WWE Allegedly Teasing AEW Stars On Purpose For John Cena’s Tournament

At Saturday Night’s Main Event XLI, WWE ran a vignette voiced by John Cena to confirm a tournament.

The “Last Time is Now” tournament will have 16 wrestlers competing for a single spot, with the winner challenging Cena in his retirement match on December 13 in Washington, DC.

While the tournament will have challengers from RAW, SmackDown, and NXT, Cena’s announcement that participants might not all be WWE-exclusive talent generated a buzz.

Over the last few weeks, reports of AEW stars, Chris Jericho and Adam Copeland (Edge), potentially competing against the 17-time World Champion have done the rounds.

Jericho has not been on All Elite Wrestling TV since April 2025, whereas Copeland is on a hiatus to film scenes for Season 3 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer claimed that WWE may have purposely teased their returns despite not having any actual expectations.

Nevertheless, the Stamford-based company has achieved its goal by getting fans to talk about the potential challengers while evoking nostalgia for Cena’s history with Jericho and Edge.

John Cena To Appear On The Next WWE RAW Episode

John Cena was last seen at the Crown Jewel PLE, where he faced AJ Styles in a singles match.

The two 48-year-olds put on an epic show, leaving fans wanting more of the action that transpired on that night.

With 4 appearances left before he retires, Cena will next be on the November 10 taping of WWE RAW from Boston, Massachusetts, his hometown.

The episode will also officially kick off the “Last Time is Now” tournament, with Rusev taking on Damian Priest and Sheamus facing Shinsuke Nakamura.

Meanwhile, Cena’s final match is expected to be a grand affair, with several politicians, including United States President Donald Trump, speculated to be in attendace.

Also read: John Cena Pitched For Embarrassing Defeat At WWE Survivor Series

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