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We are rapidly approaching the return of John Cena to WWE for his final in-ring run in the company. The big question that will hover over such a return is: Who should his last match be against? Should it be a new, up-and-coming star that could use the rub? Or someone from his past with whom he has an extensive history? Well…why can’t it be both?
In Japan and Mexico, retiring wrestlers are occasionally sent off in a series of one-minute matches against opponents that encompass their vast legacy. This happened for legendary women’s wrestler Manami Toyota in Japan, as well as for Jushin Liger’s final run in Mexico. Bringing this stipulation to the United States would be unique and fitting for someone of Cena’s stature. There’s no set number of opponents that need to be offered up in these single minute rounds so it would be up to Cena and WWE as to how many they’d want to include.
Here is a sample of foes that may be willing and most importantly, able, to go one final minute with Cena before he hangs up his boots:
-Kurt Angle: While Angle is basically retired himself, he could undoubtedly handle one minute against Cena. Cena made his main roster debut by confronting Angle and showing off his “ruthless aggression.”
-Booker T.: Like Angle, Booker could do one more match against the man he had a best-of-five series against early in Cena’s run.
-Carlito: Remember when Carlito’s bodyguard, Jesus, “stabbed” Cena? Imagine the announcers going over that backstory during this match.
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-Batista: Two big Hollywood movie stars combining for one last clash. Making this somewhat of a longshot: Batista no longer looks like the muscle-bound wrestler he once was, and his filming schedule would have to be taken into consideration.
-JBL: Back in the wrestling biz of late, JBL was on the losing end when Cena won his first WWE Title.
-Rob Van Dam: A rekindling of their memorable ECW One Night Stand match.
-Kevin Federline: Cena’s first celebrity nemesis!
-Randy Orton: One of Cena’s most frequent opponents, you can’t tell the story of Cena’s career without including Orton.
-Cody Rhodes: The babyface of one generation vs. the lead babyface of another generation.
-C.M. Punk: The Summer of Punk is still a highly-regarded storyline in Punk’s WWE career.
-The Miz: Hey, this was a Wrestlemania main event!
-Sheamus: Just like Cena won his first title against JBL, Sheamus won his first title against Cena.
-Roman Reigns: This would just feel big-time.
-Bronson Reed, Bron Breakker, Gunther, Jacob Fatu: These would be among many names of current and future stars that may not have interacted with Cena in the past, but could benefit from being in the ring with him here and get the rub of facing him in his final gauntlet.
Contact me on Twitter/X @gregmparks with any names you’d like to see here or any that I forgot!
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