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17-Time WWE Champion, Not John Cena, Drops Huge Retirement Tease

By Sridhar Krishnan • Published Sep 27, 2025 13:32 EDT
WWE Logo blur akira tozawa

A 17-time WWE Champion has teased their retirement from wrestling.

Akira Tozawa debuted in the promotion as part of 205 Live, where he participated in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament. He made it to the quarterfinals, suffering a defeat against Gran Metalik.

On August 14, 2017, he defeated Neville to win the Cruiserweight Championship for the first time. However, he dropped it to the same opponent at SummerSlam six days later.

He then entered a feud with Drew Gulak, followed by Hideo Itami.

After the WWE 24/7 Championship was launched in May 2019, Tozawa was often seen competing for the gold, winning it 16 times, until it was retired on November 9, 2022.

Akira Tozawa currently serves as a member of the Hart Academy and is also a disciple of the Hart Dungeon under Natalya’s training.

The 40-year-old Japanese star recently took to X to hint at a possible retirement from the business.

John Cena’s Next WWE Match Confirmed

With only 5 appearances remaining in his WWE retirement tour, John Cena has found his next opponent.

The 17-time World Champion had taken to X to ask fans’ opinion about wrestling veteran AJ Styles. Subsequently, he tweeted another message, this time directed at WWE CCO Triple H, to listen to fans and book the match.

After a few back-and-forth tweets, the match between Cena and Styles was announced by Triple at for Crown Jewel in Perth on October 11.

Meanwhile, AJ Styles also seemingly confirmed retiring from wrestling in 2026. During an interview with Tokyo Sports, ahead of WWE’s two October dates in Japan, the Phenomenal One said:

I’m really excited. This will probably be my last fight in Japan, so I’m really looking forward to it. I’m planning to retire soon, so I may not come back to Japan before I retire.

I will probably appear at WrestleMania (April next year in Las Vegas, USA), but it’s not confirmed yet. The details are still undecided, but I will definitely retire within the next year.

I don’t want to show my fans a side of me that isn’t AJ Styles. That’s the main reason. I’ve decided to retire before my body can no longer move.

Also read: John Cena’s WWE rise linked to the departure of two legends.