When asked if he would be in Philadelphia for WrestleMania 40, Cena played coy, saying he may or may not be free that weekend. He also left things somewhat unclear about what exactly the end of his WWE career would look like. On the one hand, he was firm in his determination to continue his streak of 23 straight years with at least one WWE match even after retirement, saying “I’ve never missed a year, and as long as I can perform, I don’t intend to miss a year.” But he also wants to make room for those coming up behind him.
“When I say I’m done — in WWE, they say never say never and a lot of people retire and come back — I’m just being honest with myself,” Cena said. “There’s such a great new generation now as well. It’s time to pass the electric energy on to the folks that can be there every day.”
Accordingly, Cena’s role as of late has seemingly been to usher in the new generation of WWE stars. His last in-ring appearance was a loss to The Bloodline’s Solo Sikoa at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, after which he was brutally beaten down by the rising star. Before that, he put over LA Knight after their tag team victory at WWE Fastlane and lost a WWE United States Championship match to then-champion Austin Theory at WrestleMania 39.
