It’s been nearly eight months since John Cena officially retired from wrestling, and despite a handful of on-screen appearances since his loss to GUNTHER at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in December 2025, Cena is staying true to his word. Unlike a number of wrestlers who can’t resist coming out of retirement for one more match, Cena has remained adamant that he will never wrestle again, even going as far as saying that it would be “financial suicide” for any promoter looking to lure him out of retirement, unless they like burning money for fun.
This has had some people wondering what Cena’s status with WWE is, and according to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, Cena is still very much under contract in a non-wrestling capacity. Sources within WWE told Sapp that Cena is currently signed to a multi-year deal as a WWE ambassador, and that even if a different company like AEW tried to bring Cena out of retirement, he wouldn’t be contractually allowed to work anywhere other than WWE. With all that said, those close to both Cena and AEW told Fightful that him being persuaded to have one more run in a different environment was not only not discussed, but also seen as virtually impossible.
Cena was last seen at the WWE Backlash 2026 Premium Live Event in May, where he made an announcement that was promised to shock the WWE Universe. The announcement was the introduction of the “John Cena Classic,” a tournament designed to pit the current WWE roster against up-and-coming stars, but there has been no further information since Cena’s appearance at Backlash. Sources in WWE told Sapp that the tournament is still penciled in for December of this year, which would see the competition run alongside AEW’s Continental Classic tournament, but that date could change.
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