John Cena Reveals the Toughest Match of His Career

Former WWE Champion John Cena recently revealed the toughest match of his legendary career.

Cena called time on his pro wrestling career in December 2025 following a 12-month Retirement Tour that saw him run it back against decorated rivals such as Randy Orton, CM Punk, AJ Styles, and Brock Lesnar.

Cena lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam 2025. However, the night went from bad to worse for the 17-time World Champion when Brock Lesnar returned after a two-year absence and attacked him.

Cena ultimately faced Lesnar for one final time at Wrestlepalooza. However, the match was ill-received by fans, as Lesnar essentially squashed the former WWE Champion in just over eight minutes.

Speaking to Undisputed at Fanatics Fest 2026, Cena revealed that the Wrestlepalooza match with Brock was easily the toughest match of his career from a mental standpoint, given how much fans hated him getting squashed.

Here’s what John Cena said [per Wrestling Observer]:

“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. 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 ultimately retired at Saturday Night’s Main Event in December 2025, tapping out to Gunther in his farewell bout.