John Cena has revealed that the toughest match of his career was during his farewell tour.
During his 24-year career, John Cena battled many of the toughest wrestlers WWE has ever seen in some of its most brutal matches. In the past, when he has been asked what the toughest match was, Cena always liked to say it was his next bout. In a new interview with Justin Barrasso of Undisputed, now that he has retired, the 17-time World Champion finally answered the question, saying it was his match against Brock Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza in 2025.
“I’d always say my next match was going to be my toughest, but that’s not true now that I’m retired. The toughest one was from the retirement tour against Brock Lesnar.”
Cena explained that it wasn’t just the physicality of facing the Beast Incarnate, but the mental aspect of it as well.
“The reason I say that isn’t just because it was physically demanding–any match with Brock is physically demanding. What was tough about that one is I’ve had my butt kicked by Brock Lesnar before, and you guys loved it. In Indianapolis, I got my butt kicked by Brock Lesnar and you hated it.
“So that made it physically and mentally tough. It was easily the toughest match of my career.”
Cena lost the match to Lesnar decisively in under 10 minutes, leaving Cena with only one pinfall victory in their decades-long rivalry.
John Cena Recalls Violating Vince McMahon’s Trust
In another recent interview, John Cena revealed that he once went behind Vince McMahon’s back by getting involved in a social network startup without his knowledge. When McMahon found out, though, he wasn’t angry, instead taking time to explain what could happen in different scenarios.
