John Cena’s decision to retire from his professional wrestling career after over 20 years of appearing on WWE shows was far from difficult for him.
During the 2024 WWE Money in the Bank event, Cena announced his plans to step away from competing in the ring by 2025 and kick off his retirement tour in January of the upcoming year.
In an episode of the “Bullseye” podcast, host Jesse Thorn speculated it may have been a tough decision for Cena to make. However, the wrestling icon made it clear that terminating his in-ring career was not a hard choice for him, stating,
“No, it was a simple decision to make. I appreciate your assumption that it would be a challenging one. In reality it was extremely straightforward, and I think it’s a decision that I’ve been conscious of since the very start of my career. This profession, it doesn’t last. There has to be an end.”
Sharing his initial motivations for entering the wrestling ring, he expressed,
“It was a passion project that lured me into wrestling initially. I took it up as a hobby and eventually, it turned into my full-time work. And now, the time has come for me to leave.”
He further explained his decision to retire, saying,
“So, rather than creating unnecessary suspense and possibly delivering less than perfect entertainment, I decided I would like to close this chapter whilst still able to perform at my optimum capacity. Furthermore, it allows me to give a full year back to the fans who helped shape me into the person I am today, thanking them as I journey around the globe.”
Several prominent WWE athletes, such as Randy Orton, The Miz, and Bron Breakker, have already started expressing their interest in competing against Cena during his farewell tour.
Cena also hinted at the possibility of bagging a 17th WWE World Championship in the future. You can find his statements on this matter here.