John Cena retires: Wrestling fraternity, WWE icon’s parents pay tribute to 17-time world champion

Washington DC, Dec 14: The global professional wrestling fraternity, including current and former WWE superstars, legends and fans, paid glowing tributes to John Cena as the iconic wrestler officially brought the curtain down on his illustrious in-ring career spanning more than two decades.
Cena, a record-breaking 17-time world champion, competed in his final professional wrestling match at Saturday Night’s Main Event (SNME) on Sunday, where he suffered a submission loss to World Heavyweight Champion Gunther. The bout marked the end of one of the most decorated careers in WWE history.
Following the match, current WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, who had a Champion versus Champion bout against WWE NXT Champion Oba Femi on SNME, delivered a heartfelt speech highlighting Cena’s enduring impact on professional wrestling.
WWE also posted a heartwarming video package featuring Cena’s parents talking about his legacy as a wrestler and person, and fellow wrestlers The Miz, CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, WWE CCO and former wrestler Triple H, wrestling icon The Undertaker, and Becky Lynch reflecting on his work ethic and contributions to the sport.
Before the match, WWE icon and Hollywood actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson posted a tribute on X, praising Cena’s humility and character.
“John, you epitomize one of my favorite quotes, ‘it’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice’. Congratulations on your historic and extraordinary @wwe career, my friend. Have fun, tear it down, and as always, “thank you for the house”
Ex-WWE champion Mick Foley, also known as ‘The Hardcore Legend’ for his brutal, highly intense, no-holds-barred wrestling matches, also posted on Instagram, saying that it was an honour watching Cena in action one last time.
“I SAW JOHN CENA….It was an honour,” posted Foley on Instagram.
Two-time women’s champion Rhea Ripley posted on X, “Thank you @JohnCena”
Former WWE wrestler Matt Hardy, one-half of the iconic tag team ‘The Hardy Boyz’ with his brother Jeff Hardy, also posted on X, “A tap-out by a man who massively respects the time-honored traditions of pro wrestling. #ThankYouCena #SNME.”
Coming to the match, after Gunther made his entrance, Cena was welcomed to a massive ovation from the crowd, singing his theme song ‘My Time Is Now’.
After meeting his long-time rivals/friends Kurt Angle (his first ever WWE opponent), RVD, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Mark Henry present at the ringside, the match started.
Gunther started the match by taking down Cena with an uppercut and some knife-edge chops, but it was not very long before Cena unleashed his series of signature moves. However, a peak Gunther ended Cena’s signature sequence with a German suplex and unleashed a powerful powerbomb and a series of clotheslines.
Cena delivered his signature offence again, even his finishing move ‘Atitude Adjustment’ and putting Gunther in a sleeper submission hold seconds after the Austrian attempted it, but Gunther quickly took the upper hand again as action spilt outside the ring. In a brute display of power, Cena once again turned the tide by putting Gunther through an announce table with another ‘Atitude Adjustment’.
Cena tried to pin Gunther, but after a nearfall, he followed up with a top rope leg rope. However, Cena wasted too much time talking and was once again taken down by Gunther with some offence, including a brutal boot to his head. Cena wasn’t the one to give up, living up to his mantra, giving his all as he launched him for an avalanche AA off the second rope. But to no avail, as Gunther kicked out.
In months to follow, Cena would go on to have match-ups with his older rivals Randy Orton, R-Truth and CM Punk before turning back to his fair, positive ways as a wrestler, leading upto ‘Summerslam’ in August, where he dropped the title back to Cody in a passing-of-the-torch moment. Some intense bouts against Logan Paul, Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles, Logan and Sami Zayn followed untill Cena defeated Dominik Mysterio on ‘RAW’ at his hometown of Boston in November to capture the Intercontinental title and a career grand slam. He lost the title back to Dominik at ‘Survivor Series: Wargames’ in November. (ANI)