Money In The Bank is one of the most important nights in WWE, but last year's PLE took a drastic turn when it was revealed that 2025 will be John Cena's last year in wrestling. It was shocking to hear Cena's familiar theme music, especially as there had been no prior rumors or the usual murmur of Internet hearsay. The news of his retirement caused a million questions because this is wrestling, and even John Cena is only a character in our WWE universe, but it also did a lot more to WWE fans than they were prepared for.

Speaking personally, I have loved and I have loathed John Cena. I went to WrestleMania 28 for his Once In A Lifetime match with The Rock in Dwayne's home stadium in a John Cena shirt, and have sung "John Cena Sucks" to his theme music from the bottom of the soles of my feet. The news of his retirement made me think about the emotion Cena has given us over 20 years, followed by what to hope and expect from Cena's Last Dance. It's underway in unpredictable style, but, actually, even that is genius.

Why John Cena Has Been Missing From WWE Since Raw's Netflix Era Kicked Off

Cena's First Match back WIll Be The Royal Rumble

WWE's debut on Netflix was one of the most successful and important nights in company history, so it was no great surprise John Cena kicked off his Farewell Tour as part of the historic night. On that evening, Cena spoke of how he is on an enormous losing streak, that is hindering his chances of winning a record-breaking 17th world championship in his final year. Given that revelation, it's surprising that John Cena has been entirely absent since WWE's Netflix debut.

Paying closer attention to that evening's post-Raw press conference, Cena revealed he has 36 dates booked for his Farewell Tour, and neither he nor we know how many of them will include actual matches. Cena has Season Two of Peacemaker on the way, is reportedly finishing up shooting the Matchbox movie as part of Mattel's Barbie-inspired cinematic aspirations, and is unlikely to be going 40 mins with Gunther at 47 years old. Most importantly, WWE is so hot that his presence hasn't been needed to hype the most stacked men's Royal Rumble in a generation.

Despite the real-world points that may be at play here, WWE are actually benefitting from Cena not being all over Raw or SmackDown in the run up to the Rumble. Strategically speaking, this does not feel like just his event or a foregone conclusion set up as the first part of celebrating Cena's final run.

WWE Is Doing Something With John Cena They've Not Done In 10 Years

The Paul Levesque Era Knows Big Match John Needs Something Special

It's wild to think about in isolation, but this is the first time John Cena will ever have been booked by a creative team that is either ran by or serving Vince McMahon. It's also the first time in as long you could ever legitimately consider him an underdog. Even when then-rookie Solo Sikoa ran rough-shot on Cena at Crown Jewel in 2023, it was notable precisely because of the scalp he took.

That was the kind of beating we had only ever seen Cena take once before at the hands of Brock Lesnar. Quite the comparison, but it shows that WWE's creative understand John's complex history with WWE fans. It also suggests they know what they're doing by withholding Cena's presence.

John Cena's music hitting at the Royal Rumble is going to get a pop for the ages. I spoke earlier of the emotion of Cena revealing his retirement, but what I didn't it is that it made me tear up. I am ready to feel again when that music drops, as I'm sure you are too, but let's not pull any punches here: a John Cena Royal Rumble victory would obliterate fans' feelgood factor.

All that would do is reinforce the cliché of Big Match John. Instead, WWE needs Cena to be an underdog at the start of his Farewell Tour, and removing him from the picture in the run-up has achieved that in the most subtle way: he has, quite impressively, become an outside bet for the first time in a long time.

As already hinted, one of the most frustrating parts of John Cena's character doesn't even come from the man or the character at all. I feel very vindicated in 2025 because I despised Hulk Hogan as a child, because him winning constantly was a grind. You only had to suffer the Hulkster winning the big one every quarter of a year, but Big Match John was rammed down our throat weekly. It's no wonder some gagged. I hate that because Cena is a master of his craft, who could make a hateful indie crowd turn white-hot if he wanted them to, and he simply didn't ever deserve the result of his booking.

This is one of the most talented men's locker rooms in WWE history, and the stories currently being told are a wrestling fan's dream. Everything matters and everyone has a story. The potential of Karrion Kross meeting Sami Zayn now has a narrative, and that's before we get to what Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Jey Uso, The Bloodline, and Drew McIntyre are bringing to the table.

Cena waltzing in and winning the Rumble would cause an unnecessary meltdown, especially since he's done nothing on screen apart from declare for the match in a short mic segment on WWE's biggest night of the year. Big Match John, indeed. Cena needs to be the underdog at the Royal Rumble, and Levesque, Heyman and everyone else on creative know that.

How John Cena's Royal Rumble Story Will Likely End

Expect WWE To Play On Our Emotions As His Farewell Tour Gets Underway

Given the youth, tenacity, and talent in this year's Royal Rumble, the sensible bet is that John Cena will get his mojo back in the Rumble itself. Expect Cena to Yeet into new friendships with the likes of Jey Uso, get broken in half by one of the myriad of the men's division's current monsters, and pull his surprised face when he eliminates someone of impressive standing. Classic John, but Cena's two Royal Rumble wins will not be ed by a third, no matter how romantic an idea that might seem.

The most fascinating aspect of Cena's 2025 is that he gets to have his own Jordan-esque Last Dance year. Ultimately, the Royal Rumble is a stop on the adventure, but Cena's Farewell Tour is a journey that needs twists and turns as he hunts down that crucial WWE Championship victory. This is a year packed with opportunity and potential John Cena feuds, and the Elimination Chamber is a bigger event when John Cena needs a victory in it.

It is crazy that John Cena's farewell story is so good that it's only now that we're mentioning WrestleMania 41. He's rumored to meet Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. I may hate Hulk Hogan with every fiber of my being, but as he Hulked Up against The Rock at WrestleMania and the equally loathsome Jerry Lawler lost his mind, it created one of my favorite ever wrestling memories. Myself and my friend were in hysterics, willing on the Hulkster from his living room.

In the same way, we all love Cody Rhodes, but the world will unite for John Cena at WrestleMania if WWE creative get this right. On every bit of evidence for the last year, we are going to have blast, and him not being plastered all over WWE in the run up to the Rumble has already set things on the right path.