Truthfully this idea has been in my head for quite a while. To my surprise, though, Cena made the job easier by announcing exactly how his final run will play out. It will start on the first Raw of the Netflix era in January 2025, and it won’t end until December. Still, the paths it’ll take are still unknown, and so I wanted to take a stab at booking it out.
-January 6th Edition of Raw, Live on Netflix:
The very first episode of the Netflix era is kicked off with John Cena making a triumphant entrance. After hyping the crowd up, he then gets down to business. This is Cena’s final calendar year as a wrestler, with his final match taking place in December. February 1st, that’s the date of the Royal Rumble in Indianapolis, which he declares for.
16, that’s the number of world titles Cena has held in his illustrious career. It also means he’s one world title away from hitting that record-breaking 17 number. It’s what he’s after, and Cena vows that before his career is over, he will break that record! After making the powerful statement, Dominik Mysterio interrupts to a chorus of boos.
He comes out to stir up the former doctor of thuganomics, but he has none of it, giving him the “fine speech” before verbally dismantling him. Irritated, Dom goes for a cheap shot, but Cena quickly counters by tossing him over the top rope. Dom tries to flee, but he’s stopped by the Raw GM Adam Pearce, who tells him he’s a lucky guy. That’s because he’ll be having the first-ever match on Raw in the Netflix era, and it’s going to be against the man he just attacked.)
-John Cena vs Dominik Mysterio:
This is a real simple affair, but still fun nonetheless. Dominik pulls out some cool bits of offense here and there, but mostly resorts to his cowardly cheap shots, among other heel tactics. Near the end, Mysterio would go for a Canadian Destroyer, but Cena would power out with a back-body drop. John would then use the opportunity to hit his opponent with a gnarly sit-out powerbomb for a two count.
Cena then goes for the AA, but Dom slips off after raking his eyes. He then gets Cena prepared for a 619, and hits it. Dominik goes up top as John gets to his feet and tries to hit a cross-body, but Cena catches him. John then throws Mysterio onto his shoulders and hits an AA. He then rolls through, and to really punish the guy, he hits another AA to seal the deal. Cena gets the first win in the Netflix era, and gains nice momentum as he approaches his final Rumble match.)
Royal Rumble 2025:
Men’s Royal Rumble Match:
As we get closer to the event, many more men would declare for the match. This includes new faces for Cena such as Carmelo Hayes, but also old faces like Randy Orton and CM Punk. With the field stacked, it’s set to be one of the most all-star Royal Rumble matches ever.
Cena enters the match at #27, and immediately comes in all fired up, even scoring a few eliminations. Soon he’s left standing across the ring from two old rivals, the aforementioned CM Punk and Randy Orton. They all stare daggers into each other’s eyes, but they don’t fight it out, as they’re all stopped by others in the ring.
Fast forwarding a bit, and we’re down to the final 6 men in the ring. Cena starts getting some more pep in his step after mixing it up with others. John starts going at it with Jey Uso, as the two fight dangerously close to the ropes. Cena tries to AA Jey over the top, but Jey slips out and lands on the apron. Jey then manages to pull Cena onto the apron as well, and both frantically fight to knock the other one off.
Jey goes for a super kick, but it’s caught, and Cena pushes him back into the post, but it doesn’t eliminate him. As Cena is seen visibly recovering, he’s unexpectedly knocked off the apron by the IC champion, Bron Breakker. The young rookie had just eliminated John Cena, and he celebrates like absolutely crazy. We then cut to a dejected Cena walking back up the ramp, his dreams seemingly dashed.)
-Elimination Chamber:
Elimination Chamber Match for World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena vs Bron Breakker vs Ilja Dragunov vs Chad Gable vs Dragon Lee vs Gunther(c):
After successfully defending his world title at the Rumble, the current World Champion Gunther would proclaim that he is unstoppable and that absolutely no one could step up to him. Adam Pearce would congratulate Gunther on another successful defense, but would also inform him that he’ll have his work cut out for him with his next, which will be an Elimination Chamber match.
John Cena would hear this and the next week would ask Adam Pearce to be put in, but Pearce would tell him he’ll have to earn it, putting him in a qualifier match against Carlito that very same night. John would win this match and go on to qualify. The other 4 men listed above would qualify as well, leading to the very stacked match you see before you.
John enters into it at #5 and starts tying up with everyone he sees. Short dream matches between John and Ilja, Chad, Dragon Lee, and Gunther commence, but soon Bron Breakker enters at #6. Bron immediately spears Dragon Lee to eliminate him, before squaring up with Cena. Bron and John have a repeat of the Rumble, with both men going all out in a pure fight.
As we get down to the final 4, Bron and Cena would be fighting on the outside. Bron tries to power slam Cena on the floor, but Big Match John would slip off and send Bron into the chamber’s wall. Cena would then hit an AA on Breakker to send him back into the ring. This would allow the ring general to pick up the scraps and hit a powerbomb on the IC champ to score the elimination.
It’s then down to just Cena, Dragunov, and Gunther. After a long sequence, Cena would have Gunther up for an avalanche AA from off the middle rope, but Gunther would get out of it. With a massive chop, Cena goes crashing down to the mat. From the opposite corner, Ilja would hit Cena with the H-Bomb. As he was making the cover, Gunther would hit a top rope splash to take both men out.
He’d then place Ilja on top of Cena to pin both men, securing the win. After the match, Cena would be seen leaving the ring, making another slow dejected walk to the back, when suddenly a wild Bron Breakker would appear. Bron would spear John out of his jorts at the entryway before being escorted out by ref’s.)
-WrestleMania 41:
Intercontinental Championship Match: John Cena vs Bron Breakker(c):
Cena would be off TV for a couple of weeks following Chamber to sell his injuries. That’d of course lead to Bron soaking in all the heat from the attack in the meantime. Finally, we’d get to the March 24 edition of Raw, which would see Breakker successfully defend his title against Dragon Lee in the main event. After the match, he’d go on to attack some more, but would be stopped when the trumpets start blaring.
John Cena would run down to make the save, sending Bron outside the ring. He’d go on to grab a mic to address everything. Cena would say that as much as it sucks, he will not be challenging for a world title at WrestleMania, but he can do the next best thing. John now has the opportunity to do something he hasn’t done in his illustrious career, and that is becoming a grand slam champion!
He announces that at WrestleMania it’ll be John Cena vs Bron Breakker for the IC title. The next few weeks would see Cena and Breakker go for each other’s throats in both promo battles and physical altercations. The fact that this is Cena’s last Mania match is played up heavily, as well as the fact that this is Breakker’s big chance to prove if he can hang.
The match itself consists of two main factors: Breakker’s dominance, and Cena’s resilience. Bron dismantles Cena, but Big Match John still gets up and refuses to quit. After a sequence of big moves, Bron hits a Spear on Cena, but doesn’t go for the cover. He instead backs up in the corner to hit a second. Cena side steps it, though, and sends Bron into the post. From that point forward, he gets in control, and doesn’t let up.
After more back-and-forth sequences, Bron places Cena on the top rope to hit a Frankensteiner. John fights out, though, and puts him in the fireman’s carry for an avalanche AA. Cena hits it, and then quickly rolls through once on the ground to hit Bron with a second AA. That’s not enough, though, and Cena gets him up for a third AA to seal the deal. John defeats Breakker and becomes the IC champion for the first time in his career.)
-John Cena’s Intercontinental Championship Open Challenge:
On the Raw after Mania, Cena would address the crowd as the IC champion for the first time. He tells the audience that he can’t promise he’ll be out every week, but he says that when he is available he’s going to host an IC title open challenge. The first one starts that night, so if you want some, come get some!
The people who challenge Cena over the course of the next few weeks are Xavier Woods, Dragon Lee, Pete Dunne, Bronson Reed, Johnny Gargano, and even Je’von Evans from NXT. John outlasts all the opponents on this journey in different ways, but that isn’t to say that is all the challengers he’ll face during this run.)
-King and Queen of the Ring, 2025:
Intercontinental Championship Match: Logan Paul vs John Cena(c):
During one of his IC open challenges, Cena would be called out by Logan Paul. Paul would ask Cena why he’s been ducking him for this long? He knows that he has been eyeing a match-up with him since he arrived in the WWE, but it still hasn’t happened. Logan tells John he can’t run away anymore, as he has come to challenge him face to face.
John tells him if he wants to face him so badly, then he’ll gladly face him as part of the open challenge right then and there. Logan just laughs it off and asks if he really thinks he’s going to perform in front of the fans on this small of a stage. After a verbal dismantling of Logan, John would ask Logan to kindly leave the ring to allow other, more deserving and less awful people to challenge him for the title.
Logan would respond by initially beginning to exit the ring, but would turn around and knock Cena out with the brass knuckles. Afterward, he’d go up top and hit a frog splash on the prone Cena before security breaks it up. The next week, Logan would send in a video telling Cena he’s made his statement, and he wants to face him at King and Queen of the Ring with the title on the line.
John Cena responds on Raw by saying that he really shouldn’t give the guy any attention, but by refusing, he’s running away, and he can’t give Paul that satisfaction. He accepts the challenge, promising to give Logan a much-needed attitude adjustment. Before the bell rings for the match to begin, the ref checks Logan and takes away the brass knucks, much to Paul’s chagrin.
Normally, Logan would be no match for Cena if it was a fair fight, but Logan likes to fight dirty, which puts him in control throughout. Near the end, Cena would go for an AA, but Logan would slip out and shove Cena into the ref. From out of nowhere, a guy from his team would jump the barricade to give Logan another set of brass knuckles.
Paul would go for the punch, but Cena would catch it and take the knucks off of his hand. He’d tease putting them on, but would throw them away. That hesitation would allow Logan to hit Cena with a low blow. He’d then take advantage and hit a frog splash on Cena for a very close near fall.
Logan would be irate after that, and so he’d set him up for a final exclamation point. He’d hoist John up for an AA of his own, but Cena would slip out of it with a sunset flip. He’d then turn that into an STF on Logan. Paul would initially make it to the rope, but Cena would get up and drag him back to the center of the ring before locking it in even tighter, forcing his opponent to tap out.)
-Money in the Bank, 2025:
Intercontinental Championship Match: Sheamus vs John Cena(c):
With King & Queen of the Ring in the books, the build to MITB 2025 would begin with it being announced that Cena would defend his title at the event in question. A battle royal would soon be set up for an episode of Raw to determine the #1 contender, which would be won by the Celtic Warrior, Sheamus.
The story here is simple, Sheamus notes that Cena is approaching the end of his career, but Sheamus is getting older too. The end may be coming sooner or later, and there’s still one thing Sheamus needs to do before it’s over, and that’s capturing the title Cena holds.
John understands what Sheamus means, as winning the title did the same for Cena as it’d do for Sheamus. He believes Sheamus deserves to be in that elite class of performers who can call themselves a grand slam champion, but it won’t happen easily. Cena’s prepared to hold that title until he reaches the end of his tenure, and so if Sheamus wants it, he’ll have to pry it from him.
Sheamus then gives Cena a refresher on their history. Years ago, a young rookie in the WWE defeated Cena within 6 months of his debut to capture the WWE championship. That rookie has grown quite considerably since then, and he will repeat history to complete his career. The match between Cena and Sheamus is a hard-hitting, yet respectful fight. Cena gets a little more stiff and aggressive with his offense than we usually see in order to keep up with the barbarian that is Sheamus.
After a grueling battle where the two trade many big moves and near falls, we’d see Cena hit an AA on Sheamus for another massive near fall. John would soon set Sheamus up top for the finishing blow, an avalanche AA. Cena would not be able to find his balance on the top, though, allowing Sheamus to send him crashing to the mat below.
With that, Sheamus would manage to hit a King Kong knee drop from off the top rope. He’d then back into the corner, beat his chest, and hit the Brogue Kick on Cena for a triumphant victory.
Cena’s IC title reign comes to an end, and Sheamus’s reign begins with a massive celebration commencing. Cena would shake hands with Sheamus after the match, before walking to the back, looking as if he’s contemplating his next move.)
-SummerSlam 2025:
Tag Team Match: CM Punk & John Cena vs Finn Balor & JD McDonagh:
At this point in time, the Judgment Day has already collapsed, but Finn and JD are still very much in a partnership. Sometime after Mania, Finn gets roped into a feud with CM Punk that continues going into SummerSlam.
On the Raw after MITB, Punk would be attacked by Balor and JD, but he’d then be saved by John Cena. Punk and Cena then stare each other down and shake hands. Cena and Punk’s bond, formed over an intense rivalry, caused the two to really respect each other, and so when Cena saw Balor and McDonagh attack Punk, he couldn’t just sit idly in the back.
The next week, Cena would similarly be attacked by Finn and JD, this time forcing Punk to return the favor by helping out. With that, Cena and Punk lay down the challenge for SummerSlam, and the match was soon made official. During the feud, Finn mentions how Cena had screwed him over 4 years prior. Finn was set to challenge Reigns, but it was Cena who ended up signing the contract for himself.
He says a match against Cena at SummerSlam is years in the making, and adding CM Punk to the fray only makes it that much sweeter. Meanwhile, Cena and Punk act like old chums in the build to this. They reflect on their past as rivals, and now stand firmly with a mutual respect for each other as they head into Cena’s last SummerSlam.
The match itself is a very solid tag affair. Despite some quick bits of a comeback here and there, CM Punk gets worked over by the two men for most of the match. In the climatic moments, Punk would get Cena in for a hot tag, with big match John cleaning house. He’d hit JD with the 4/5 of the moves of doom, but Finn would pull McDonagh off of John’s shoulders before he’d hit the AA.
JD would then tag in Finn before hitting the Devil Inside, before Balor would follow it up with a 1916. They’d make the cover, but Punk would come in to break the count at 2. After a long sequence of back-and-forth action from all four men, the legal man, CM Punk, would set up both men in the corner before hitting his patented running knee.
He’d soon tag in his partner, and they’d both get their opponents in fireman’s carry’s. They’d both hit their finishers simultaneously and go for the double pin to get the win. Cena and Punk would celebrate in the ring after the match, in a pretty wholesome moment at the biggest party of the summer.)
-Bad Blood 2025:
One Last Time: CM Punk vs John Cena:
After SummerSlam, Cena and Punk would unsuccessfully challenge for the tag titles on Raw, both men looking a little dejected. Punk and Cena are both still on the journey of capturing another world title in WWE, and the tag titles could’ve been a gateway to that, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.
A few weeks later, Cena would be on Raw to address the crowd, when CM Punk would interrupt him. Neither would blame each other for coming up short in that tag match, it wasn’t in the cards for them to win, and that’s that. However, Punk states that they both have similar goals, as they both want to hold a world title in WWE just one more time. The way he sees it, they are once again in each other’s way on the paths to accomplish that goal.
Knowing that defeating one another would do wonders for their standings in the power rankings, Punk challenges Cena to one final match between them at Bad Blood. John ponders it for a second, but eventually agrees, they shake hands and state that the best man shall win. The story going into this one is that Cena is nearing the end. He’s been vying for that one last, record-breaking world title win for years, but time is running out.
Beating Punk could very well give him that needed boost back into the world title scene, but Punk is equally hungry. Despite loving and respecting John, CM Punk will look out for what’s in his best interests first and foremost. Punk wants another run with a world title too, and he knows more than anything that losing to Cena could very well put him at the very back of the line. He won’t just let Cena beat him, but somehow he knows John wouldn’t have it any other way.
The match itself is what you might expect from the two in this day in age. It’s meant to serve as a love letter to their iconic matches from before, with them recreating some old spots in new ways. The two show that they know each other incredibly well throughout, with them even trading each other’s offense at points. The long, arduous match finally ends with Cena countering a GTS attempt and setting Punk up for one final AA to get the win.
After the match, it’d look as if Punk was going to turn on Cena, but he’d instead bow to him before exiting the ring as a sign of respect.)
-Crown Jewel 2025:
Cody Rhodes vs John Cena:
On the Raw after Bad Blood, Cena would appear to talk about his current situation. He has about two months left of his storied career, and he feels like the opportunity to win another world title is starting to dwindle. Regardless, he promises he will be competing at Crown Jewel, he just doesn’t know who his opponent will be.
As he says that, we hear “wrestling has more than one royal family”. Cody Rhodes makes an appearance on Raw, and it seems like he’s coming down to the ring with a purpose. By this point, Cody has already dropped the WWE title, and he is currently on a path to regain it. Cody reminds John that around two years ago, he asked him if he could just give him one match between them. John told him he didn’t know how many he had left, but it’s now clear he still has at least a few to give.
His pitch is simple, he needs an opponent for Crown Jewel, and Cena needs one as well. He’d like to face Cena, and he knows John wants to face Cody as well. Cena then asks the crowd if they want to see it happen, which is met with a raucous ovation. John and Cody then shake hands to make the match official.
The build really hypes the dream match aspect to this, with the idea of it possibly being a passing of the torch moment for Cody. This match is pretty high intensity, as you’d expect, with both men evenly matched at a technical level. The story of the match sees both men go to massive lengths to avoid getting hit with the other’s finisher.
The end sees John Cena catch Cody as he goes for a cross-body, allowing him to transition it into an AA. Cody slips off his shoulders though and instead hits the Cross Rhodes trifecta to score a big win! Cena looks disheartened in defeat, but still gets up and shakes Cody’s hand as he simply exits the ring.)
-Survivor Series War Games 2025:
War Games Match: Team Cody vs Team Randy:
After getting the big win, Cody would begin feuding with his former mentor, the guy who turned on him a year prior, and the current WWE Champion, Randy Orton. They’d have a title match on SD, but it’d end in scrutiny. As a result, Cody and Randy would be told to find three partners to help them in WAR GAMES!
Cody would recruit Carmelo Hayes, & Kevin Owens to his team, but would lack a third member. Randy would recruit Jacob Fatu, a heel LA Knight, and to top it off Bron Breakker to his team, all with the promise of a future title shot if they help out. With hope running out, we’d see Cody make an ominous call to someone on the go-home edition of SD.
At the end of the show, Team Cody would be beaten down in a 4 on 3 assault, when those iconic trumpets would start to blare. John Cena is Cody’s last member as he helps the group clean house. Cena is the last entrant of a chaotic War Games match, as he immediately runs in super fired up. He has showdowns with Fatu, LA Knight, and even a reignited feud with Breakker. Cena would also have a stare-down with Randy before they’d go to blows as well.
The end of the match would see almost every man taken out in some capacity, with only Randy and Cody left to fight it out on the top turnbuckle. A table is strategically placed in the middle of the ring, and both are trying to put the other through it. Cody tries to knock him off the top, but Orton manages to gain control. Randy tries to do the same to Cody, but instead both men wind up going through the table.
As Randy is incapacitated on the floor, a beaten-up Cena manages to crawl over and rest his arm over his chest to get the victory for team Cody. Not only has Team Cody won War Games, but Cena has just pinned the WWE Champion.
–Armageddon 2025:
John Cena’s Last Match for the WWE Championship:
John Cena vs Randy Orton:
In early 2025, WWE would announce that they were going to host a PPV event for the month of December, titled Armageddon, that would be held in Boston, Massachusetts. Think about it, Armageddon, the term that describes the final battle between the forces of good and evil. What can be more fitting for an event centered around John Cena’s retirement?
On the SD after Survivor Series, Orton addresses his loss at War Games. He’s not just mad at his team, but he’s mad at himself. He let his arrogance go to his head, and it allowed Cena to pick up a fluke victory. Because nobody actually definitively beat him, and because his team didn’t come out on top, Randy states that he is not granting anyone a title opportunity.
As he tries to leave the ring, he’s interrupted by John Cena. Cena jumps straight to the point, his career is going to end next month, and Randy is in the way of the one thing he still wants to do. At this point he’s done asking, he tells Randy he will challenge him at Armageddon in his own hometown.
Orton refuses, and tells him his time is up. It’s not that Randy doesn’t respect him, it’s that he respects him so much, and he knows what he will do to him in a match with so much on the line.
That’s why Randy asks Cena to back off out of respect. John then questions if it’s out of respect, or if it’s out of fear? Fear that John might be able to do the thing Randy wants to do himself, and that is to break Flair’s record. That one strikes a nerve, and Randy very violently tells Cena he accepts!
The weeks leading up to the event would see them air multiple tribute packages, focusing on different stages of Cena’s career. No matter who wins or who loses, it will be Cena’s final match. On the go-home edition of SD, Randy and Cena would have a contract signing for their match. After trading personal shots back and forth, they set it up, so the match is anything goes, and that there must be a winner.
It ends with Randy getting the upper hand by RKO’ing Cena through the table. Would that be a sign of what’s to come at Armageddon, or can Super Cena overcome it one last time? The match itself sees Randy make his entrance first, getting an insane amount of boos from the audience.
Cena then makes his final, triumphant, and very extravagant entrance, receiving a huge ovation from the Boston crowd. After introductions, the bell rings and history is about to be made.
It’s John Cena vs Randy Orton one last time for the WWE title. Can Cena earn his 17th world title win, or will he have to retire empty-handed? The forces of good and evil are set to do battle, and those questions will be answered one way or the other. This is more of a character study for Cena than it is a match. Similarly to the Punk match, both men know each other extremely well, and are seen as equals throughout.
Unlike Punk, Randy likes to play dirty, and he uses cheap tactics to gain control often, but it’s all considered legal. In the early stages, both men go for their big offense often, but it’s consistently countered. Near the end, Cena would be thrown to the outside, allowing Orton to set up the announce tables. He places Cena on the Spanish announce desk and tries to hit a RKO, but Cena counters and instead slams him through the English announce table.
John throws him back in the ring for the cover, but earns a near fall. He then goes for an AA, but Randy counters it with an RKO mid-move. Both men are exhausted, and slowly get to their feet, allowing Orton to hit a second RKO for another near fall. Undeterred, Orton tries to lift Cena up again for an RKO, but Big Match John just crumbles.
Randy then gets an idea and backs into the corner for the Punt. Cena gets to his knees, and Randy hits his kill move. He goes for the pin, gets the 1, the 2, and then Cena kicks out at 2.999!!! Nobody has ever, ever kicked out of Randy’s punt kick, but Cena found his last ounce of strength in his final match to power through.
Randy is absolutely stunned and irate, and decides to end it just then. After a flurry of grounded punches, he sets Cena up on the top rope and goes for an avalanche RKO. Cena fights out of the attempt, though, and manages to hit the avalanche AA instead. Cena then picks Orton back up and hits another AA. Finally, he rolls through, positions himself to the center of the ring, and with one last “U Can’t See Me” at the camera he hits his final Attitude Adjustment. John then collapses into the cover to get the three count.
On the last night of his in-ring career, John Cena wins his record-breaking 17th world title. The show ends with Cena holding the title up high as pyro goes off and confetti rains down from the ceiling.)
On the Raw after Armageddon, Cena gives his retirement speech. He recaps his entire career from start to finish, thanking the fans and the WWE for the constant support. He says he’s content with handing over the reins for the future generation, and will always be a part of the WWE family, no matter what. After he’s done, the entire locker room comes out on the stage to show support.
Cena’s soon joined in the ring by his close friends, allies, and even some former adversaries. The last to enter the ring is Triple H, who informs Cena that he will be the first inductee in the 2026 Hall of Fame. The two shake hands, and the ring starts to dissipate. All that’s left is Cena standing in the ring, as he takes everything in one last time.
He then grabs a pair of his jorts, his iconic green t-shirt, and a pair of his sneakers and lays them in the center of the ring. Finally, he grabs his WWE Championship and lays that in the center of the ring as well, before making his own exit, thus ending his in-ring career. The title is then vacated, allowing a new face to step up and lead the company going forward.
Credit to Kanenums88
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