John Cena’s 2025 retirement tour was met with mixed reactions from fans and pundits across the wrestling world, with some praising him for still performing at a high level in the ring even at the age of 48. Regarding the storylines spread across his final dates, however, many felt less than impressed or simply puzzled. 

While appearing on “What Do You Wanna Talk About,” Cena revealed that he personally considered the tour as an overall “beautiful” experience, regardless of the chatter around it. 

“Here’s the thing, the WWE audience or the people who critique our work, they’re so forgiving and understanding when the reason is injury,” Cena said. “Someone gets injured, they can’t compete, okay, we got to give that up. Totally blows the story, creative. ‘Injury, I get it.’ What if it’s an emotional injury? What if we deem things aren’t working out? What if somebody says I just can’t make it? It just doesn’t work sometimes. And instead of b****ing about what we could have had, the imaginary thing, look at what we got. Again, when I reflect on Saturday, I went peacefully. I closed this chapter peacefully. Man, fun stuff.”

In his final act as an in-ring competitor, Cena took on two-time World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event. With the WWE Universe rooting for him, Cena initially powered through GUNTHER’s flurry of submissions and clotheslines, and even stunned him with his signature “Fives Moves of Doom.” In the end, though, “The Ring General” emerged victorious, with Cena tapping out and the Capital One Arena left speechless.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “What Do You Wanna Talk About” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.