3 Things that have worked in John Cena's Retirement Tour and 2 that have not

Starting with the 2025 Royal Rumble match, John Cena embarked on his official WWE Retirement Tour. At the end of the year, The Leader of Cenation claimed he'd retire from in-ring competition after a highly successful career.

He was the runner-up in the Rumble contest but won the Elimination Chamber match. With the victory, he set wrestling on its head after earning his title shot at Cody Rhodes.

With less than three months to go in the year, some things from the tour stand out for the right reasons, while others are sore thumbs. The next three things have worked in John Cena's Retirement Tour, while two others have misfired.

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#5. A successful heel turn that shocked the world

One of the biggest moments of Cena's final ride had to be his heel turn. The future Hall-of-Famer was one of the most beloved heroes in WWE history.

After winning the Elimination Chamber match, Cena turned on his fans and aligned with The Rock. Rhodes declined Rocky's offer to be his champion before the heel turn, setting in motion the first half of Cena's final year as an active star.

It wasn't as groundbreaking as Hulk Hogan's shift to Hollywood Hogan in the NWO. However, Cena's heel turn was still one of the biggest moments in wrestling history.

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#4. That problem with the Rock's involvement

The Final Boss interjected himself into Rhodes' path on RAW's debut on Netflix. He randomly turned face and lauded The American Nightmare only to covet his soul weeks later.

Rhodes' rejection opened the door for someone else to walk through, and Cena took advantage. Travis Scott was present for the heel turn and WrestleMania 41. The Rock, however, hasn't been seen in a WWE ring since the Chamber event.

He did appear on Pat McAfee's podcast a few days later, further confounding the situation. It led to the idea that the heel turn could have happened without the Rock's involvement.

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#3. A great feud with CM Punk

Clashing with CM Punk was arguably his best feud of the tour. Turning heel and winning the record-breaking title were obvious highlights.

In terms of stakes and promo exchanges, however, John Cena's angle with The Voice of the Voiceless was executed brilliantly. Cena turned WWE on its head by cutting his own pipebomb on Punk.

Many fans started cheering for the heel champion after. Punk then borrowed Cena's 'Doctor of Thuganomics' gimmick from earlier in his career. Those two promos alone overshadowed every other promo he shared with Rhodes, Paul, or Orton.

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#2. Why did John Cena feud with Logan Paul?

WWE officials and Cena had to pick the right opponents for the series of feuds to mark the Retirement Tour. Facing former foes like Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar made sense since they both had layered encounters with the 17-time Champ.

Orton and Cena were contemporaries and were the top stars of their generation. Lesnar shockingly returned a few times at Cena's expense. Using one of the precious few matches on Logan Paul was a massive misfire.

The only history they shared was teaming up earlier in the year. Instead of facing Rusev, Gunther, Seth Rollins, or even LA Knight, The Maverick faced Cena at Clash in Paris. He then left after the PLE.

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#1. John Cena wins a 17th Championship

The main objective of John Cena's final run was to break Ric Flair's record of 16 major title wins. He got the chance to eclipse the record at WrestleMania 41, and did so by beating Rhodes.

His reign lasted around three months after he dropped the title back to Rhodes. It was a slightly disappointing run since Roman Reigns held the title for over two years. Rhodes was the Undisputed Champion for a year.

Regardless of how long John Cena held the title, he broke the record for major title victories in a single career. The means with which he did it don't matter since Flair is known as the Dirtiest Player in the Game.