7 Opponents John Cena Must Face on His WWE Farewell Tour

John Cena shocked the wrestling world when he announced at Money in the Bank that 2025 will be his final year as a WWE competitor.

For all intents and purposes, the 47-year-old has been a part-time talent for the past few years. He has had only a handful of matches, but he has built an impressive record of at least one bout every year since 2000.

However, putting a definitive end date on his in-ring career changes things. We now know we only have until the end of next year to see him wrestle.

Of course, that is only if he manages to stay retired. We all know the itch to perform has struck many talents well after they claimed to call it quits, so Cena could always return in a few years for a one-off match.

For now, we are operating under the assumption that the veteran's time in the ring is limited, and that means he only has so many opportunities to work with young talents or revisit old feuds.

Let's look at the seven Superstars Cena needs to face during his farewell tour to put a proper bow on his career.

For most of the 2000s and into the 2010s, Cena and Randy Orton were two sides of the same coin. They were bitter rivals who came into the company around the same time and found more success than they ever could have imagined.

They have battled dozens of times on TV and pay-per-view, and hundreds of times at live events. While this list may be incomplete, Cagematch lists over 300 matches involving both men dating back to their first encounter in OVW in 2001.

The phrase "iron sharpens iron" comes to mind when thinking about these two. With a combined 30 world titles and dozens of PPV main events on their respective resumes, they are two of the most accomplished and decorated champions in WWE history.

It's hard to believe, but it's been almost a decade since their last major singles match at Hell in a Cell in 2014. Other than some live events, the only other times they have worked together were in tag team situations and the 2018 Royal Rumble.

If anyone in WWE needs to fight Cena one more time, it's The Viper. They began their careers at the same time and rose through the ranks together. It's only fitting that Orton be one of his final opponents.

In fact, this would be the best option for Cena's final match in 2025.

At a time when Cena was being booed out of most arenas by fans who had grown tired of his unbeatable babyface persona, CM Punk represented the polar opposite and gave crowds someone to get behind.

Cena was the face of the company in many ways. He was in commercials, regularly did mainstream interviews and repped WWE as a blossoming movie star. He was the golden boy who had it all.

Punk, on the other hand, was the indie darling who was never supposed to succeed in the PG world of WWE. He spoke his mind, refused to tone down his personality to make other people comfortable, and he often delivered memorable promos and matches that pushed the company boundaries.

These two are responsible for some memorable moments, but none stand out as much as Money in the Bank 2011 when Punk defeated Cena and left through the Chicago crowd as the new WWE champion.

Seeing them engage in one more war of words and an eventual match would make a lot of fans happy and give both men a chance to relive one of the best feuds either has had.

The last time Cody Rhodes and Cena were opponents was a match for the U.S. title on the April 6, 2015 episode of Raw. To say they were on different levels at the time is an understatement.

Cena was a top star in every metric while Rhodes was a midcard player struggling to find his real voice in the business.

Fast-forward more than a decade later and Rhodes is now in the spot Cena used to occupy. He is the American flag-waving babyface who represents all that is good in the eyes of the company.

Allowing Cena to pass the torch to Rhodes and put him over would almost do more to cement The American Nightmare's position at the top of the mountain than winning the WWE title. It would be a feud built on respect, not animosity.

The Rock and Cena have only had two opportunities to fight each other.

The Great One got the win at WrestleMania 28, and The Cenation Leader tied the score the following year at WrestleMania 29.

Giving these two titans of the industry one more match to break the tie seems like an opportunity WWE can't pass up.

While neither competitor is a spring chicken, both still have the athleticism to put on a solid match, so management should do whatever it can to make this happen.

Remember how big Rock vs. Hulk Hogan felt at WrestleMania 18? Cena vs. Rock for the final time could come close to reaching that level of hype if we know it's definitively the last time.

The Final Boss would be a fantastic foil Cena if WWE can find a way to make the storyline work without affecting plans that are already in place.

Of all of the people who have come to prominence since Cena went part-time, few are as deserving of a spotlight like this as Gunther.

The longest-reigning intercontinental champion of all time is one of the most dominant forces to come along in years, but one thing he's never done is fight the veteran.

We all know WWE loves to pit an American hero against a foreign heel. It's a tired trope, but the good news is The Ring General has done such a great job establishing his character that he doesn't need to rely on anti-America rhetoric to garner heat.

The Austrian has made no secret out of the fact that he hates the kind of wrestling WWE was known for during Cena's tenure as a top star. Giving him a chance to fight the guy who led the charge during that era would make for a great story.

AJ Styles may not have arrived in WWE until Cena had already been the face of the company for well over a decade, but he quickly established himself as one of Cena's best rivals.

The Phenomenal One has locked horns with the 16-time world champion many times, but their three biggest singles matches occurred at MITB 2016, SummerSlam 2016 and Royal Rumble 2017.

Styles won the first two and Cena won the third. Their last encounter happened on an episode of SmackDown in 2018, giving The Cenation Leader another victory in their feud.

Besides one dark match in 2023 when they were on the same team, it's been over six years since they were in the ring together.

It would be a shame if we didn't get one more encounter.

One thing Cena has to do during his final run is put over a young star. If he only spends his final year facing old rivals, it will be a waste.

Looking at the landscape in NXT right now, one man stands out as a potential top star for WWE: Oba Femi.

The NXT North American champion is one of those talents with almost superhuman strength and athleticism. Anyone who watches the gold brand regularly knows how special he is already.

WWE could even mimic the way Cena debuted as a way to bring Femi to the main roster. The former world champion could be nostalgic about his debut against Kurt Angle and offer an open challenge to anyone in NXT who wants to step up like he once did.

Out comes Femi, a man who is more physically imposing than anyone Cena has faced in years. It would be an easy way to instantly put a lot of eyes on the 26-year-old powerhouse.

The seven names listed here are just the tip of the iceberg. Who do you want to see Cena face during his final year as an in-ring competitor?