WWE Star John Cena Officially Rules Out a Return to the Ring: 'There Is No Chance That I'll Perform Again Physically'

John Cena has officially ruled out a return to physical performance in the WWE, having retired from professional wrestling in December.

The 17-time world champion hung up his jorts after an almost 25-year spell with the WWE following a submission defeat to Gunther in Washington, D.C. on December 13.

Since then there has been speculation from some fans that the Peacemaker actor may return to the ring, but in a new interview with the Today Show , he rubber stamped his retirement.

“I’m not going to perform again physically,” Cena declared. “There is no chance that I’ll perform again physically. And the WWE and I had a conversation about that, and we thought that at 49 it was the right time to step away. I put 23 years of physical service into the business.”

That’s that, then, for Cena’s career as a wrestler, but he’s not done with the WWE. He will return to the WWE in non-wrestling roles and as an ambassador, including the John Cena Classic in December. Cena said this live event will be based on the nostalgia for his WWE character, and the audience will decide the champion.

While Cena made a name for himself as a WWE star, he has also carved out a successful career as an actor. He has played DC anti-hero Peacemaker since 2021, including in James Gunn’s rebooted DC Universe, and there is an expectation that he will reprise the role either in an upcoming DCU movie or a potential Peacemaker Season 3. He’s currently promoting action comedy Matchbox: The Movie, which is based on the toy brand Matchbox by Mattel.

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Through it all is the question of whether a WWE retirement ever be considered genuine. Wrestlers have a habit of retiring and then returning to the ring, so while Cena has officially ruled out getting physical in the WWE again, I doubt anyone would be surprised if he came back for a match or two.

Still, his latest comments echo those he issued in June last year, before his final match. "There is no way," Cena told Good Morning America at the time. "There is absolutely... I don't want to speak in absolutes, because I don't want to close any opportunity, but I made a promise to the fans who've allowed me to be here for a quarter of a century. They allowed me to sit with you today. I wouldn't want to disrespect them like that. This is an event — when people attend, it's very exclusive."

The wrestler, who is considered one of the greatest of all time, also noted that he didn’t want to “ruin” the connection he’s built with fans throughout his career for the “selfish gain” of picking back up again after announcing his decision to step back from the sport.

Photo by Michael Marques/WWE via Getty Images.

Wesley is IGN's Managing Editor. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.