WWE legend John Cena has revealed the toughest match of his career.
During a Q&A appearance at Fanatics Fest in New York City, former 17-time WWE Champion John Cena reflected on his final match against Brock Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza 2025. Cena and Lesnar opened the event, and the Beast Incarnate made quick work of the legend and defeated him in under nine minutes.
John Cena noted that while he always says his next match is his toughest, now that he’s retired, he can say his match against Brock Lesnar at WWE Wrestlepalooza was his toughest.
“I’d always say my next match was going to be my toughest, but that’s not true now that I’m retired,” said Cena (via Justin Barrasso of Undisputed). “The toughest one was from the retirement tour against Brock Lesnar. The reason I say that isn’t just because it was physically demanding–any match with Brock is physically demanding. What was tough about that one is I’ve had my butt kicked by Brock Lesnar before, and you guys loved it. In Indianapolis, I got my butt kicked by Brock Lesnar and you hated it. So that made it physically and mentally tough. It was easily the toughest match of my career.”
John Cena: ‘Being a wrestler is something I enjoy. It is not who I am’
During his recent appearance on The Pete Davidson Show on Netflix, John Cena reflected on life after his retirement. He noted that professional wrestling was always something he loved doing, but it never defined who he was.
“Being a wrestler is something I enjoy. It is not who I am. I am more than that. And everyone during the farewell tour was like, ‘What are you doing next?’ I don’t know,” Cena said.
“Just to hear people’s answer, like, ‘Well, what do you mean you don’t know?’ I’m going to figure out what life deals. Yeah, there might be some opportunities, but I don’t control when the phone rings. I do control how I spend my days if I’m sitting at home. Let’s go out and do something with a day. Let’s have a good one,” Cena said.
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