The WWE ran a John Cena retirement tour angle throughout last year, culminating with his final match at “Saturday Night’s Main Event,” which featured the decorated champion tapping out to Gunther.
While fans and critics either loved or hated how Cena left the ring, many believed it was the most fitting way to end his in-ring work. With that, he let fans know he’d still be a participant in WWE in other ways, just not competing in any more matches.
The company announced him as the host of this year’s WrestleMania 42, and he performed that duty in a sharp suit with typical Cena charm on the mic. His role featured in-ring announcements, including informing everyone of the event’s official attendance, and a segment featuring Danhausen’s comedic work as his small army of little people attacked The Miz and Kit Wilson.
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And while it seemed like fans might not see Cena- catchphrase joke aside, the charismatic superstar recently revealed he’s going to be at this weekend’s WWE Backlash in Tampa, Florida, which is likely due to the convenience of where Cena resides.
Cena dropped an announcement via social media, including an X update, to let everyone know he will break some “history-making news” live in Tampa and for everyone watching on the ESPN app.
“I can’t promise it’ll be perfect but I can promise it will change the WWE experience for Superstars and fans!” he said in part of his message.
If Cena is involved in that news moving forward, then it makes perfect sense for him to be there to promote whatever it might be. If he isn’t, it feels as if WWE is going to use him at every potential event they can, not only to announce big news but also to lure more fans to buy tickets.
It might be what his contract with the company involves, but it seems to diminish the retirement tour if he’ll appear at pretty much every WWE premium live event now.
He’s always been a popular draw for many fans at events, but unfortunately, he’s no longer a draw because he’s in actual matches. Instead, it’s more of another WWE attempt to keep fans invested when the company should be pushing new stars, such as Oba Femi, more.
Some might say this feels similar to Marvel bringing back a major star like Robert Downey Jr. for more Avengers movies. It’s just putting the actor in a different role to keep fans coming back.
There’s always that crazy possibility that Cena isn’t retired, and will team up with Danhausen as his mystery tag team partner against The Miz and Kit Wilson at Backlash. It wouldn’t be the first time an athlete said they were “retired” and then decided to come back for more, but it would only make Cena’s “retirement tour” mean less in WWE.
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