Sixteen-time world champion wrestler John Cena announced his retirement on Saturday at WWE’s Money in the Bank at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Cena said the event was the “perfect” place to announce his retirement.
In recent years, Cena has shown off a towel that reads, “Never give up.”
This time, it reads, “This is the last time,” referencing his entrance song, “The Time Is Now.”
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John Cena celebrates his victory at WrestleMania in New Orleans on April 6, 2014. (Jonathan Bachman/AP Images for WWE, File)
Cena also wore shirts that read “The Last Time Is Now Tour” and “John Cena Farewell.”
Cena said that he will compete in next year’s Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania, but that these will be his final events. After the match, the crowd chanted “Thank you, Cena.”
“Thank you for letting me play in the home that we’ve built over the years,” Cena told the crowd.
Now a Hollywood superstar, Cena made his WWE debut in 2002 and quickly became a fan favorite. Cena first gained fame as a foul-mouthed rapper, earning him the nickname “Doctor of Saganomics.”
Two of his most famous matches were against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in back-to-back WrestleMania matches in 2011 and 2012. Cena lost the first match but won the second.
John Cena returned to WWE on July 18, 2021, at Money in the Bank at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, to compete for the WWE Universal Championship. (Joe Camporial/USA Today Sports)
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Cena has been working part-time for the past five years, his last return before Saturday coming on night two of WrestleMania XL when Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns to become WWE undefeated champion.
He won his 16th world championship at WrestleMania XXI in 2005, at age 28.
Outside of the ring and on screen, he is known for granting more wishes than any other person with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, with around 700.
Due to his unparalleled in-ring success and popularity throughout the 2010s, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest WWE performers of all time and is often included on fictional WWE “Mount Rushmore” lists.
John Cena enters the ring at WWE SummerSlam 2015 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on August 23, 2015. (JP Yim/Getty Images)
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Cena has main-evented WrestleMania five times, and with next year’s Las Vegas event marking his final time, it would be fair to expect him to main-event for a sixth time.
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