John Cena Final Opponent: Mark Henry Pitches Shock Name & Recalls Debut vs Kurt Angle

John Cena will officially call time on his illustrious career on December 13th at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C, at Saturday Night's Main Event. This will be his final match and speculation is growing over who should essentially retire the Greatest of All-Time.

Top WWE stars such as Gunther, Dominik Mysterio and Bron Breakker are in the running, while outside shouts of past rivals The Rock and Edge (now known as Cope) fail to go away. But one name that hasn't been floated until now is a candidate whom Mark Henry believes in.

The former World Heavyweight Champion, who retired at WrestleMania 33 in 2016, explained how Cena's final farewell can help fast-track a relative newcomer to superstardom. He recalled the 48-year-old's 'Ruthless Aggression' debut on SmackDown when he slapped Kurt Angle.

Henry told TMZ: "If John Cena wants to give back to the business, you give it to somebody that's gonna have a career. Just like him, when he came in, and him and Kurt Angle went at it, him having an initial interaction with Kurt Angle is what forged the level of where he was gonna be. You've gotta give it back, you've gotta give the rub."

The World's Strongest Man said one name: "Joe Hendry called him out early, and Joe is over as hell. But Joe don't have no skins on the wall. He beat Nic Nemeth, and he's beaten a bunch of people at TNA and several at NXT, but that's not like beating Triple H, that's not like beating Shawn Michaels. He's gotta have something that the world is gonna say, 'Damn, you beat John Cena on his way out, holy sh*t.'"

Joe Hendry is expected to offically sign with WWE in early 2026 but the Scottish star is already making appearances in NXT. WWE's partnership with TNA has allowed superstars such as Hendry to cross over, as he did at WrestleMania 41, when he lost to Randy Orton as a surprise opponent.

The 37-year-old is extremely popular thanks to his gimmick and theme song and is a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion. He has yet to appear on WWE's main roster other than appearances at the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.

"Joe's Awesome" - John Cena Believes in Joe Hendry

While Mark Henry's pitch was a divisive one, Joe Hendry does have the support of John Cena, who spoke highly of the Scot after WrestleMania. The legendary WWE star hailed the Edinburgh-born talent and tipped him for a bright future.

Cena spoke while appearing on The Pat McAfee Show: "I thought he was brilliant. Joe’s awesome. I got the chance to meet Joe at the Rumble face-to-face … I think he’s gonna be a major player because he loves it and he gets it right."

Hendry has recently been featured in backstage segments on NXT, appearing in random situations whenever his name is mentioned. He will likely officially put pen to paper on a WWE contract in early 2026, which is when fans could expect to see him make the step up to the main roster.

There is no doubt he is one of the most over wrestlers in the business today, but he doesn't feel the right choice for Cena to finish his career against. If WWE were to take Henry's advice on board, a better option for "making a superstar" would be Oba Femi, who has just lost his NXT Championship and the 27-year-old seems destined to be a main event talent on RAW or SmackDown.