'Not Too Late' - John Cena's Social Media Post Has Fans Dreaming of Match vs TNA Star

There are just five dates of John Cena's Farewell Tour before he officially calls time on his legendary career on December 13. Some are eager for him to extend the tour to include more dream matches, with some fans hoping he chooses to continue until WrestleMania 42.

Cena is leaving pro wrestling at an exciting time as WWE has partnered with TNA, who were their biggest rivals during his stint at the top of the business. AJ Styles is a TNA icon who arrived in the Stamford-based promotion in the latter stages of his career.

A former WWE star who went in the opposite direction was Matt Cardona (formerly known as Zack Ryder), who was released back in April 2020. It was the end of an era for the former United States Champion, who had been given more of a spotlight by Cena when making his YouTube series “Z! True Long Island Story”.

Cardona has been successful during his five years away from WWE, including becoming an NWA World Heavyweight Champion, among many other honours. But he made his first appearance since his release when he appeared on NXT as part of the ongoing TNA invasion angle.

Cena acknowledged this with a post on his Instagram of his former colleague in the crowd at Full Sail on Tuesday (September 23).

Fans have responded to Cena's post by suggesting the 48-year-old faces Cardona before he retires. One fan wrote:

"Not too late for Cardona vs Cena."

Another stated:

"We are getting closer to Cena vs Cardona."

One replied:

"Please John, let (Cardona) be your last match. He is the one that deserves to carry your torch."

Another responded:

"Well cena vs Cardona would save the retirement run."

WWE are using its partnership with TNA to create storylines between the two companies, and the invasion angle is the biggest one yet. Wrestlers from both promotions were embroiled in a brawl to close out NXT this week.

Matt Cardona: One More Match vs John Cena 'Could Happen'

There could be an opportunity for Matt Cardona to face John Cena before the Farewell Tour ends, and that could even involve the latter making a rare and first-ever TNA appearance. A potential match between the pair on an episode of iMPACT! in November is possible although there would be no chance of them squaring off at Bound For Glory (October 12) as that's the night after Crown Jewel takes place in Perth, Australia.

Cardona would love to face Cena one more time, though, and spoke glowingly of the 'Greatest of All-Time'. He told SEScoops back in July 2024: "John is such a great guy. He’s somebody who’s definitely helped me in my career. But, yeah, all those posts that I’m making on social media, they’re not BS. I would love to wrestle John Cena one last time. I think with the way WWE is now, it’s something that could happen where I could just walk in, whether it be for one day, or make a return."

The 40-year-old even proposed a storyline which sees him target Cena as the reason he failed to stay afloat in WWE: "I think, Zack Ryder vs. John Cena, those matches were fine. (But) John Cena vs. Matt Cardona, that’s where the story is, right? Because you could play it so many different ways. Matt Cardona could say, ‘John, you’re the reason my WWE career didn’t take off.’ There’s so many things that we could play into."

There's no indication that Cena will fit a Cardona match into his schedule before he hangs up his sneakers in the middle of December. But there are also no rules preventing him from participating in a special one-off TNA match, which would be quite remarkable given the circumstances.