John Cena spent 20 years telling fans to “Never give up.” Then, in his final match, he did the exact opposite and tapped out to Gunther. Now, Cena says he’d be willing to give up on retirement, but it won’t be for cheap.
In an interview with Us Weekly, the 17-time world champion spoke about how realistic a possible return might be. Said Cena:
“I hate speaking in absolutes … ‘Never’ is a strong word. It would be financial suicide for someone to court me in a position where I would have another match,
and I truly mean that. So if you’re in the business of torching currency, that’s the only way to get me back in the ring.”
Cena seemed to have no trouble speaking in absolutes on Jimmy Kimmel Live days before his final match in December when he told Kimmel that he was “100% done,” adding, “I will never wrestle again.”
While Cena’s recent comments to Us Weekly make it sound like the cost to bring him back is so astronomical that no one would pay for such a performance, it does leave room for a return. If anyone fits the description of having money to burn, it might be the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
After WWE announced last September that it was bringing WrestleMania 43 to Saudi Arabia in 2027, wrestling writer Dave Meltzer said at the time that “Anyone coming out of retirement that wants to come out of retirement, of big name value, will be able to get a lot of money for this show.”
Times have changed, however. Facing mounting expenses and lower oil revenue, the Saudis are aggressively cutting spending on sports and entertainment, according to a May story by The New York Times detailing their sudden exit from funding LIV Golf.
It’s unknown how such changes might affect WWE and its biggest show of the year, or whether the Saudis would be willing to pay the kind of money Cena says it would take to lure him out of retirement for one night.
Regardless, if Cena’s open to a return, the question isn’t when he’ll be back in the ring. Instead, it’s how much money it’ll take to prove that when Cena says “never,” he’s never to be taken at face value.
