3 weeks ago
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John Cena's in-ring career finally has an end date.
WWE have confirmed that the 17-time world champion will wrestle his last-ever match on Saturday, December 13, 2025, bringing the curtain down on more than two decades at the very top of sports entertainment.
The farewell bout will headline a special edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, which is being revived as part of a new broadcast deal with NBCUniversal and will stream exclusively on Peacock in the United States.
Details of international broadcast plans, including for the UK, are still to be confirmed.
Cena's farewell has been building throughout 2025, with the 48-year-old embarking on a global 'one last time' tour that has already produced some unforgettable moments.
Earlier this year he finally surpassed Ric Flair's recognised world title record, capturing his 17th championship at WrestleMania 41.
John Cena's remarkable in-ring career in the WWE will come to an end on December 13, 2025
Cena, pictured recently with the WWE Championship belt, is a record 17-time world champion
He then shocked fans with a rare villainous turn at Elimination Chamber and endured a brutal assault from Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
Upcoming matches against YouTuber-turned-wrestler Logan Paul in Paris on August 31 and a rematch with Lesnar at WrestlePalooza on September 20 are expected to set the stage before his final bow in December.
WWE have yet to announce where the historic showdown will take place, but speculation is growing that Boston's TD Garden – just an hour from Cena's hometown of West Newbury, Massachusetts – could host the event.
A send-off in front of a New England crowd would provide a fitting full-circle moment for a man who carried WWE through the 2000s and beyond.
Whether cheered or booed, Cena has been WWE's defining figure for more than 20 years. His 'Never Give Up' slogan became the company's rallying cry, while his charity work – including granting more than 650 wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation – made him a hero outside the ring.
He headlined WrestleManias, crossed over into Hollywood, and was the ever-present face of an industry that has constantly reinvented itself.
The opponent for Cena's farewell has not been confirmed, but the date is set in stone – and the countdown is now on.
