John Cena Says He's Retiring From the WWE Within the Next 3 Years

[Dale]

By Monica Sisavat Solis
Published: 1:37 PM PST, January 23, 2024​

The WWE superstar plans to be done with wrestling by 50.​

Is John Cena ready to hang up his wrestling boots for good?

On Tuesday, the 46-year-old superstar further discussed his plans to retire from the WWE with ET's Nischelle Turner. Cena -- who was on hand to promote his new action film, Argylle, in London -- said he intends to retire from wrestling soon. "That's not a maybe. That time is gonna come and it's gonna come soon," he said.

Cena notably made his WWE debut 22 years ago in 2002.

He continued: "I made a promise to the consumer early on, to WWE fans, 'cause I know how tough it is to be a fan. You gotta come out of pocket -- and WWE has a ton of content -- it takes a lot to be a passionate fan and our fanbase is passionate and global. I never wanted to go out there just for the sake of going out there. And I'm gonna be 47 this year. I feel great. So inside I feel great, but I know what it takes to be a WWE performer night in and night out and I don't ever wanna just go out there and do it to do it. I wanna have the passion -- the same passion as the fanbase -- and I wanna give them exactly what they give me. The miles on the speedometer say, 'Hey, that's gotta be done before 50.'"

The Argylle actor will be turning 47 on April 23 and he says that's "the timeline I've put on myself."

"It's tough to juggle both because, you know, when you're filming Argylle, Matthew [Vaughn] won't let you go do anything else because of insurance," he joked. "So as long as the phone keeps ringing and we've had some good opportunities here, I'll kind of preserve that for as long as I can. But even coming back for these one-at-a-time things or short three-month periods, it takes its toll more and more and I've just had an incredibly fortunate run with my health. I feel great. I just want to continue to feel great the rest of my life."

When asked if he plans to dip his toes back into wrestling after he retires, similar to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Cena noted that he's "had at least one match every year in WWE for the past 23 years."

He added, "I've never missed a year, and as long as I can perform, I don't intend to miss a year."

WWE's big WrestleMania event is coming up in April, and Cena teased the possibility of him attending. "I don't know if I'll be free that weekend, but it is a weekend and movies don't shoot on the weekends," he playfully said. "But when I say I'm done -- in WWE, they say never say never and a lot of people retire and come back -- I'm just being honest with myself. There's such a great new generation now as well. It's time to pass the electric energy on to the folks that can be there every day."

John Cena Says He's Retiring From the WWE Within the Next 3 Years

The WWE superstar plans to be done with wrestling by 50.

www.etonline.com

He's also just kissing ass with this but he said if it was up to him he'd choose the o2 in London for his last match

​

 

[Sabretooth]

I mean we’ve heard the same shit a million times lol. When he’s done he’s done. Don’t gonna keep rehashing it.

 

[King Kota]

Cena vs. Orton one last time be a nice way to end things I think.

 

[Chris]

Wants the O2 to be the location of his last match apparently

 

[Sabretooth]

Wants the O2 to be the location of his last match apparently

They’re bringing Wrestlemania there remember

 

[Dale]

Not to the o2 they aint.

 

[King Kota]

Not to the o2 they aint.

Has to be Wembly

 

[Chris]

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/john-cena-on-post-in-ring-career-i-always-want-to-be-involved-in-the-business

Cena appeared as a guest on an episode of Impaulsive released on Wednesday. During the interview, he was asked if he plans to wrestle again.

Cena responded:

Yes, I hope so. I am not officially done. I know that I'm close, bud, I'm close, I can feel it. Especially seeing you (Logan Paul) out there doing incredible stuff. And just our talent now, the product has become so crisp and so fast and so skilled, it is a different world.

He was then asked if he would consider taking on an executive role with WWE when his in-ring career.

Cena answered:

No, what I would love to give to the business is just my time and I live very close to the Performance Center and I would like to go in as a guest, that way I'm not obligated and they're not obligated in anyway. It's stuff I do on my free time, anyway. I love going in and just picking people's brains and just have conversations about like, "So, who are you?" And they'll be like, "What does that have to do with anything?" Oh, only everything. Let's talk.

Cena continued:

I always want to be involved in the business. I get so passionate about it and it's something that I love and I think I have a few pieces of wisdom that need to be passed on and I don't think they should die with me so I'm going to try and do that as best I can.

Another topic discussed during the interview is how Cena defines the John Cena character.

Cena said:

John Cena in the WWE existence is quite easy for me to define, (he's) Superman. And I don't mean like I'm stronger than everybody, I can outrun a speeding train or am stronger than a train or faster than a bullet, whatever. I mean, Superman acts with pure virtue, Superman has a moral code, Superman can be conflicted but when he's conflicted, his northstar is his moral code and his virtues.

Cena continued:

Over the years, there has been a difference in Superman. The Superman of 2012, where man did they want CM Punk to win the championship because everybody was sick of me winning. They were sick of Superman, which is the forever problem with Superman, he's too good.
Now, it's an older Superman, who is looking in the mirror saying, 'I was this, I'm not this anymore, what am I now?
I'm trying to figure it out, I need your help. 'Hey guys, I don't know how much time I have left' and I gauge their interest off that.

Now, he says, the person fans see on television is pretty close to the real John Cena.

Cena continued:

The person sitting before you is me, the person you see in WWE is more of me now than it ever has been in totatlity. I don't know what the future will bring and I don't know if I'll ever have to take the character or the arc anywhere else.

Another topic discussed was Cena learning Mandarin and how he hoped to make WWE relevant in China by breaking down the language-barrier.

Cena said:

I cannot tell you how much I love WWE and loving it is not just loving my time in the ring, it's also loving the business and WWE has really never been able to penetrate China.
They just don't understand it. They think it's a Kung Fu expedition, they don't know if it's real. It's the one place in the world that kind of doesn't understand. Everywhere else but China. So, I figured if one of WWE's top superstars could bridge the language-barrier maybe we could get some relevancy over there and with relevancy maybe we could get some homegrown talent. And with homegrown talent maybe - as we were talking about how you get distribution with Prime and how you get locations - you have influence in this area. And I was literally just trying to use myself as a vehicle to get us over there and the crazy thing is, it didn't work.
We also talked about manifesting stuff and it failed. This was eight years of labor, failed. I haven't stopped, I still learn because I truly admire learning the skill. I don't do it anymore as 'oh this will be useful to me someday,' I try to keep my brain sharp and I don't want to lose what I've learned but it was one of those things where you work really hard and it doesn't matriculate.

 

[Dale]

Learning your trade at the PC and then you see Cena coming in to do some sessions would be a hell of an experience.

 

[Cwalker]

I know he’s been saying it for years but man that final match is going to be an emotional rollercoaster

 

[Chris]

Cena, who turns 47 next month, revealed earlier this year that he plans to retire from the ring before he's 50. He doubled down on those comments during a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, calling 50 his "absolute line in the sand."

"You know what, 50 is my absolute line in the sand," Cena said. "I would like to try to do it before that. But at 50 I’m just going to tweet, ‘Peace out, see ya.’ That’s it, I’m good."

Cena said he has other avenues that he wants to explore in life like being a great husband to his wife.

"I was very much driven where WWE was my passion 24/7. And I’m very grateful, but I’ve grown and there’s a lot of other avenues I’m curious about in life," Cena said. "And certainly being a great husband and partner is one of those. So I just want to try to do what I can in those avenues."

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/john-cena-on-wwe-retirement-50-is-my-absolute-line-in-the-sand

 

[Cwalker]

Last match gotta be Orton

 

[Dale]

Part of me wants it to be Cody

 

[Butters]

R Truth needs to retire his childhood hero

 

[Cwalker]

I would think you’d want him to go out with one of his biggest rivals. Since Edge is gone, that would be either Orton or Punk.

If you want to give someone a huge rub, maybe Bron