John Cena Wants to Start a New Trend in WWE and Pro Wrestling

John Cena wants his retirement to stick, so that it means something,

John Cena | WWE

John Cena was back in WWE as the host of WrestleMania 42 on Saturday night. Cena began the show, but did so in a suit instead of his jorts and t-shirt. It was an odd look.

More odd than that was Cena walking down the entrance ramp and getting into the ring. Over the years, we've seen Cena sprint down that very same ramp to start shows, but the man with the most world championship wins in history is retired, and he means it.

In 2025, John Cena went on a worldwide retirement tour. He announced that the year would be his final year of in-ring competition in WWE and set off on a journey that included a heel turn, a championship win, multiple main events, and nostalgia. Cena maintained that fans needed to come see him one last time because once the tour was over, he would never wrestle again.

John Cena | WWE

In December, at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event, Cena wrestled his final WWE match. The Ring General, Gunther, beat Cena in that match and did something that nobody could do over the years, which was make Cena tap out to a submission.

John Cena wants to start a new trend in WWE with AJ Styles

In an interview with TMZ, Cena talked about his retirement and how much it means to him. Not only that, he said he wants to start a new trend in WWE where wrestlers retire and then stay retired.

“I’m one of those folks who will be the first wrestler to actually retire and I hope I set a trend and he’s the second,” Cena said, while also echoing the retirement of AJ Styles. “I think it’s very important that we respect our audience and when they invest in us to see us for the last time, I think that that has weight and importance.”

AJ Styles went into the WWE Hall of Fame this weekend and also has maintained that he's fully retired from wrestling. Cena left the door open for Styles to return because his son is getting into the wrestling business.

"If he has a chance to wrestle with his son, he should take it," Cena said. "And I think the audience would want to see that."

Cena will return as the host of WrestleMania 42 for night two on Sunday inside Allegiant Stadium. The main event of the show is CM Punk defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns. Other announced matches include Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar, which will air live on ESPN.