John Cena Names His 2 Favorite WWE Matches
John Cena named two of his favorite WWE matches, including one from his retirement tour.
When John Cena was still wrestling, he was often asked about his favorite matches. In response to that, the 17-time WWE World Champion would usually say that his favorite match is his next one.
Since John Cena retired as an active WWE wrestler in December 2025, he can’t say that his next match is his favorite match.
After appearing at SpaceCon San Antonio 2026, Cena was asked the favorite match question, and this time, he actually answered it.
“So, this used to be a cheat code of mine, right? When I was still a wrestler, I used to be like, ‘Oh, that’s easy. My favorite match is my next one.’ Because it’s true, I would always look forward to performing, but now I can’t cheat. I am retired.”
“I don’t think you can have the journey without the first step. So, I really have a soft spot for a match in Chicago with an Olympic gold medalist named Kurt Angle.”
That match John Cena mentioned is from the June 27, 2002 edition of WWE SmackDown (taped two days earlier) when he answered an open challenge from WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle. Cena put up a fight, but he lost, and he also had a memorable debut.
For his next match pick, John Cena mentioned the 27-minute classic with fellow retired WWE legend AJ Styles at Crown Jewel in October 2025 in Australia.
“Speaking of matches that give me the emotions, and maybe the feels and a little bit of a tear or two, I was lucky enough on the retirement tour to face AJ Styles in Perth, Australia. And I really enjoyed that match as well. So, I’ll give you those two as a as a concrete answer for that.
The reason I showcase that AJ match is because it wasn’t just me and him; it was all of us. I don’t know if you all saw it, but the crowd was calling out spots. Like, we had 55,000 people telling me to hit AJ with the RKO. Hell, I almost did a 619. It was like a 3-.5-4.5.
But I don’t know if it can get better than that as far as interaction, because I’ve always encouraged our audience to interact. But man, they felt like they were all in the ring with us, and I just don’t know if it gets any better. I’ve never had that happen in my career, ever.”
John Cena Knew It Was Time To End WWE Career
When John Cena retired at 48, he knew he couldn’t compete with the current WWE stars, who move faster than ever. Now 49, Cena recently stated that he knew it was time to move on partly because of how talented the new WWE superstars are.
“This new crop of extra talented superstars come up that are performing at a speed like the game just looks too fast for me… because it is. You’re right. I could change my style, but at the risk of ruining that energy that WWE invested in me. And that’s tough because from an ego standpoint, you got to step away from the audience. I love the audience. It’s great.
But man, that’s not respectful to the fans, and it’s not respectful to the company. It’s also not respectful to new talent trying to get an opportunity. Step aside. Let the young superstars come up.” (H/T 411Mania)
While John Cena focuses on his movie and television career without taking bumps in a WWE ring, he’s still involved in the company by running the John Cena Classic later this year at some point. Details about that project are still to come.
Also Read: John Cena Responds To Critics Of WWE’s “John Cena Classic”