John Cena has been the face of WWE for over two decades, and 2025 will be his final year as a professional wrestler.
From Cena’s sensational 2002 WWE debut, to his record-breaking retirement tour run in 2025, the star has been the main character of the sport.
Cena was the man to beat in WWE throughout the 2000s and 2010s, and was only really replaced by Roman Reigns from 2015 onward.
Here is everything you need to know about Cena as he prepares his professional wrestling swansong.
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How old is John Cena?
John Anthony Felix Cena was born on 23 April 1977 in West Newbury, Massachusetts.
As of August 2025, Cena is 48 years old. That makes him the second-oldest active wrestler on the WWE roster, behind his storied rival R-Truth.
What is John Cena’s height and weight?
Cena is six feet and one inch tall, with his billed weight being 251 pounds.
X/Twitter and Instagram accounts
Cena can be found on both X and Instagram under the name, @JohnCena. The 17-time champion has made a name for himself on both platforms, for wildly different reasons.
On X, the 17-time champion posts inspiring words designed to galvanise his 14.4 million followers on the platform.
On Instagram, the star exclusively posts images without context. This allows fans to provide their own narrative to what Cena is trying to say.
Over the years, Cena has posted images of film stars, wrestlers, and legendary sports people for his 21 million followers.
John Cena’s WWE theme
For the majority of his career, Cena has entered arenas to his own rap song, The Time is Now, which was part of his debut album ‘You Can’t See Me’.
The album became popular after the take off of Cena’s ‘Doctor of Thuganomics’ character in the early 2000s.
The record sold extremely well due to Cena’s popularity in the ring, going platinum upon its release.
John Cena’s wife
Cena is married to Iranian engineer, Shay Shariatzadeh, who he met during the production of his 2019 film Playing With Fire.
The pair married in 2020 at a private ceremony in Tampa, Florida.
Why is John Cena leaving WWE?
Cena announced he would be officially retiring from WWE with a retirement tour, which would begin at WWE Raw’s Netflix debut in January 2025 and run for the rest of the year.
The star cited health issues as the main reason for stepping away from being an active professional wrestler.
“My skills are on the regress,” Cena stated in an interview on ESPN’s Stephanie’s Places.
“If I continue at a full-time physical capability or involvement, I’m not gonna run right, my partner’s not gonna run right and our relationship’s not gonna run right. Sorry kid, it’s time to close this chapter.”
John Cena’s WWE retirement tour
Cena has wrestled 10 times in 2025 as part of his WWE retirement tour, which has gained mixed reviews from fans.
The star has competed against Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Randy Orton, and R-Truth, with Cena set to face Logan Paul at WWE Clash in Paris.
Cena vs Rhodes at SummerSlam received a five-star rating from the Wrestling Observer, which was just the second of his illustrious career.
The star is also expected to face Brock Lesnar at an unspecified date, and Cena vs Gunther has been rumoured for his final WWE match.
John Cena’s WWE heel turn
Cena’s WWE retirement tour provided one of the most shocking moments in professional wrestling history, as the 17-time champion turned heel by attacking Rhodes at Elimination Chamber.
Cena attacked Rhodes at the behest of The Rock to kickstart a villainous run for the first time in his career. As shocking as the moment was, fans began to turn on the storyline for a multitude of reasons.
They were not happy with the lack of involvement of The Rock after the turn, as well as Travis Scott’s inclusion in the storyline.
Fans also questioned Cena’s performance as a heel, calling it both ‘goofy’ and ‘unrealistic’.
John Cena vs The Rock
It’s fitting that The Rock was instrumental in Cena’s shocking heel turn, as the pair provided some of the biggest matches in recent WWE history.
The two men, both the face of WWE in different eras, collided in back-to-back WrestleMania main events in 2012 and 2013.
The Rock defeated Cena in the first one, hilariously dubbed ‘Once in a Lifetime’, with Cena evening the score at WrestleMania 29.
Fans have called for a third installment of the feud, but it’s very unlikely to happen due to Cena’s retirement.
John Cena’s Hollywood career
In a similar vein to The Rock before him, Cena transitioned to acting after becoming successful in wrestling.
The star started out making WWE movies, such as his acting debut The Marine, before jumping into some of the biggest franchises of all time.
Cena has appeared in Bumblebee, Barbie, and Fast X. He also portrays the popular DC Comics character Peacemaker on the big and small screen.
The star has been filming Matchbox and Little Brother at the same time as his WWE retirement tour.