John Cena has won the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championship for a record-breaking seventeenth time.
The 47-year-old is now the most decorated wrestler in history, overtaking Ric Flair, 76, who won the world title sixteen times.
John became the reigning champion after beating Cody Rhodes, 39, with a hand from rapper Travis Scott, 33, at WrestleMania 41.
On X, WWE fans celebrated the Trainwreck actor’s win, with@AMBGotAura declaring: ‘No more debates, No more conversations, No more doubts. John Cena is the single greatest of all time. #WrestleMania.’
@ThisIsNasty said: ‘John Cena’s entrance was literally just a Microsoft Word Font. I love it. So on-brand with his heel character. He owes you nothing. No new gear. No flashy entrance. NOTHING. #WrestleMania.’
Echoing their sentiment, @VajjiRepublic wrote: ‘The REAL GOAT and the man who put the entire business on his back for 20+ years. 17 time champion, John Cena. Truly a legend, Our childhood Hero.’
@CFC_Janty also added: ‘John Cena The Greatest there is, the Greatest there was, the Greatest there will ever be.’
Last year, John announced he would be retiring from WWE after a glistening 22-year career.
‘Tonight, I officially announce my retirement from the WWE,’ he told the Money In The Bank crowd in Toronto in January.
He added: ‘2025 Royal Rumble will be my last. 2025 Elimination Chamber will be my last. And I’m here tonight to announce that in Las Vegas, WrestleMania 2025, will be the last WrestleMania I compete in.’
John then launched his Farewell Tour, which kicked off at California’s Intuit Dome on January 6.
Retired Welsh grappler Mason Ryan previously told Metro that his fondest memory of John was a drunken night backstage after his Monday Night Raw debut in 2012.
‘I was probably on an adrenaline high, cloud nine, my feet didn’t touch the floor,’ he said of the night where he appeared and joined CM Punk by laying out Cena.
Mason recalled being in the locker room when the star’s driver came and said the 16-time world champion wanted to see him on his private bus.
‘I just threw my clothes quickly after showering and left my bags there because I just thought I’m just going to see John, and he’s going to say congratulations, or welcome to the team, or something like that,’ he said.
‘So I hop on the bus and he says, “Hey, take a seat”. And then he started bringing out some drinks. I’m thinking, “Okay, we’re going to have a beer or two.”
‘Then after an hour, he starts bringing out the whiskey. And then he starts bringing out the moonshine.’
Mason realised it was getting late and he needed to be up by around 4am the next morning to get his flight to the next show.
‘Cena said, “Oh, don’t worry!” I had a connection, and the connection was only an hour away or so. We got my bags and instead of catching the first flight, we drove to wherever that that that second flight would be,’ he laughed.
‘And I’ll be honest, he got me pretty drunk! At one point, we were drinking a beer, a shot of whiskey, and then and washing it down with a moonshine. So it was quite the blur!
‘That was one of the craziest things about that [debut], getting hammered on John Cena’s bus that night.’
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