John Cena is embarking on the final WrestleMania of his in-ring career and WWE are sending him off in the biggest way possible.
While precious few WWE legends stay retired after winding down their careers, the 47-year-old is spending more of his time in Hollywood and WWE have announced this is his final run.
WrestleMania 41 will be in Las Vegas in April and WWE has decided to give Cena one of the top spots on the card.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cena will challenge Cody Rhodes for the WWE heavyweight title.
Cena, a record-tying 16-time world champion in WWE, would have the chance to move past Ric Flair and make the record for most world title reigns his own at 17.
Rhodes will have been back in WWE for three years by the time he makes his entrance in Las Vegas and has risen to the top babyface spot that Cena dominated for over a decade.
WWE are planning big things for John Cena’s farewell tour, giving him a top WrestleMania spot
The 47-year-old has been directing his attention towards Hollywood ahead of retirement
And now it has been reported that his opponent for WrestleMania in April is Cody Rhodes
Elsewhere, Roman Reigns and CM Punk are rumoured to work together, but reports also suggest that The Rock is expected to work his second consecutive WrestleMania and if Rhodes is opposite Cena, facing his real-life cousin Reigns seems the obvious answer.
As for the other world title, Gunther is rumoured to defend his title against Seth Rollins, the man who will face CM Punk when WWE debuts on Netflix with RAW on January 6.
Cena is one of wrestling’s most iconic faces, joining WWE in 2001 and appearing in the company’s biggest events before performing on a more part-time basis from 2018.
He won his first world championship in 2005 before making a face turn to a more heroic character. He is also a five-time WWE United States Champion and has clinched Royal Rumble glory twice, first coming out on top during his peak in 2008.
Five years later, he won it again to set up a crunch match with rival The Rock, which he won to secure his 11th WWE Championship title.
He is set to retire next year after years of dazzling mammoth crowds with his signature moves.
Despite this year’s antics and still being part of the company, it appears that The Rock himself will not be taking part in next year’s event, Dr. Chris Featherstone of Sportskeeda reported last month.
He said on X: ‘#WWE has decided to move forward in creative plans as if The Rock will not appear at #WrestleMania 41, as of now.
Another world title would make Cena the outright record holder, moving past Ric Flair
Meanwhile, Roman Reigns is set to work with CM Punk but could face real-life cousin The Rock
It has been reported that The Rock might not make an appearance at the April event
Gunther is rumoured to be gearing up for a title defence against Seth Rollins at the event
‘I have been informed that these plans could “change at any moment”, and WWE is definitely interested in using him if he becomes available, but he is not currently scheduled to compete.’
Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp meanwhile posted: ‘I see a bunch of people posting The Rock’s Instagram comments from months ago in his replies. He’s the Rock and ultimately he can do what he wants, but this post is correct and has been for quite a while.’
Johnson had taken to Instagram in October to rubbish claims he was giving WrestleMania a miss in 2025, posting: ‘Don’t believe any of that bull****.’
Rhodes meanwhile won the Royal Rumble for the second year in a row earlier this year, beating the favourite Punk in the dying embers in a drama-filled match.
The 39-year-old managed to shock the world and set up a date with Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania, which he went on to win in April.