John Cena announces WWE retirement tour

Update —

John Cena clarified at the post-Money in the Bank press conference that, while WrestleMania 41 will be his last WrestleMania, it isn’t where he’s going to retire. The amount of WWE dates he hopes to work from January through his retirement in December 2025 is tentatively hovering “in the mid-30s to 40s.”

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John Cena is winding down his in-ring career.

At Money in the Bank on Saturday night, Cena made a surprise appearance and spoke to the Toronto crowd, announcing that he’ll be retiring from the ring in 2025. Cena revealed that he’ll be appearing at the following events:

  • Royal Rumble 2025 (Saturday, February 1 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis)
  • Elimination Chamber 2025 (date and location to be announced)
  • WrestleMania 41 (Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas)

Cena said this will be his final Royal Rumble, his final Elimination Chamber, and the last WrestleMania he competes in. He also revealed that he wants to be on WWE Raw when the show premieres on Netflix in January 2025.

In recent media interviews, Cena said he knew his career in the ring would be coming to an end soon. He told the crowd in Toronto that he chose tonight to make the announcement because Canada is such a special audience for WWE.

“I’ve been in WWE for over two decades. And in that time, I have seen incredible waves of prosperity like we got right now. WWE is the hottest ticket in town, no doubt,” Cena said. “And I’ve also seen tremendous hardship. And that’s when no one knows your name, nobody wants to be your friend, and only the most dedicated, hardcore fans stand by your side. So in all those years, one of the most important — one of the most impressive — things that I learned was, whether the WWE is hot or cold, Canadians always show up.”

An emotional Cena thanked the fans and promised to deliver something unforgettable with this retirement tour.

“If you want some, hurry up and come get some,” Cena declared. “Because the last time is now.”

Before tonight, Cena’s most recent WWE appearance was on the Raw after WrestleMania 40 this April, where he teamed with The Miz & R-Truth to defeat The Judgment Day.

This was Cena’s second straight year making an unadvertised appearance at Money in the Bank. He also showed up at last year’s MITB in the United Kingdom and lobbied for London to host a future WrestleMania.