After a legendary career that spanned more than two decades, it now appears we know who will be John Cena’s final opponent in the WWE ring. According to reports by WRKD Wrestling, the opponent set to close the career of one of the greatest wrestlers of all time is Gunther – the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Cena, 48, announced last year that he would officially retire from WWE at the end of 2025. Since then, he has been conducting an international farewell tour, during which he appeared at the biggest events on the organization’s calendar.
The defining moment of the farewell tour occurred in early March this year, when Cena shocked the world by turning from a "babyface" (good character) to a "heel" (bad character) and teamed up with The Rock to betray champion Cody Rhodes. About a month and a half later, he defeated Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania and was crowned Undisputed World Champion for the 17th time in his career – a historic record.
Gunther is also currently a "heel," having just retired Bill Goldberg over the weekend and established himself as one of the top villains in the organization. Therefore, Cena, who as mentioned made a surprising character switch, could return to his beloved classic persona and thus get the opportunity to say goodbye to the fans in his familiar style.
Additionally, both currently hold major titles: Gunther as the World Heavyweight Champion, and Cena as the Undisputed Champion. This implies that at least one of them will likely lose their title before December in order to give the match real significance.
In the past, there was talk of a farewell match against Cody Rhodes, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, or even internet star Logan Paul, but according to the latest leak, it appears that Gunther will be the one honored with facing the legend.
Cena explained in an interview with ESPN why he decided to retire: “I started stepping away from the full schedule back in 2017. Now we're already in 2025, so that’s half a decade of thinking about it. I always promised the fans – even when I was in my 20s – that the moment I felt I couldn’t keep up the pace, I would retire. And I feel that’s the case now, so it’s time.”