Summary
- 1) John Cena confirms Sept 5 SmackDown at Allstate Arena will be his final SmackDown appearance.
- 2) Reports say he’ll face new U.S. Champion Sami Zayn on that show for a throwback matchup.
- 3) His farewell tour ends Dec 13 in Washington D.C. with his final match for Saturday Night’s Main Event.
As reported earlier this week, it was implied by WWE sources that this Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown was going to be John Cena’s final appearance on the brand. Ahead of the episode, Cena took to X to confirm whether that was true or not.
John Cena’s Last SmackDown Appearance Confirmed, Potential Match
Cena announced on Friday that the September 5 episode of SmackDown is indeed going to be his last. The show is going to be at the Allstate Arena in Chicago. The same location where Cena made his WWE debut on June 27, 2002, against WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle. Cena wrote:
“My @WWE debut was on #Smackdown at @AllstateArena. Few, if any, places rival the feeling in that building with a sold-out Chicago crowd. We get to do it one last time for my final Smackdown appearance. Tonight is one you are NOT going to want to miss. Let’s go CHI-TOWN!”
According to BodySlam.net, WWE is reporting to have Cena in a match against the new WWE United States Champion, Sami Zayn. Zayn only recently became the champion last Friday on August 29, after defeating Solo Sikoa.
Zayn and Cena didn’t really have too many matches against each other. The last one was on the December 30, 2022, episode of SmackDown, where Cena and Kevin Owens defeated Roman Reigns and Zayn. It’s worth noting that Cena, while WWE United States Champion in 2015, defended against Zayn on the May 4 episode of Monday Night RAW. So, if the sources are correct, their upcoming match will be a throwback for the two. Though this time, Zayn is the champion.
There Are Only Three Months Left Of John Cena’s Farewell Tour
Cena’s retirement tour is nearing an end. As noted, it was confirmed where his last match will be taking place — Washington D.C. An opponent has yet to be announced, but hopefully it’s someone that will give Cena a proper goodbye. Maybe a past rival? Randy Orton would be a good choice. They had a storied rivalry, facing each other over twenty times in their careers. Cena’s final match will take place on December 13, for Saturday Night’s Main Event.
It was thought that Cena’s last match would be in Boston, closer to his hometown of West Newbury, Massachusetts, but the nation’s capital is always a fun and interesting choice. People can’t agree on politics, but they can agree that December 13 will be an exciting and sad day for WWE fans.
