I wasn’t a John Cena fan. Not back then. Not even a little bit.
As a kid, I was in the minority. I recognize that. Watch back any Cena entrance from 2007-15 and you’ll find the same crowd reaction: every adult in attendance booing mercilessly while every child simultaneously screams in glee.
This was the John Cena experience. No matter how you felt about him, you gave him a reaction. And as any pro wrestler will tell you, that’s the job, brother.
Love him or hate him, Cena represented everything great about this weird, niche genre of entertainment. He embraced its quirks with determination, its grueling schedule with endless effort and its spoils with grace.
You didn’t have to be a fan of Cena to recognize his mastery.
Lifelong wrestling fans born between the mid-1990s and early 2000s have been on a roller coaster ride with John Cena. Most of them went from idolizing Cena as kids to resenting his gimmick as young adults.
Or maybe you’re like me, a kid who grew up in the Ruthless Aggression era but didn’t care much for Cena’s schtick. Then you stopped watching WWE for a while. You saw Cena pop up on your screen in a movie or TV show. You thought, ‘Hey, I remember that guy.’ Eventually, you heard about Cena’s retirement. You were curious and tuned in.
And if your experience was anything like mine, you remembered why you fell in love with this whole pro wrestling thing in the first place.
Cena’s farewell tour held up a mirror to all of us, whether we’re hardcore WWE fans or casual enjoyers. To Cena, whether we booed or cheered − and most of us have done both − 2025 showed us we aren’t ready to sever an emotional tie with a character that’s provided us with laughs, cheers and utter frustration for nearly 25 years.
But while our feelings toward the character have changed over the years, the one constant has been Cena. He’s one of only a few who got a visceral crowd reaction with every entrance, every move, every word. Cena always got a reaction. That’s everything.
Sure, not every reaction was a positive one. Cena embraced that. His commitment was undeniable. As a kid, I wondered why he didn’t switch up his character or leave wrestling altogether.
Nope, not Cena. He rode the wave. Took what WWE gave him, took what the fans gave him ― good or bad. And Cena always came out smelling like roses.
Cena’s farewell tour is a perfect microcosm. It was questionably booked, muddled with a shocking heel turn that never got paid off. It felt poorly planned with strange segments and uninspiring opponents.
In spite of it, Cena elevated his work and made 2025 one of the best years of his career. He gave us an entertaining heel persona and, after WWE decided to abruptly pull that plug, had multiple match-of-the-year contenders, as well as helping to springboard young talent.
So thank you, Cena. You helped me rediscover my love for pro wrestling. I would apologize for booing you in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 2008, but something tells me you preferred it that way.
