John Cena Reveals An Easter Egg From His Final Match That Nobody Spotted

Since no one seems to have noticed it after two months, Cena decided to share the secret with ESPN's No-Contest Wrestling. "I tried to grow my hair out like the Prototype from UPW and OVW," Cena revealed, confirming that the way he looked for his retirement match was, at least in part, an ode to his WWE beginnings.

The easter egg might have been easier to spot had Cena been able to go all in on it. However, other commitments outside of wrestling prevented him from going full Prototype. "I couldn't dye it because I was working in between stuff, but I could fade it and grow it long so I could have that comb back. Nobody caught that, but nobody was supposed to. I was just doing it like, 'If you get it, you get it'."

Who Is The Prototype?

Before Cena made it to the main roster and just went by his real name in the ring - something that isn't afforded to many WWE Superstars - he went by The Prototype. A play on the fact that he looked like he had been made in a factory to fit every aspect of what WWE looked for in a wrestler, it's pretty fitting that, despite dropping that gimmick, Cena has gone on to become one of the most successful stars in the company's history.

Some fans thought Cena might return for one more match, even after committing to 2025 being the last year in which he would ever wrestle. That he'd extend the retirement tour through WrestleMania 42 so that he could have a bigger send-off. Cena has stuck to his word, though, and he may be one of the few wrestlers who actually commits to their retirement.

Some of those retirement tour extension theories were likely born more from hope, and maybe even a dash of disappointment. Gunther ending Cena's career by making him tap wasn't the fairytale ending a lot of fans wanted, hence their forcing themselves to believe it wasn't really over, not yet. It is, though, and all we can do to make ourselves feel a little better about it is go back and rewatch matches from Cena's retirement tour to try and find the rest of those easter eggs.