Sixteen-time world champion wrestler John Cena announced his retirement at WWE’s Money in the Bank on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, which Cena said was the “perfect” place for the announcement.
In recent years, Cena has worn a towel that read “Never Give Up.”
This time, it read “The last time is now,” a reference to his entrance song, “The Time Is Now.”
Cena also wore a T-shirt that read “The Last Time Is Now Tour” and “John Cena Farewell.”
Cena said he would compete in the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania next year, which will be his final events. Afterwards, a chant of “Thank you, Cena” rang out through the crowd.
“Thank you for letting me perform in the house you spent so many years building,” Cena told the audience.
Now a Hollywood superstar, Cena made his WWE debut in 2002 and quickly became a fan favorite. His first major appearance was as a gossip rapper, where he was called “Doctor Thuganomics”.
Two of his most famous matches were at back-to-back WrestleMania events in 2011 and 2012, both against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Cena lost the first match but won the second.
Cena has only worked part-time for the past five years. His most recent return before Saturday was on night two of WrestleMania XL, when Cody Rhodes dethroned Roman Reigns as the undisputed WWE champion.
He won the first of his 16 world championships at WrestleMania XXI in 2005 at the age of 28.
Outside of the ring and on film, he is known for granting the most wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, nearly 700.
Due to his unparalleled in-ring success and popularity in the 2010s, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest WWE performers of all time and is often named on the virtual WWE “Mount Rushmore” list.
Cena has headlined WrestleMania five times and with next year’s WrestleMania in Las Vegas being his farewell event, it’s safe to assume he will headline for a sixth time.