Triple H May Have Subtly Revealed John Cena’s Final Opponent on WWE SmackDown

John Cena is retiring soon. (Image via WWE.com)
John Cena is retiring soon. (Image via WWE.com)

John Cena is retiring from WWE in December. He has a little over three months left, with a handful of matches in the balance. A couple of them are either confirmed or inevitable, with Logan Paul up next at Clash in Paris and Brock Lesnar likely to fight his ex-rival at Wrestlepalooza next month.

Ad

After that, it's open season. SmackDown last night saw Cena mention a list of wrestlers he wanted to face in his final run, including AJ Styles and Dominik Mysterio, among others. However, it looks like WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H has his eye on another big name for the 17-time world champion's final match.

After his in-ring confrontation with John Cena ended badly, Logan Paul was in a backstage segment with Drew McIntyre. The Scottish Warrior reminded The Maverick that this wasn't the Super Cena of 2010; this was the Hollywood version of him.

Ad

McIntyre may have taken these shots at The Last Real Champion to plant the seeds for an eventual match between them. However, with their ongoing angles, the only time they might both be free at the same time is in December. After facing Paul in Paris, John Cena has a Brock Lesnar problem to deal with.

WWE in legal trouble after Brock's return? - Check out!

Meanwhile, Drew McIntyre has begun a storyline with Cody Rhodes over the WWE Championship. Randy Orton is also coming after him, so expect a busy few months for DM Hunk. He might only be done with Rhodes by Survivor Series, likely without the title around his waist.

Ad
Ad

Either way, this leaves the door wide open for McIntyre to be John Cena's final opponent. Reports from last month indicated that Gunther would be given the honor of retiring the WWE legend, but he is currently out with a nose injury following his defeat to CM Punk at SummerSlam.

It isn't known if The Ring General would be back in time, and Drew McIntyre isn't too dissimilar to him. He's a big guy and a strong in-ring worker who isn't afraid to talk smack. A win over John Cena could be just the boost the Scotsman needs to reach the top level in WWE for good.

Ad

McIntyre's performances since turning heel have warranted him becoming a permanent main eventer. He needs to be crowned with a proper world title reign in 2026 as well, not one that ends in five minutes.


When exactly is John Cena's final WWE match?

While we knew for a long time that John Cena would be retiring from WWE in December, there wasn't any clarity on when exactly his last match would be. Now we know.

Ad

NBC has announced Saturday Night's Main Event for December 13th, 2025, with Cena's final in-ring outing headlining the show. Whether it is Drew McIntyre or someone else in the position, the person who will retire The Last Real Champion has the chance to be a part of one of the most emotional moments in WWE history.

It also remains to be seen how many of John Cena's preferred opponents will get to wrestle him before his time is up. The window is slowly closing.

Quick Links

Edited by Divesh Merani
sk promotional banner
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
down arrow icon
More
bell-icon Manage notifications