John Cena Highlights Importance Of Looking To The Future Ahead Of Retirement Match

John Cena will lace up a pair of wrestling boots for the last time at Saturday Night's Main Event from inside Capital One Arena in Washington, DC.

It will be a memorable night for WWE fans. Cena has been a fixture of the company as its top star for nearly two decades, and the end of his retirement tour is a match with The Ring General, Gunther.

Gunther defeated LA Knight in the finals of the Last Time Is Now tournament and, with that win, got a chance to retire Cena in his final match.

At Saturday Night's Main Event, Cena will step into the ring for the final time, but the megastar has worked hard to make sure the show isn't all about him. Cena announced that on the same show where he retires, there will also be matches between up-and-coming NXT talent and main roster stars.

To that end, Oba Femi will make his main roster debut and take on Cody Rhodes. In the women's division, Sol Ruca will square off against Bayley.

MORE: WWE Saturday Night's Main Event Preview: Start Time, Card, How To Watch & Live Stream

Even ahead of retirement, John Cena says importance should be the future of WWE

Cena has made the media rounds in his final week as an active wrestler and made it clear to Pat McAfee that he wants WWE fans to think about the future, even in the midst of his leaving the company.

“It’s not about me stepping down. It’s about sports entertainment closing a chapter and also opening another one at the same time. It’s that last page in the chapter that folds into the next one. You get to see the future, but we’re also closing this 25-year thing."
John Cena

In the interview with McAfee, Cena articulated why looking to the future is so important. After his final match, he wants the focus to be on the Royal Rumble and beyond.

“It should happen, people should be excited, and when January comes, I need you looking at the Rumble and WrestleMania. That means you’re excited about the business ... That’s how it’s all supposed to work."
John Cena

Cena announced his retirement from WWE at SummerSlam in 2024. 2025 has been about the Cena retirement tour and featured him winning the world championship for a record 17th time.

Throughout his retirement tour, Cena has wrestled top talents like Cody Rhodes, Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Randy Orton and others. He's also wrestled nostalgic matches against AJ Styles, R-Truth, and Sami Zayn.

On this week's episode of WWE Raw, Gunther told the world that just beating Cena in his final match isn't enough. Gunther vowed to make Cene give up. WWE Saturday Night's Main Event airs live on Peacock and Netflix internationally.

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