Lilian Garcia Comments On Honor OF Announcing John Cena's Final WWE Match (Exclusive)

John Cena is retiring from WWE in-ring competition this Saturday after his final match against Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event from Washington DC. Gunther earned the opportunity to face Cena in his final match by winning The Last Time Is Now tournament. Gunther now says he'll make Cena give up in his final match.

The Cena retirement in WWE is truly the end of an era. Cena has been the face of the company for two decades and played a major role in it's current success. He spent 2025 on a retirement tour around the world and wrestled multiple old opponents, new faces, and won the world championship for a record-setting 17th time.

Cena's retirement show on Saturday will be about the final match, the future of WWE, and nostalgia. WWE ring announcing legend, Lilian Garcia remembers announcing Cena before he was John Cena and was impressed with his work from the beginning.

Because Garcia is the announcer for Saturday Night's Main Event, she likely will have the opportunity to announce Cena for his final match. In an exclusive interview with The Takedown on SI, Garcia opened up on what that would mean for her, Cena as a star, and why she isn't convinced she's actually doing it yet.

"I hope so," Garcia said when asked if she would be announcing Cena in his final match. "I'm supposed to be there, but it's the world of wrestling. I've announced him since he was the prototype. I'll never forget, I was at a live event show and they were like there is a new new wrestler. He's going to be the Prototype. I'm like, okay.

"I do remember that when he came through those curtains, because I don't think I saw him backstage that whole afternoon, but when he came through those curtains, I was like, whoa, this guy's got a look on him. Like, instantly I saw it."

John Cena keeps fans glued to the television

Garcia says that Cena memorizing raps as quick as he did was impressive to her as he started. According to her, his true value is that fans are always glued to what he's doing.

"Just seeing his progression and his raps and how he would sit in the stands for hours and just create those raps. Then all of a sudden he's spilling it out," Garcia said. "And as someone who's done music for so many years and memorized songs, my thing was like, wow, how in the world did he just write this rap and is just remembering it verbatim every single time he went out there. Just always blew my mind.

"The thing about Cena is, no matter what match he's got, people are glued. Like he just has a way of drawing people and you just know it's going to be a great match ... So, I really do hope that I get to announce his final match. It would be a dream. It'd be such an honor to do it. Let's see what happens. But yeah, it's going to be an incredible night."

Garcia recenty announced her engagement to her fiance, Patrick, and two will tie the not in 2026. Garcia also revealed that she signed a two-year contract with WWE in October, so she'll be around the business for a while longer.

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