Credit: Bleacher Report
The Potential Opponents for the End of John Cena’s Retirement Tour
Published: Tuesday, August 19, 2025
by Matthew Nazario
John Cena’s retirement tour is nearing its conclusion, and after months of being the villain for the first time in his illustrious career, he is back to his ways of “Hustle, Loyalty and Respect” that fans have been accustomed to.
The general opinion on his final tenure with the company has been mixed. But after what was his best match in several years with his 5-star classic for the WWE Championship versus Cody Rhodes at Summerslam, fans are eager to see who Cena will go toe to toe with next.
From stars of the newer generation of wrestlers to some of Cena’s longtime rivals, there are certainly some excellent matchups in store within the next four months. Below are a few names Cena could square off against and team with as the final chapter of his storied career concludes.
AJ Styles
Throughout 2016 and 2017, John Cena and AJ Styles gave fans an unexpected collection of classics which left an imprint for years to come. In particular, their bout at Royal Rumble 2017 is considered one of the best matches in both of their extensive hall of fame catalogs.
Especially after seeing that Cena is still more than capable of putting on a 5 star after this past Summerslam, as well as AJ Styles still being one of the world’s best, it would be a more than worthy installment to their storied rivalry. Another element at play is that they both find themselves at the tail end of their careers with plenty to prove before all is said and done.
Sheamus
I may be letting nostalgia get the best of me, but especially with the level of skill both men have this far into their careers, this would be an entertaining match.
Cena was pivotal in the historic rise of Sheamus in the late 2000s and 2010, with plenty of great brawls. This included Sheamus defeating Cena at TLC 2009 to capture his first of four world championships during his hall of fame caliber career.
Despite not necessarily doing much in the main event scene nowadays, Sheamus has been one of the most consistently excellent in-ring performers under the WWE umbrella for more than a decade, including a career resurgence in recent years.
With Smackdown coming to his home country of Ireland as well, it would be a treat for fans to witness them duke it out one last time or perhaps team up.
Carmelo Hayes
Carmelo Hayes is undoubtedly an important part of the next generation of WWE’s future stars. Unfortunately, so far he has been a victim of bad timing and unfortunate circumstances since his promotion from NXT to the main roster.
Being lost in the shuffle as some of his other peers pass by looks to be a common occurrence, not reaching the same heights he once did in WWE developmental. Despite the setbacks, Hayes is a bonafide star thanks to his charisma and in ring ability.
The fellow Massachusetts native can benefit greatly from time with Cena. Given he is still in a team with the Miz at this point and time, with Miz being one of Cena’s oldest foe’s, there is even more incentive to have this matchup and what could possibly be the final straw of Miz and Hayes’ long burning anger with each other.
Drew McIntyre
Having some of the best work of his career in recent years, in particular his bloodfeud with CM Punk in 2024, McIntyre is reestablishing himself as one of the company’s best heels.
A short, brief feud between Cena and McIntyre, possibly at Crown Jewel in October would make for an interesting dynamic. McIntyre, who was once considered the “Chosen One” and WWE’s next big thing before his exit and return to the company versus the greatest of all time and WWE’s metaphorical “golden goose”.
It can be the high level feud McIntyre needs to elevate himself back to the Main Event scene, a place he has not spent much time in since his championship run in 2020.
Dominik Mysterio
The current Intercontinental Champion has skyrocketed himself to superstardom and has already racked up quite the catalog of high profile opponents in his relatively short career thus far.
Proving himself to be more than just “Rey Mysterio’s son”, Dominik has quickly become one of WWE’s most entertaining heels. It seems that if the time allows for it, that Mysterio vs Cena would be a no brainer and would be a bout that fans in any arena would be heavily invested in.
While not necessary, you could even involve the Intercontinental Championship as it is still the only title Cena has never won during his illustrious career.
The Rock
While this match would be highly unlikely, it would be a spectacle all the same. It would undoubtedly be the most anticipated and most important bout for Cena’s retirement, given how much The Rock has influenced Cena’s previous heel turn as well as their two historically important WrestleMania bouts.
Especially now that Cena seems to be ending his career back on the side of a hero and a man of the people versus his short lived heel persona, while contingent on what is Rock’s evidently packed schedule it would certainly be interesting to see Cena confront “The Final Boss” for a final time.
Matthew Nazario can be reached at matthew.nazario@student.shu.eduPosted in: sports,