “Love Sosa” by Chief Keef… “WhatchuWanDo” by Krayzie Bone & The Game… “Lose My Mind” by Young Jeezy & Plies… “Swim Good” by Frank Ocean… “Psychosocial” by Slipknot… “(sic)” by Slipknot… “Before I Forget” by Slipknot
