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Netflix Drops Major WWE Announcement: “John Cena Says Goodbye”

By Sridhar Krishnan • Published Jun 23, 2026 11:33 EDT
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John Cena after his loss to Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event, December 13, 2025 - Source: WWE.com

Netflix and WWE are gearing up for yet another season of the Unreal docuseries.

The series debuted on Netflix on July 29, 2025, followed by a second season on January 20, 2026.

Season 1 gave an extensive behind-the-scenes insight into shows leading up to WrestleMania 42, whereas Season 2 covered post-WrestleMania events until SummerSlam.

John Cena was one of the pivotal figures during these dates, as he competed in his retirement tour, which was later announced to end on December 13, 2025.

At WrestleMania 42, he became a record 17-time World Champion, eclipsing Ric Flair in the process. At SummerSlam, he was involved in a nearly 40-minute battle against Cody Rhodes, where he dropped his title to The American Nightmare.

After losing to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam and winning against AJ Styles at Crown Jewel, Cena was featured in a brief feud with Dominik Mysterio, where they traded title wins.

In the meantime, WWE also held the “Last Time Is Now” tournament, where the winner would face Cena at Saturday Night’s Main Event in Washington, D.C.

Netflix Reveals Date Of WWE: Unreal Season 3 Centered Around John Cena

It is safe to speculate that Season 3 of WWE: Unreal will heavily revolve around John Cena’s final days as a talent of the Stamford promotion.

Cena first announced his retirement at the 2024 Money in the Bank, which led to the conception of his retirement tour.

Netflix, meanwhile, tweeted the official release date of Unreal Season 3, revealing it as July 21. Commentators Michael Cole and Corey Graves first announced it on the June 22 edition of Raw.

While Cena’s retirement tour was a company-wide story, it witnessed its share of hiccups. Time and again, fans dissected the storylines involving the 17-time champion, discussing how things could have been made better.

So, it will be interesting to see everything that went down behind the scenes.

Saturday Night’s Main Event also featured multiple NXT superstars, who gave the impression that the future of the promotion was in good hands. It remains to be seen how well the likes of Sol Ruca, Je’Von Evans, and Oba Femi are featured in Season 3.

Meanwhile, Cena has remained attached to the promotion in a non-wrestling role, even hosting WrestleMania 42. He was also present at Backlash, where he made the announcement of the John Cena Classic, which will pit WWE superstars against NXT talent.