WWE teases John Cena retirement after brutal loss against rising star Solo Sikoa in Saudi Arabia
WWE legend John Cena’s time in the ring may have come to an end after his latest defeat.
The 46-year-old wrestling icon was hit with a wave of “Thank You Cena” chants in Saudi Arabia after losing to Solo Sikoa at WWE Crown Jewel on Saturday.
Longtime WWE commentator Michael Cole teased Cena’s retirement as the match ended.
Cole dropped the massive potential nugget calling Sikoa “the man who retired John Cena,” hinting that his in-ring wrestling career was done.
He told viewers during the broadcast: “Now will Solo Sikoa’s record show that he was the one who retired John Cena.”
It’s unclear if Cena is being used as a storyline or, in fact, retiring, but the news follows a surprising loss to the up-and-coming star Sikoa.
Cena was dominated for much of the match as Sikoa put on a show, delivering a series of Samoan Spikes to the legend and putting him down for the count.
He sat up following the loss as the crowd broke out loud chants adoring Cena, and the 16-time world champion took them in before heading to the back.
The loss continues Cena’s streak of winless matches, extending it to over 2,000 days without a televised singles win.
Cena hinted at retirement prior to his return to the ring two months ago and has appeared on WWE’s Friday night flagship almost every week since September.
Cena was detailed his thought process and next career steps while appearing with Chris Hardwick on the ID10T podcast.
“Returning to WWE, it’s a brand new world—a new cast of characters, new direction with the company, new platforms, new environment. There is a challenge there.
“To challenge myself as a 44-year-old to go back, there is an intrinsic challenge there, a set of circumstances…
“If physically, I’m slower, I’ve said openly to everyone that I will keep doing this until I feel I’m offending the customer,” Cena said.
Cena began his wrestling debut in 2003 and has had a Hall of Fame career with the company with 13 WWE titles, three World Heavyweight Championships, and five WWE United States titles.
