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WWE WrestleMania 42 Night 1: John Cena makes first WWE appearance since retirement, hosts event

DR Lewisby: Derek Lewis04/18/26

“The Greatest of All-Time” John Cena has returned to company he carried on his back for nearly two decades. But as promised, it wasn’t for a match.

Cena retired in December following a year-long retirement tour. At the conclusion of the 2025 calendar year, he promised his match against Gunther at December’s Saturday Nights Main Event show would be the last time he performed in the ring.

So far, he’s kept that promise. Not only has he kept that promise, but he has also stayed off WWE television entirely. The latter ended on Saturday, as Cena returned to kick off the show and host Wrestlemania 42. And, he started off the night with a major bang.

“It’s undeniable that this year’s Road to WrestleMania has been chaos,” Cena said. “It has been unpredictable. From every side, both in here and even back there and out there, it has been very, very, vocal. One can say it’s been… polarizing. Polarizing. Now I see why I got the hosting gig.

“This is the moment I love the most, especially on the Road to WrestleMania. We’re all in here for the same reason, because we know the time to talk is up. The time to deliver is now. And we are all here with one thing on our minds… who tonight will step up and deliver? It is such a great honor, ladies and gentlemen and everyone watching around the world, welcome to WrestleMania!”

John Cena tears up following final match

Of course, Cena’s last WWE appearance turned into one of the most emtional nights of the entire year. Cena tapped out to Gunther with a smile on his face and his career over. However, the result of the match became immediatley inconsequential and gave way to an emotional send off for Cena.

Following the match, the entire WWE roster surrounded the ring to pay their respects to Cena. Along with the roster, legends such as WWE CCO Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Rob Van Dam, and the aforementioned Kurt Angle were present.

WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk handed their respective titles to Cena, allowing him to parade the ring with gold on his shoulders for one last time. Cena has immense history with both performers, as he faced both of them over the course of his retirement run. He initially beat Rhodes for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41 and subsequently lost it back to him at SummerSlam. He also defended the title against CM Punk at Night of Champions.

Although Cena may be done as in-ring performer; Wrestlemania 42 proves he intends to hang around the business in any capicity he can outside of in-ring wrestling. And because he’s “The Greatest of All-Time,” he can still provide magic without doing a single wrestling move.

On3’s Daniel Hager contributed to this article