John Cena believes the toughest match of his professional wrestling career came during his 2025 retirement tour against Brock Lesnar.
Cena and Lesnar reignited their rivalry after “The Beast Incarnate” returned to WWE at the SummerSlam Premium Live Event, leading to a showdown at WrestlePalooza. Lesnar dominated the contest, running through Cena in convincing fashion.
During a new interview with Justin Barrasso of Undisputed, “The Greatest of All-Time” looked back on the match and explained why he considers it the most difficult bout of his career.
“I’d always say my next match was going to be my toughest, but that’s not true now that I’m retired,” said Cena. “The toughest one was from the retirement tour against Brock Lesnar.”
Cena went on to explain that the challenge wasn’t just the physical punishment that comes with facing Lesnar, but also the difference in how fans reacted compared to one of their previous encounters.
“The reason I say that isn’t just because it was physically demanding–any match with Brock is physically demanding,” Cena continued. “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.”
Ahead of WWE: Unreal season three, which premieres via Netflix on July 21, John Cena posted about “The Last Time Is Now” WWE farewell tour being ‘one of the greatest years’ of his entire life.
So many unforgettable memories in my final year of performance “in the arena.” Looking forward to seeing what #WWEUnreal captured and their perspective of one of the greatest years of my life. https://t.co/K4VcFjYfKd
— John Cena (@JohnCena) July 14, 2026
