John Cena WWE

John Cena Reportedly Set For Unlikely Title Match At WWE Survivor Series

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI
By Ethan Schlabaugh | Last updated Oct 10, 2025 2:00 PM ET

John Cena's retirement from actively competing in a WWE ring is coming ever closer as the days go on. The 17-time World Champion only has a few dates left, with a couple of them already being occupied with planned bouts.

Cena and AJ Styles are going to have their final match at Crown Jewel in Perth tomorrow, October 11th. Cena's final match has been rumored to be against Gunther for Saturday Night's Main Event on December 13th. This leaves his final episodes of Monday Night Raw and Survivor Series all in November.

Luckily, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that there is going to be a first-time match for Cena at Survivor Series. The show could see John Cena challenge Dominik Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship, the only title keeping Cena from being a Grand Slam Champion.

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Not only has Cena never held the Intercontinental Championship, he's never challenged for the title on television or a premium live event, although he did have a few attempts during live tours from 2015-2018.

This matchup will also mark the first time that Cena and Dominik Mysterio will face off one-on-one on-screen, though they've shared the ring in tag matches, the Royal Rumble, and several live tours and dark matches.

Could Cena Walk Out Of The WWE With Gold?

During John Cena's final reign with the WWE Championship earlier this year, one of his main points was that he was going to leave the WWE with the title and "ruin wrestling." While he has turned face once again and doesn't seem set on ruining wrestling, he might still want to leave as a champion.

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While it doesn't seem likely that Cena will capture the Intercontinental Championship at Survivor Series, you can't say never with the WWE. They could shock fans and have Cena win the only title alluding him just for the shock value, thus making his final match a possible title defense.

If that is the case, it would be interesting to see if WWE decides to crown Gunther as a two-time Intercontinental Champion at Saturday Night's Main Event, or have Cena walk out of the company with the belt.

Gunther has already made history with that title, breaking every record in terms of combined days with his single reign that last 666 days from 2022-2024.

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

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