John Cena is ready to hang up his boots for good—and he’s making sure fans know exactly why.
Following his emotional announcement at the 2024 Money in the Bank Premium Live Event that he’ll retire from wrestling in 2025, the WWE legend appeared on Stephanie’s Places to explain what pushed him to make that call. And it turns out, the decision came from a place of painful self-reflection—physically and emotionally.
Cena revealed that his visits to his personal gym, a place that once gave him peace, started to feel like a constant reminder of what he could no longer do.
“By continuously coming here [to his personal gym] and being disappointed and then asking myself the question of this place usually makes me feel good, ‘Why do I feel bad?’ And it was because I’m surrounded by pictures, by numbers. That’s a 600-lb squat, or that’s a cleaning jerk with 330-lb, or that’s a 300-lb snatch. I can’t even do those lifts anymore because my body’s so beat up. So as soon as I got through that jagged pill of like, ‘Oh man, I am never gonna overhead press 374 pounds ever again, but let’s work to see what the best I can for today is.’ You know it’s it it’s a very similar course to WWE.”
He went on to admit that his body simply can’t keep up with the demands of wrestling—and continuing would only damage not just his performances, but also his personal life.
“My skills are on regress. If I continue at a full-time physical capability or involvement, I’m not going to run right, and my partner is not going to run right, and our relationship isn’t going to run right. ‘Sorry, kid. It’s time. It’s time to close this chapter.’”
Despite the tough reality, Cena emphasized just how deeply he still connects with the wrestling world—calling it one of the only places he truly feels at home outside of his marriage.
“I wish I was 18. I wish I felt great because I don’t feel more at home besides in in the arms of my wife than I do on a campus. I had to pitch this idea, a real wrestling farewell and hoping that they would see the business in it and they were like, ‘Uh yes, this is this is going to be good.’”
John Cena’s farewell run is shaping up to be a year-long tribute to a two-decade legacy—and if he gets his wish, it won’t just be a goodbye. It’ll be a celebration of everything he gave to WWE, from his “Doctor of Thuganomics” days to his current status as one of wrestling’s biggest cross-over stars.
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