John Cena: It would be cool to face The Rock again before WWE retirement

John Cena thinks it would be cool to face The Rock one last time before retirement, but it’s up to WWE to choose who his last opponents will be.

During an appearance at Fan Expo Denver, Cena took part in a Q&A and was asked about The Final Boss potentially being his retirement match opponent. Though Cena agreed that another match against The Rock sounds like a cool idea, Cena was adamant that he does not personally play a role in picking his opponents. Cena’s way of operating is to get a creative direction from WWE and then work together with them on that plan.

“Gosh, fantasy booking,” he responded. “For those who are not inside baseball, fantasy booking is when you take an idea in your head and you’re like, ‘Man, it would be cool if…’ That’s what I’m hearing here — ‘Man, it would be cool if John Cena could fight The Rock one more time.’ And, to me, that would be cool.

“I’ve survived and kept a level head over 25 years in the WWE by not setting expectations, by showing up every single day, doing what I’m told, and asking to do it to the best of my ability. Where I ask for freedom — where I ask for creative expression — is not in the selection of my opponent. It is in the process of how we put forth the work to you guys. That way I can be accountable for all my failures. You guys say I buried The Nexus, I got to shoulder that cross forever, because that’s me.

“But there are some wins along the way. There are some people that’s like, ‘Man, you’re doing your best work now and it seems like you’re in a different place and all that.’ And I can live that triumph as well. I don’t like to choose opponents because a lot of times that doesn’t work out. What I like to do is get a plan and say, ‘Hey, well, can I, as the artist, can I be creative with the plan?’ I’ve earned enough trust that they’ll let me do some stupid stuff — and I appreciate it.”

Cena is now more than halfway through his retirement tour with his final match set to happen in December against a yet-to-be-named opponent. The next match for Cena will happen at SummerSlam in August when he defends the Undisputed WWE Championship against Cody Rhodes in a WrestleMania rematch.

The Rock was prominently featured in the angle where Cena betrayed Rhodes earlier this year, but there has been no direct follow-up yet in the role The Rock played in Cena turning heel. The Rock said he made the decision to take a step back from the story and let the focus be on Cena and Rhodes.

In 2012-2013, Cena and The Rock headlined WrestleMania together in a two-match series where Rock won the first meeting and Cena then defeated him in their rematch.

The Rock returned to the ring last year at WrestleMania 40 but did not compete at WrestleMania 41, and it’s not clear when his schedule will allow him to compete again. He is a member of the Board of Directors for WWE’s parent company TKO Group Holdings.