There are few names bigger in the history of WWE than John Cena. Making his debut in the early 2000’s, Cena would quickly win over fans and by 2005 – had won the WWE Championship for the first time.
Fast forward to 2023, and Cena is a 16 time World Champion, a star in Hollywood, and a future headliner of a class of the WWE Hall of Fame. We would see him hit the ring to open WrestleMania 39 against Austin Theory, which might be one of his final matches in WWE.
John Cena’s Body Can’t Go Like It Used To In The Ring
While speaking on Busted Open Radio, John Cena would explain that he can’t go at a top level in the ring anymore – as his time away from the ring has made it harder and harder to reach the levels fans expect.
“That’s a testament to your work but man, I wish I was still there every day. My body can’t do it anymore. I don’t wanna give the consumer a bad product. That’s another thing I learned from those veterans at the time. Guys like Eddie Guerrero would just risk so much and he’s like, ‘I’m never gonna give the consumer a bad product.
I don’t care how I feel, I don’t care how I feel physically, I don’t care what baggage I have mentally, when I’m on, they paid good money and I’m gonna go out there and give everything I have and sometimes find it when it’s not there’ and I’m at a point where everything I have in comparison to the bar that’s been set.
What I have is what you saw at WrestleMania 39. That’s what I feel confident that I can deliver and that’s really nice for here and there.”
While this doesn’t mean Cena is going to retire, it likely means any dreams of breaking the record of Ric Flair’s 16 World Championships is dead in the water. Cena’s schedule puts him as a part time guest in WWE at best these days, and a lack of ring time has hurt his in-ring style.
His match with Theory at WrestleMania 39 was one of the weaker offerings of the weekend, with Cena playing it extremely safe – leading to the Theory victory doing little to boost his status in WWE.
Cena will still appear in WWE whenever able, but we can likely expect future appearances to be in tag team matches. His tag team match alongside Kevin Owens at the end of 2022 is a good example of what to expect, allowing Cena to hit signature spots for fans while a full time worker handles the heavier load of the match.
It would take a year away from Hollywood and a full time return to the ring for Cena to reach previous levels in the ring, which comes with many risks of injury along the way.
Given Cena’s passion for professional wrestling, this is far from impossible – simply unlikely. Between this, the uncertainty of Randy Orton making his return, Edge planning his retirement in 2023, and Batista being firmly retired – the Ruthless Aggression era’s biggest names are essentially gone from the ring.
Do you think John Cena will wrestle any more big time singles matches in WWE? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get TheOvertimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82EWoqOHeOE&pp=ygUWam9obiBjZW5hIGJ1c3RlZCBvcGVuIA%3D%3D
