John Cena Again Defends Relationship With Vince McMahon

Vince McMahon hasn't been a part of WWE since 2023, but he has forever made an impact on his company and the wrestling business.

Despite horrific allegations made by former WWE employees, some of its top stars continue to support their former boss, including John Cena.

McMahon retired from WWE in 2022 during a board of directors investigation into hush money payments that he made to women with whom he allegedly had affairs. In 2023, McMahon returned to the company to facilitate a sale, resulting in the creation of TKO Group alongside the UFC.

McMahon was the Executive Chairman of the new live entertainment company, but resigned when texts and communications came out regarding a relationship with Janel Grant. Grant sued McMahon and accused him of sexual abuse and trafficking.

John Cena defends his support of Vince McMahon

Cena has stated on numerous occasions since the allegations became public that he supports McMahon. He doubled down and defended his support in a new interview with the Guardian.

“I have no guilt nor shame about my friendship and my relationship with Vince McMahon," Cena said. "You’re obviously going to put this in. It’s OK to love somebody when they’re not perfect.”

Cena is no longer an active wrestler in WWE. In 2025, Cena retired from the ring, but not without a long retirement tour that spanned the entire world.

Cena announced his plans to retire in 2024. In 2025, Cena competed for most of the year, including at the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, and SummerSlam. That year, Cena turned heel by attacking Cody Rhodes and then went on to beat Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship at WrestleMania 41. That world title win was his 17th in his career, breaking the record for the most in history.

Through the rest of 2025, Cena would complete his retirement tour with matches against Rhodes, Logan Paul, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Dominik Mysterio, and others. Cena's final match was in December of 2025 against Gunther at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event, where he lost by tapping out to Gunther's choke.

Since retiring, Cena has maintained that he would never wrestle again. That said, he has still appeared for WWE on multiple occasions. Cena was the host of this year's WrestleMania 42 event in Las Vegas and appeared both nights. He also made an announcement about a new WWE tournament called the John Cena Classic.

No dates or locations for The John Cena Classic tournament have been announced. Reports suggest it could take place in December.

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