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NBC Nails Down Date Of John Cena's Retirement Match With New WWE Partnership

John Cena's final match in WWE will be held this December during Saturday Night's Main Event.
Rick Ucchino|
John Cena
John Cena | WWE

WWE and Peacock have officially agreed to a multi-year partnership agreement to exclusively stream the Saturday Night’s Main Event series live on Peacock.

Just as it did when it aired on NBC, Saturday Night’s Main Event will stream in primetime four times each year, and will feature top WWE Superstars, championship matches and more.

Peacock will stream two nights of Saturday Night’s Main Events this year, with the first taking place on November 1. Additionally, Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13 will feature 17-Time World Champion John Cena in his retirement match.

“Peacock has had a wonderful relationship with the WWE and we’re excited to see it continue far into the future,” said Rick Cordella, President, NBC Sports. “Saturday Night’s Main Event is some of the most premium content the WWE produces, including John Cena’s upcoming retirement match, and it will be all live and exclusive on Peacock.”

WWE and NBC were reportedly deciding between Saturday, December 13 and Saturday, December 27 for Cena's retirement match in Boston, with the latter date setting up a head-to-head showdown with AEW Worlds End.

There has been no official mention of the city or venue where the December 13 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event will take place, nor of who John Cena's final opponent will be.

What does this deal mean for the WWE Library?

Triple H
Triple H | WWE

The WWE Network library will remain available on Peacock through the end of 2025, representatives NBC Universal said in a press release Wednesday night. NXT Premium Live Events will also be available on Peacock until March 2026.

Throughout the term of the partnership, the SmackDown library will remain on Peacock on a 30-day delay and USA Network will continue as the live exclusive home of SmackDown on Friday nights.

“We’re excited to bring Saturday Night’s Main Event exclusively to Peacock beginning this fall,” said WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Triple H Levesque. “NBCU have been terrific longtime partners, and we look forward to continuing to work with them for years to come.”

Saturday Night’s Main Event originally premiered on NBC in 1985, and ran on the network until 1991. The popular event returned to NBCUniversal in September 2024 with a special Saturday Night’s Main Event on NBC and Peacock from Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, N.Y., the site of the first-ever Saturday Night’s Main Event.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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