John Cena announced Saturday night that he will retire from professional wrestling next year after two decades in the ring.
The wrestler-turned-actor delivered a heartfelt speech to a stadium of World Wrestling Entertainment fans in Toronto, who booed in disappointment as Cena said the 2025 season would be his last.
The 47-year-old promised a farewell tour with dozens of dates and an epic final fight, and he assured fans he would remain involved with the wrestling franchise that launched his career.
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“Thank you so much for letting me play in the house that you built for so many years,” Cena told the crowd.
In a news conference after the event, Cena told reporters that he feels physically “at my end,” but that doesn’t mean he needs to distance himself from the sport he loves.
Cena is a 16-time WWE champion who burst onto the scene in the early 2000s as the fan-favorite “Doctor of Thuganomics,” a rapper character decked in gold chains and a backwards hat who challenged his wrestling opponents to rap battles.
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He went on to portray other popular characters, both in the ring and on the big screen.
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Cena played starring roles in the films Blockers and The Suicide Squad.
He has made multiple appearances in the Fast & Furious franchise and appeared most recently in the comedy thriller Argylle and the box office hit Barbie.
He made headlines earlier this year when he hit the 2024 Academy Awards stage stark naked
It was all part of a cheeky gag as host Jimmy Kimmel noted that this year’s event was the 50th anniversary of a streaker who famously ran across the stage.
He previously told ESPN about his love of wrestling and said he wanted to be a professional wrestler since he was a kid.
“As a kid, I certainly imagined it pretty much every waking day of my life,” he said.
“But it became an attainable goal when you realise when you grow up, there’s a place you can go and they’ll teach you how to do it.”
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