3 dream opponents John Cena must face before retiring in 2025
John Cena revealed that he is scheduled to appear on 30–40 dates in WWE.
Follow Us
John Cena (via WWE)
At Money in the Bank 2024, John Cena dropped a bombshell of an announcement. The Cenation Leader revealed that he’ll be retiring in 2025. Later, he confirmed that he’ll be competing throughout the year, eyeing 30–40 dates in the WWE calendar year. As one of the greatest wrestlers of all time prepares to hang up his boots, there is speculation around his possible opponents in 2025.
Immediately, the WWE Universe clamored for Cena to square off against his biggest rivals. Since their respective returns at Survivor Series, fans have wanted to watch Big Match John run back the clock against Randy Orton and CM Punk. Moreover, the possibility of the sixteen-time World Champion facing The Final Boss, The Rock, cannot be ruled out at all. However, there are new faces on the roster that have grown in prominence since he began his part-time run.
With that said, there are three big names that could go one-on-one with The Franchise Player next year. To be clear, these are superstars that John Cena has never squared off against in his entire illustrious career.
Bron Breakker
There are a handful of NXT callups that have had better starts to their main roster careers than Bron Breakker. The second-generation wrestler has already risen up the ranks on Monday Night Raw, feuding with big stars such as Sami Zayn. Therefore, the possibility of a match between Breakker and John Cena would do wonders for the former.
In fact, it could be way similar to the SummerSlam 2014 squash, where Brock Lesnar decimated The Cenation Leader with sixteen suplexes. Interestingly, Breakker and Cena have interacted before on WWE television. During his two-month run in 2023, the legend visited NXT and stood in the corner of Carmelo Hayes as the latter faced The Dawg of WWE.
Ilja Dragunov
Similar to Bron Breakker, Ilja Dragunov has impressed a wider audience with his in-ring skills on the main roster. Although he had been on NXT for a long time, many weren’t aware of The Mad Dragon. With Raw moving to Netflix next year, WWE will be working on bringing new eyes to the product. In addition to that, showcase rising stars such as Dragunov and Breakker to more fans worldwide.
To do so, pairing the former NXT UK Champion with a popular figure such as John Cena would benefit the stars. A future world champion in his own right, Dragunov would take Big Match John to his limit. So far on the red brand, WWE has shown its faith in him by letting him compete in 15-minute-plus matches on the show. Needless to say, fans wouldn’t mind a showdown between the Unbesiegbar and the Franchise Player of WWE.
Gunther
For decades, John Cena was the personification of sports entertainment. In fact, it was one of the main reasons why he was a polarizing figure for the better part of his career. Fast forward to 2024, and the landscape has significantly changed in WWE. One of the major revelations of the past few years has undoubtedly been Gunther. The longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion has openly voiced his displeasure with the previous regime’s vision for WWE.
As mentioned, Cena was the representative of that era. Therefore, a rivalry between The Ring General and The Cenation Leader would be an enthralling past vs. present watch for fans. If Gunther is the World Heavyweight Champion during the WrestleMania season, the legend might go after the 17th world title of his career. Regardless of when that match happens, the Austrian will definitely bring out the best in Cena.
In case you missed it:
- “Most bada** thing I’ve ever seen,” Logan Paul impressed by ‘UNFAZED’ Donald Trump lifting his fist after merely surviving assassination attempt
- “It was real anger,” The Miz looks back at infamous incident on SmackDown with top AEW Star few years ago
Stay Updated!
Vansh Shah
(1134 Articles Published)