John Cena Confirms Status For WWE Royal Rumble
John Cena retired from wrestling in December, but the Royal Rumble is known for its surprise returns.
The 2026 show of the premium live event takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, moving out of North America for the first time since 1988.
Several male superstars have already confirmed their participation, including four members of The Vision, Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Roman Reigns.
A few hours ago, John Cena shared a tweet, expressing his excitement for the annual event that kicks off the road to WrestleMania, where the winner of the Rumble will challenge a world champion of their choosing.
The 48-year-old himself is a 2-time Royal Rumble winner, having won in 2008 and 2013. Cena defeated The Rock in 2013 to become the new WWE Champion.
The 17-time World Champion, who retired at Saturday Night’s Main Event XLII, wrote on X that he would be watching the event from home, shutting down any speculations about his participation.
The #RoyalRumble is one of the most exciting, surprising and important events in @WWE!! The Road to Wrestlemania starts now with this historic Rumble you don’t want to miss! I’ll be watching!
— John Cena (@JohnCena) January 31, 2026
John Cena Pays Tribute To AJ Styles
AJ Styles will be competing in a singles match at the Royal Rumble. He will take on Gunther, who retired Goldberg and John Cena in 2025.
Since his latter achievement, The Ring General has been gloating about being the best wrestler on the WWE roster, claiming that he made Cena tap out like a b**ch.
Having shared a close professional and personal relationship with Cena, Styles took offense to Gunther’s insults and confronted him, demanding a match at the Rumble.
Gunther, who has now earned the moniker ‘Career Killer,’ said that he would accept the match if Styles put his career on the line. Styles accepted.
Earlier this week, Cena acknowledged his long-standing rival and peer, AJ Styles, by sharing a picture of him with the IWGP title from his New Japan Pro Wrestling days.