Late last year, John Cena made a temporary full-time return to WWE with the SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood putting his prominent acting career on hold. Through September and October, Cena appeared on SmackDown regularly as well as at various Premium Live Events – a short-lived run that came to a close at Crown Jewel where he suffered a brutal one-sided loss to The Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa, leading Cena to tease his in-ring retirement.
Cena has made it clear in recent years that his time with WWE is coming to a close and now he’s divulged more details on what the end of his professional wrestling career will look like. Speaking with People, he revealed that he is currently trying to figure out how to wrap up his time with WWE permanently and has been doing so since he turned 45 in 2022.
“I turned 47 this past year and I don’t have much time left in the WWE,” Cena admitted. “I think it’s just the demand of age. You know, I’m trying to figure out when to close that chapter. I wouldn’t be who I am — professionally or personally — without the WWE, and I promised myself that I would never simply just be there for my own sake. Every time I perform, I want to give my all to the audience. And I’ve got to admit when I hit the 45 mark, I had to begin to try to form an exit strategy and I’m trying to work on that currently.”
When asked about the possibility of him attempting to capture one last world championship to eclipse Ric Flair in their long-standing tied world title record, Cena stayed mostly tight-lipped but said he’d be open to it if that was the direction WWE wanted to go for his final run.
“I just want to do what’s best for the company,” Cena said. “If it’s a big final match or if it’s just a final match, or however I can be integrated into the product to let everyone know that this chapter is over, I’m willing to listen to what WWE has to say.”