John Cena announced at Money in the Bank 2024 that he will retire from WWE in-ring competition in 2025. John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) recently gave his take on his former on-screen rival stepping away from the ring.
Cena made his WWE main roster debut in 2002. Three years later, the wrestler-turned-actor defeated JBL at WrestleMania 21 to win the WWE Championship for the first time. He went on to capture 16 world titles, a record he shares with Ric Flair.
On Something to Wrestle, JBL said he wants Cena to surpass Flair’s tally and become the first person to win 17 world titles. The WWE Hall of Famer also revealed why he does not want the legendary star to retire:
“Cena, I love the guy,” JBL said. “I hope he gets the 17th championship. I think it would be cool to see that broken. I think his story could be fun. I just hate that he’s retiring. I’m gonna love every second of it, I don’t wanna pour cold water on it, but I wish guys like that were with us forever.” [12:56 – 13:14]
Cena’s retirement tour is due to last throughout 2025. Several WWE stars have expressed an interest in facing the 47-year-old, including Randy Orton.
JBL on John Cena’s WWE role moving forward
Many WWE legends have remained with the company in non-wrestling roles after retiring from the ring.
While John Cena will no longer wrestle beyond 2025, JBL expects the five-time WrestleMania headliner to keep making sporadic WWE appearances:
“He will be with us forever, he just won’t be in an active role, and he might always do stuff down the line. But, as far as in-ring competition, regular stuff, he’s retiring, which it’s kinda cool. What an incredible career.” [13:15 — 13:25]
Cena has not wrestled since the April 8 episode of RAW after WrestleMania XL. He teamed up with The Miz and R-Truth to defeat Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor, and JD McDonagh.
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Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
