NBC Nails Down Date Of John Cena's Retirement Match With New WWE Partnership

“Peacock has had a wonderful relationship with the WWE and we’re excited to see it continue far into the future,” said Rick Cordella, President, NBC Sports. “Saturday Night’s Main Event is some of the most premium content the WWE produces, including John Cena’s upcoming retirement match, and it will be all live and exclusive on Peacock.”

WWE and NBC were reportedly deciding between Saturday, December 13 and Saturday, December 27 for Cena's retirement match in Boston, with the latter date setting up a head-to-head showdown with AEW Worlds End.

There has been no official mention of the city or venue where the December 13 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event will take place, nor of who John Cena's final opponent will be.

What does this deal mean for the WWE Library?

The WWE Network library will remain available on Peacock through the end of 2025, representatives NBC Universal said in a press release Wednesday night. NXT Premium Live Events will also be available on Peacock until March 2026.

Throughout the term of the partnership, the SmackDown library will remain on Peacock on a 30-day delay and USA Network will continue as the live exclusive home of SmackDown on Friday nights.

“We’re excited to bring Saturday Night’s Main Event exclusively to Peacock beginning this fall,” said WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Triple H Levesque. “NBCU have been terrific longtime partners, and we look forward to continuing to work with them for years to come.”

Saturday Night’s Main Event originally premiered on NBC in 1985, and ran on the network until 1991. The popular event returned to NBCUniversal in September 2024 with a special Saturday Night’s Main Event on NBC and Peacock from Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, N.Y., the site of the first-ever Saturday Night’s Main Event.