John Cena WWE Retirement Opponent Ruled Out

WWE

One legendary former star has ruled himself out of the running to face John Cena in his WWE retirement match.

Following his latest match with Brock Lesnar at the Wrestlepalooza Premium Live Event, John Cena now only has five dates left on his WWE Farewell Tour – with his final match set for Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13 in Washington D.C.

It’s not yet clear who will step up and challenge the 17-time world champion in his last-ever WWE match, but we now at least have 100% confirmation of someone it will not be: WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle.

While he has been retired from in-ring competition since 2019, Angle is someone many fans would have loved to see face off with Cena one last time, due to the Olympic gold medalist being Cena’s WWE debut opponent on the June 27, 2002 episode of SmackDown.

Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Angle spoke highly of Cena’s career, naming him the greatest of all time, but ruled himself out of the running to take Cena on in his last-ever match.

Angle said:

“I consider John the greatest of all time. You know, what he’s done for wrestling as a pioneer, as a spokesperson, as a champion, 17 world heavyweight titles, no one’s ever done that. 

“John has the ability to stay healthy and never get injured, so his elongated career has made him the best in the business. You know you look at Undertaker, Undertaker’s been hurt many times and had to back out for a while. I’ve been hurt had to back out for a while. Stone Cold Steve Austin’s been hurt, had to back out for a while. Shawn Michaels, his back was injured, he had to go for a while. So John’s been able to keep his career going and no one’s had that kind of endurance. So I think that’s what makes John special. 

“But not only that you think about all the Make-A-Wish kids that he met, he was just such a pioneer for wrestling. So I believe John is just the greatest of all time and to be affiliated with him, I know I was his first match and that was really cool. 

“I wouldn’t have minded being John Cena’s last match – but there’s no way in hell I can get in that ring right now, so it’s not gonna happen. But it would have been pretty cool.”

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John Cena inducted Kurt Angle into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017, with that year also being the last time the pair shared a WWE ring, with Angle and Cena on opposing teams for the Raw vs. SmackDown 10-person tag team match at WWE Survivor Series 2017.

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• wwe
• John Cena
• Kurt Angle
• retirement

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