The excitement level in the WWE universe for John Cena vs Brock Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza was unparalleled. However, what happened in Indianapolis was unlike anything anyone would’ve expected, particularly because after Wrestlepalooza 2025, Cena has a total of 5 confirmed WWE appearances left.
John Cena will likely wrestle in 2 WWE PLEs (Survivor Series and Crown Jewel) before he retires from pro wrestling. Besides that Cena is scheduled to retire on Saturday Night’s Main Event in Dec, 2025. So it is likely he will face atleast 3 more opponents in his WWE career. However, after witnessing John Cena vs Sami Zayn, it’s difficult to predict what Triple H has planned for the Cenation Leader.
John Cena’s Retirement Tour Decimated: How Brock Lesnar Annihilated Him at Wrestlepalooza
From the moment the bell rang, Lesnar dominated the 17-time World Champion. Cena’s clash against Lesnar was one of the most highly anticipated matches of his retirement tour so far, but with the kind of carnage The Beast Incarnate has inflicted on Cena physically and beyond that, destroyed his retirement tour.
It all started between Brock Lesnar and John Cena with a short trip to the Suplex City for Cena from the Beast Incarnate. However, the former WWE Champion was quick to respond with three consecutive Attitude Adjustments that consolidated the fact that Cena won’t go down that easily against Lesnar.
However, Cena could not pull out another offensive action in the match following that. Cena responded to those 3 AAs with a crushing clothesline followed by a barrage of F-5s that have now become a statement from the former Universal Champion even before the two WWE legends met at Wrestlepalooza.
With the kind of F-5s being delivered to John Cena, it was decided there and then that the fate of the match would not change from that moment onwards. After delivering several F-5s to the ‘never-seen 17’, Lesnar went for a pinfall to carve a majestic win against Cena.
With this dominating display, Lesnar has not only exposed the weaknesses of Cena inside the ring but has also created irreparable damage to Cena’s retirement tour.
The 17-time World Champion has 5 confirmed appearances remaining in his retirement tour after Wrestlepalooza 2025. Cena is set to retire on December 13, at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington. A table illustrating the confirmed dates and venues of his appearances is as follows
However, after the domination by Brock Lesnar, the question in front of John Cena remains whether he should pursue vengeance against the Beast Incarnate or look for other challenges for his last few appearances left as a professional wrestler.
5 Potential WWE Superstars Cena Can Compete With After Wrestlepalooza 2025
Following the defeat at the hands of Brock Lesnar, the most likely course of Cena’s upcoming matches is to have a rematch with Brock Lesnar and have some sort of revenge over the humiliating manner in which he was defeated at Wrestlepalooza 2025.
But given the fact that Cena is on a tight schedule, he can also look for other competitors inside the ring. One of the most likely rivalries he can re-create inside the ring is with AJ Styles.
Fans have been wanting to see a John Cena vs AJ Styles showdown for some time now. Cena also paid tribute to Styles during his match against Logan Paul at Clash in Paris, so it’s likely that the ‘Phenomenal One’ could be his rival before Cena hangs up his wrestling boots.
After the defeat against Lesnar, Cena needs a victory to put his retirement tour back on track. With the kind of success he’s had with Logan Paul, WWE could also make him face a younger superstar rather than putting him against a more seasoned campaigner inside the ring.
In this regard, Cena can also face someone from ‘The Vision’, like Seth Rollins or Bron Breakker, as his next opponent. A hard-earned win against these WWE superstars could really establish that the disappointment against Lesnar was temporary.
WWE under Triple H can also plan out a dream clash to outmatch the wave of sadness amongst Cena’s fans right now. For this, they can potentially pit him against someone like Roman Reigns, equally competitive and probably the next biggest name after John Cena in the WWE. A clash against Reigns will aid in creating a wave of excitement around Cena’s last few WWE appearances once again.
In any case, the final decision on who should be Cena’s next opponent for his retirement tour rests on the WWE creative heads and Cena himself.
What are your thoughts on who Cena’s next opponent will be? Share with us in the comments below.
Wrestlepalooza 2025 is now streaming live on ESPN in the United States and Netflix everywhere else.
