John Cena: It Would Be Financial Suicide For Someone To Court Me For Another Match

John Cena wrapped up his in-ring career in December 2025, losing to Gunther in his final match.

Retirement matches are rarely retirement matches in the world of wrestling, and fans will continue to wonder if Cena will eventually return to the ring for one more match.

“I hate speaking in absolutes … “Never” is a strong word. It would be financial suicide for someone to court me in a position where I would have another match, and I truly mean that,” Cena told US Weekly when asked about one more match. “So if you’re in the business of torching currency, that’s the only way to get me back in the ring. Aside from that, the reason “one more match” resonated so well for me, first of all, I got to express to the fans of how fulfilled I felt when I retired. Second of all, the interest of an audience being like, “We want to see you again!” gets me excited for the new idea of the John Cena Classic. We can do this again. I’ll be there. It’ll be fan-forward and fan-first. I won’t be so focused on, “Man, this match means everything to me. I’ve got to make sure I give all I have when the music plays and I’m under the lights.” I get to watch other performers, so I can kind of be the ambassador for the event, and I can get out there and meet with people that matter most in my life, the fans. I really can’t wait for this thing to find its legs, for us to get a city and a date and move forward. And I can’t wait for it to happen. So when I hear “one more match,” I hear [that] there’s still interest, the heart still beats. I’m trying to think in my head, How can we gear this to where I can be there, be active and be included but allow others to do the thing I can no longer do. I hope we have it with the John Cena Classic.”

John Cena remains with WWE as an ambassador.

Fans can learn more about the Cena Classic here.