John Cena has been preparing for his WWE retirement for a long time.
The 49-year-old Hollywood star officially hung up his boots in December 2025 after 23 years in the ring, but now the 17-time world champion has admitted he thought he’d had his last match back in 2020.
Cena, who is leading a new collaboration between WWE and the mobile game Clash of Clans, told Metro exclusively that he actually thought his cinematic Firefly Fun House match with the late Bray Wyatt was the end of his career at WrestleMania 36.
‘Honestly, no kidding,’ he said. ‘I thought the Firefly Fun House was going to be the last match of my career.’
As well as the pandemic, Cena had a ‘string of movies’ which meant his schedule was ‘pretty unavailable for WWE’. In the past few years, he’s starred in films including F9, The Suicide Squad, Vacation Friends, Barbie and many more.
It wasn’t until he returned 16 months later that he realised he had more to offer, despite his initial plan to retire six years ago. ‘I’m still loyal to WWE,’ he stressed.
‘I really did think that the Firefly Fun House match was going to be the tail end, and that was kind of a meta journey for me through facing all of my demons, and then letting go.’
The skit, which included a haunting deep dive through Cena’s career and psyche, ended with him being effectively killed off by Wyatt’s Fiend character.
Instead, Cena called time on his career eight months ago against GUNTHER, the culmination of a year-long retirement tour, which included matches with the likes of Dominik Mysterio, AJ Styles, CM Punk and Cody Rhodes.
Now, Cena is glad to be able to ‘relax’ and enjoy wrestling ‘as a fan’, while his body isn’t under the same physical toll.
‘I have looked essentially the same for the entire run of my adulthood,’ he quipped. ‘So training-wise, [retirement] isn’t any different. The biggest reward is physical activity, especially in these last four years; [it] has been incredibly tough on the body.’
He pointed out how his 2021 run left him battered, including his back being ‘swollen and out of line’.
‘So I’m walking twisted, and I got to put so much effort into making everything right again before I can train again.
‘Man, now the workouts are great because I’m not doing as much getting everything right. The car is spending less time in the shop and more time on the track.’
He’s reigniting his rivalry with Rhodes for Clash of Clans, having spent years playing the hugely popular mobile game backstage.
‘Cody and I’s story was one that got to unfold for my retirement tour, and it had multiple phases to it,’ he teased, describing the upcoming month-long campaign as a ‘possible passing of the torch’ in front of the title’s 2 billion players.
From September 1-30, Cody is enlisting Clash of Clans players to search for Cena’s base during their daily raids and earn a one-time-only Cody statue for their village if they succeed.
There are plenty of WWE-themed features throughout the event, including temporary troops and a branded village theme designed around Money in the Bank, which is taking place in New Orleans on October 10.
‘It’s very much in line with my WWE character of if you want some, come get some, but you’re going to have to earn it,’ Cena told us, while it’s clear he’s still keen to be part of WWE’s future.
‘I’m all in on the John Cena Classic,’ he said of his namesake tournament. ‘All the details are figured out. They want me to keep it a secret until we give the announcement. It’s like a new model of a car that we do this big reveal for. The car is ready. I just want to take the drape off, but we’ve got to wait.’
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Back to Cena and Cody, Cena thinks the new Clash of Clans campaign mirrors their real-life relationship.
‘Cody viewed me as a mentor, and when we started all playing Clash, I was heavily invested in the game. So leaps and bounds, technology and upgrade-wise, I was just far ahead of everybody else,’ he explained.
‘I was very financially generous and enthusiastic for anybody who would join our group, so I try to level everybody up as quick as I could, and I think this is like a full circle moment for Cody going from student to master.
‘He truly is far more proficient at the game than I am now, and this is kind of his final stake in the ground.’
Cena laughed as he reflected on how they’ve changed over the last couple of decades.
‘Oh goodness! I mean, what I’m hearing is, are you the same person in 2008 that you are today? The answer is a resounding no,’ he chuckled. ‘I try to remain curious and work towards growth every day.’
Cody Rhodes enlists millions of gamers to find John Cena in Clash of Clans in a WWE crossover. Download the game for iOS or Google Play today to help in the search until September 30th.