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Freddie Prinze Jr Predicts How John Cena's WWE Career Will End

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Jon Alba | Last updated Feb 12, 2025 4:15 PM ET

John Cena is one of the winningest WWE wrestlers of all time, standing on top as the main babyface in the company from 2005 through 2015. In that time, victory was simply a formality for "Big Match John."

Cena amassed 16 world titles over the years and is knocking on the door of breaking Ric Flair's widely-referenced record with just one more championship. Cena is in the midst of his final retirement run with WWE, and came up short of punching his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania when he was eliminated last in the Royal Rumble by Jey Uso.

While it is rumored Cena may still challenge Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania for the WWE Championship, it's not quite clear whether or not Cena will actually be successful in winning the title one more time.

Actor Freddie Prinze Jr. was on the WWE creative team for several years during Cena's run at the top and got to know Cena during that time. He took to his podcast "Wrestling With Freddie" and shared a bold prediction about how the end of Cena's in-ring career may unfold.

"He keeps saying the championship, '17, 17 so that I can hand it to the man that gets 18,'" Prinze said. "I think Cena's at a point in his career where he wants that tragic ending instead of the hero's ending. He was the hero for so long. He's changed a lot since I worked there. So that's why I think he sees a cooler, unique story."

Cena is expected to work through December before calling it a career.

This article first appeared on Wrestling on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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