“It’s like the last page in a 500-page book. All of us would really have to f**k it up for that last page to ruin the 499,” John Cena said to Triple H at the kickoff of his retirement tour in WWE and Netflix’s behind-the-scenes reality show, WWE Unreal.
While the other 499 are safe, it would not be a stretch or at all unreasonable to suggest that the aforementioned story-ending page has been a fairly significant disappointment, with Cena’s last year in professional wrestling thus far defined by uneven creative, questionable booking, and a heel turn that made headlines for a week before limping through five months of directionless booking.
A squash loss to Brock Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza further upset fans and left them underwhelmed by what was meant to be a magical run for one of the most celebrated, decorated, famous, and beloved Superstars of all time.
Then, Cena took to X and hinted at one last match with one of his greatest opponents, re-energizing a fan base that badly needed it after the September 20 premium live event.
Cena’s hint, then public call-out of Triple H, led to the Chief Content Officer officially announcing the match between The Unseen 17 and the one last, great rival of his against whom he has yet to compete during this run, “The Phenomenal One” AJ Styles.
Cena and Styles engaged in a trilogy of matches from 2016 through 2017 that rank among the greatest of either’s career. For Styles, the matches represented the legitimization of him as a star in the industry’s biggest promotion. For Cena, it was reinforcement that he could hang with a competitor who many considered, at that time, to be the best in the world at what he did.
It was a fantastic rivalry that delivered on the mic and in the ring, and one that many have felt must be revisited at some point in this retirement tour.
The announcement represented the first time during this retirement tour in which it felt like those in power listened to the audience.
Jey Uso winning the Royal Rumble was necessary to make him the star that he has become, but it was still readily apparent back at the start of the year that fans wanted to see Cena tie Steve Austin with three Rumble victories.
The heel turn the following month made for an unforgettable moment, one that generated unheard of buzz for the company, but a lack of follow-up and an audience that clearly did not want to boo the Greatest of All Time in his final few months in the business, ultimately helped to make that brief stretch a failure, with the only positives being the rekindling of epic rivalries with Randy Orton and CM Punk.
Now a babyface after an abrupt turn back in August ended that experiment, and coming off a match with Lesnar that no one asked for and that ultimately left fans disgruntled in the wake of the company’s debut on ESPN, Cena appears to have stood up for himself and the fans by insisting on a match with Styles at Crown Jewel in Perth, South Australia on October 11.
Whether it is the latest wrinkle in Cena’s character or an overdue insistence by the oftentimes selfless megastar, the match is one that needed to be made official for the sake of the remaining time we have left with one of the greatest professional wrestlers and sports entertainers ever.
Stubborn creative, ego trips, the sudden disappearance of The Rock, and the disintegration of a partnership with rap superstar Travis Scott have defined Cena’s final year with the company. While just over three months are remaining, and five dates to work with, it is about time for WWE officials to set aside their sense of what is best for business, open their ears and eyes, and give Cena the proper sendoff befitting a legendary Superstar of his stature.
Despite Triple H’s suggestion that Cena wanted one more match with Lesnar, the Last Real Champion has twice denied that he has chosen any of his opponents, telling journalist/comedian Adam Glyn, “they deal ’em, I play ’em” in reference to The Beast.
He reiterated that he has no chosen his opponents in Tuesday’s post on X, clearly stating, “I do not choose my opponents…”
Regardless of how the Styles match came about, who listened to who, and how The Phenomenal One was chosen, the best way for Cena’s run to go out in a way befitting the man at its center is for those involved to listen to the performer himself and, more importantly, the audience that so warmly and loudly greets him in arenas around the world.
Otherwise, it will be yet another shining example of a creative team believing it knows better than its audience and stubbornly booking a conclusion to a career that underwhelms and disappoints rather than celebrates and honors someone who, for over two decades, gave everything he had for the fans and is deserving of far better than that.
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