Sixteen-time world champion John Cena announced his retirement Saturday at WWE Money in the Bank at ScotiaBank Arena in Toronto, which Cena said was the “perfect” venue to make the announcement.
In recent years, Cena has displayed a towel that read “Never Give Up.”
This time, it said, “The last time is now,” a reference to his entrance song, “The Time Is Now.”
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John Cena celebrates his victory during Wrestlemania in New Orleans on April 6, 2014. (Jonathan Bachman/AP Images for WWE, File)
Cena also wore a T-shirt that read “The Last Time Is Now Tour” and “John Cena Farewell.”
Cena said he would compete at the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and next year's WrestleMania, which will be his final events. Chants of “Thank you Cena” echoed through the crowd after the event.
“Thank you for letting me play in the house you guys built for so many years,” Cena told the crowd.
Already a Hollywood superstar, Cena debuted in WWE in 2002 and quickly became a fan favorite. His first mainstream role was as a trash-talking rapper, when he was dubbed the “Doctor of Thuganomics.”
Two of his most famous matches were at back-to-back WrestleMania events in 2011 and 2012, both against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Cena lost the first but won the second.
John Cena returns to WWE for the WWE Universal Championship at Money in the Bank at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas on July 18, 2021. (Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports)
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Cena has been in the ring part-time for the past five years. His most recent return, prior to Saturday, came on the second night of WrestleMania XL, when Cody Rhodes dethroned Roman Reigns as WWE's undisputed champion.
He won his first of 16 world championships at WrestleMania XXI in 2005 at the age of 28.
Outside of the ring and on film, he is known for granting the most wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, granting nearly 700.
Due to his in-ring success and unparalleled popularity during the 2010s, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest WWE wrestlers of all time and often appears on hypothetical WWE “Mount Rushmore” lists.
John Cena enters the ring at WWE SummerSlam 2015 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on August 23, 2015. (JP Yim/Getty Images)
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Cena has headlined WrestleMania five times, and given that next year's event in Las Vegas will be his farewell, it's fair to assume he'll headline a sixth.
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