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John Cena promised 36 appearances for his 2025 farewell tour. What we got instead was… whatever the heck this is. A heel turn nobody asked for, a record 17th title reign that lasted about as long as a bag of Cheetos in a gaming room, and cameos from everyone except maybe The Undertaker’s goldfish.
Somewhere between fighting Cody Rhodes, taking orders from The Rock, and being saved (and betrayed) by R-Truth, John Cena’s swan song turned into a wild WWE fever dream. There’s still 11 shows left, but with Brock Lesnar now lurking and Triple H probably one bad creative meeting away from putting Cena in a TikTok dance-off, anything could happen. Here’s the complete play-by-play, from his Netflix debut to the chaos still to come.
John Cena starts his farewell with Netflix rumble drama
John Cena kicked things off in January with WWE Raw’s big Netflix debut, strolling in like a man who just remembered he left his stove on – except instead of going home, he declared for the Royal Rumble. At Rumble, he made it to the final two before Jey Uso yeeted him over the ropes like yesterday’s laundry.
But instead of sulking, John Cena entered the Elimination Chamber in March, hugged CM Punk mid-match like it was a Hallmark commercial, and then won the whole thing. The WWE Universe was beaming… right until The Rock sent him the “turn heel now” signal, prompting Cena to smack Cody Rhodes and align with Hollywood’s eyebrow-raising overlord. Overnight, John Cena went from “Your Time is Now” to “Your Villain is Here,” and fans were left clutching their foam fingers in confusion.
Cena turns heel and brings chaos everywhere he goes
Freshly villainous, John Cena spent April and May doing what all great wrestling heels do: win with the subtlety of a brick to the head. At WrestleMania 41, thanks to a Travis Scott distraction (yes, you read that right), Cena won his 17th WWE World Championship – via low blow and belt shot. Backlash saw him fend off Randy Orton, only after R-Truth randomly blocked a Punt Kick like a confused bodyguard.
Then came Saturday Night’s Main Event, where Cena, now dubbed “Ron Cena” in a comedic face-off with Truth, pretended he’d go clean… then, surprise, another low blow. Even Logan Paul got in on the chaos at Money in the Bank, teaming with Cena only for R-Truth to screw them mid-match. By June, John Cena’s heel run was starting to feel less like “mastermind villain” and more like “that guy who cheats in Uno every round.”
Cena and The Rock create the final boss problem
On paper, The Rock helping John Cena should’ve been a dream pairing. In reality, it was like adding pineapple to a pizza that was already fine, messy, divisive, and a little weird. The Rock’s “Final Boss” character was supposed to make Cody Rhodes’ eventual victory even sweeter. Instead, he hijacked Cena’s farewell arc, vanished for long stretches, and sent Travis Scott to do his dirty work.
The result? John Cena’s heel turn felt hollow, his 17th reign cheapened, and the fans split between booing The Rock and just… shrugging. WWE creative seemed determined to write this like a prestige HBO drama, except they forgot the middle episodes and jumped straight from “villain turn” to “oh, by the way, Brock Lesnar is here now.” Cena, who once carried entire storylines on his back, was suddenly a supporting character in his own goodbye tour.
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Cena turns face again without warning
In August, WWE decided John Cena should turn face again. No slow build, no redemption arc, just one Friday night on SmackDown where he said, “Hey, The Rock sucks,” and boom, hero mode activated. Two days later at SummerSlam, Cody Rhodes beat him for the title, Brock Lesnar returned from the wilderness, and John Cena’s babyface comeback was already buried under a Beast Incarnate F5. Fans wanted a few good-guy title defenses before the end, but nope, WWE just yeeted him straight into Lesnar’s waiting arms. This quick flip from bad to good felt less like storytelling and more like creative realized they had four months left and panic-switched his alignment like a broken light switch.
The ast 11 rides: Will Triple H save the tour or Ggoldberg It?
Now with just 11 appearances left, John Cena’s in a dangerous spot. On one hand, Brock Lesnar is a guaranteed spectacle, these two have history, chemistry, and the ability to sell a match like no one else. On the other hand, if Triple H books this like the rest of 2025, we might get two promos, a contract signing, and a match that ends in three minutes because Travis Scott wandered in again.
John Cena himself has admitted he’s scared fans will forget him once he’s gone. The truth? They won’t, but they might remember this tour as “the one where WWE kept changing the script every other week.” If there’s any justice, the last month of Cena’s career will be pure, clean wrestling magic… but given the year so far, we should probably brace for one more heel turn, a surprise Logan Paul run-in, and maybe a Lesnar F5 through a Netflix promo table.
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