John Cena's Final WWE Farewell Tour Appearance Announced; Candidates To Be Last Opponent

John Cena's final match has been confirmed to take place at Capital One Arena and WWE have released the official artwork for Saturday Night's Main Event along with key details including tickets which are on sale for the event on October 17th at 10am ET/7am PT. They will be released on Ticketmaster and there will be a presale for the event.

Several high-profile figures have given their thoughts, including WWE's chief content officer, Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, who said: "John’s contributions to WWE are immeasurable. There are no words that can truly relay how much he means to this business.

He added: "Together with our partners at Events DC and Capital One Arena, we look forward to honoring his legacy and delivering an unforgettable send-off for both John and the WWE Universe."

Angie M. Gates, the president and CEO of Events DC stated: "Washington, D.C. is the Sports Capital and the perfect place to honor John Cena’s remarkable legacy. We are excited to welcome WWE fans from our city and around the globe to witness an unforgettable final showdown in our nation’s capital. We deeply value our partnership with WWE and look forward to providing fans with an experience they will cherish forever."

Cena himself announced he'd be retiring in 2025 back in the summer of 2024 when he appeared at Money in the Bank and told the world, 'the last time is now'. He wanted to use his time left competing to embark on a farewell tour to face old rivals and the exciting new generation of talent.

The 48-year-old shocked the world when he turned heel at Elimination Chamber in February to align with The Rock, but his villainous run was cut short on the brink of SummerSlam in early August. He defeated Cody Rhodes to become a record-breaking 17-time world champion at WrestleMania 41 before facing old foes, Randy Orton, CM Punk and R-Truth.

Cena dropped the WWE title back to Rhodes at SummerSlam before defeating social media megastar Logan Paul at Clash in Paris. He most recently was easily beaten by a returning Brock Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza, and his next match comes against AJ Styles at Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia, on October 11th.

Who Will Be John Cena's Final Opponent?

When John Cena announced his farewell tour, all eyes were on who would retire 'The Greatest of All-Time' at the end of the year. Some envisioned he'd call time on his career by facing an old rival, but once he's faced AJ Styles next month, he'll have clashed with every option currently on the WWE roster in this regard.

Shock names such as The Rock, whose absence many blame for Cena's disappointing heel run, and AEW's Cope (formerly known as WWE's Edge) have been discussed by fans. But those two are extremely unlikely, given that one is busy with Hollywood ventures while the other is contracted to WWE's main competitor.

Former World Heavyweight Champion Gunther is the favourite, as reports have long suggested the Ring General has been pinpointed as the frontrunner. Cena's father wanted the Austrian to be his son's opponent at WrestleMania before the heel turn took place.

Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio is another candidate, and recent reports claim WWE are eyeing the son of Rey Mysterio, one of Cena's closest friends in the business, to be one of his final opponents. Bron Breakker of Seth Rollins' Vision could do with the rub, while Oba Femi has just lost the NXT Championship, and many think he could be propelled into superstardom.