John Cena made a pointed apology to a young fan during the August 29 broadcast of SmackDown, capping off a fiery verbal exchange with his Clash in Paris opponent, Logan Paul. Following their in-ring confrontation, Cena left the ring and approached a child in the crowd whom he had previously labeled “Toxic” during a past heel promo. Cena admitted to the fan that he was “having a bad day” and apologized, with the child responding, “I love you and thank you.”
The personal moment came after a heated war of words just two days before their premium live event match. Logan Paul opened the segment by declaring himself a “disruptor” responsible for WWE’s lucrative deals with Netflix and ESPN, claiming to have generated $6.6 billion for the company. “The WWE is becoming WWEME. I’m the future of this company, whether you like it or not,” Paul stated, adding that he represents the change in wrestling.
Cena interrupted, dismissing Paul as “stupid” and a “wannabe” who fails to understand the fans’ importance. He positioned himself as an original disruptor, citing his own history of changing championship titles and rapping his way into main events. “Maverick Logan Paul is a dollar store John Cena,” he declared. Cena also attacked Paul’s current relevance, noting he failed to make a recent Top 25 Most Influential Creators list and is now using WWE as a “new revenue stream because his influence is shrinking.”
This confrontation in Lyon, France, served as the final build for their match on Sunday, August 31. The encounter is a key part of Cena’s 2025 farewell tour. The feud escalated on the August 22 episode of SmackDown when Cena called Paul a “parasite,” only to be ambushed and knocked out by Paul in a backstage attack later that night.