WWE has confirmed that John Cena’s final match will take place at the Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13, 2025, from the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The decision follows a bidding process where D.C. reportedly offered more than $7 million to host the event, with a significant portion of that sum tied directly to securing Cena’s career-ending match.
The announcement puts an end to fan expectations that Cena’s farewell would be in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. Reports indicate that while Boston officials made a strong push to host the match at TD Garden, they were unwilling to cover certain costs requested by WWE. Jon Alba of Sports Illustrated Wrestling provided details on the negotiations.
“WWE just announced John Cena will make his final appearance in Boston in November, which means his last match in December will not be there. Sources indicated to me Boston went very hard for hosting it, but WWE wanted the city to cover costs it previously hadn’t for WWE events.” (h/t Sports Illustrated)
Cena’s last match in Boston is now scheduled for the November 10th episode of Monday Night Raw. He will also make his final Madison Square Garden appearance a week later on November 17th.
This all follows Cena’s announcement in July 2024 that he would retire in December 2025, kicking off a year-long farewell tour. His final appearance on SmackDown occurred just last night, September 5th, where his match against Sami Zayn ended without a result after Brock Lesnar interfered with a run-in.
The selection of Washington, D.C. concludes a career that began on the main roster in 2002. Over more than two decades, Cena accumulated a record-tying 17 world championships, five United States titles, and two Royal Rumble victories, making his final match a significant milestone for the company.