John Cena’s Most Memorable SmackDown Moments: John Cena’s retirement tour began in January 2025. Throughout the year, he became the first WWE Superstar to be a 17-time WWE Champion. On September 5, 2025, during an episode of SmackDown in Chicago, Cena announced that this would be his last appearance on the Blue Brand. In his promo segment, he stated that he was lucky to be a part of this show and is grateful for everything. Cena was then interrupted by the New United States Champion, Sami Zayn.
Sami Zayn took the mic and began praising John Cena, stating that he is an inspiration to wrestlers sitting in the locker room. Zayn then challenged Cena, saying that it would be an honor to face him in his last SmackDown appearance for a US title match. Cena accepted the challenge, and the match went on for over 20 minutes. During the match, Cena delivers moves like “Spear” and “GTS” to show respect to his past opponents. In the final moments of the match, Cena took Zayn to the top rope and delivered a Super-AA. As both wrestlers were down, we saw the epic return of “The Beast,” Brock Lesnar.
Brock Lesnar slowly entered the ring and delivered F5s to both Sami Zayn and John Cena, ending Cena’s final SmackDown match in a contest. During the show, it was confirmed that Brock Lesnar will go one-on-one with John Cena one last time on September 21, 2025, at the WrestlePalooza Premium Live Event.
John Cena’s Most Memorable SmackDown Moments: John Cena’s Debut
John Cena made his debut in professional wrestling on SmackDown in 2002. Cena confronted Kurt Angle and slapped him, stating that he has “Ruthless Aggression.” The following segment led to Cena’s first match in WWE, where he was defeated by Kurt Angle via a roll-up pinfall.
John Cena’s Most Memorable SmackDown Moments: Doctor of Thuganomics
John Cena officially started his Doctor of Thuganomics character in 2002 on an episode of SmackDown. This character change saved Cena’s career, as his initial run was a failure. Cena, as the Doctor of Thuganomics, used to come out to the ring and roast his opponents with his rapping skills. One of the most popular moments from Cena’s Dr. of Thuganomics character was when he roasted Brock Lesnar by saying, “Brock, to get a concussion, you need a brain.”
John Cena’s Most Memorable SmackDown Moments: John Cena Vs JBL
John Cena’s rivalry with JBL was one of the focal points of SmackDown during early 2005. This rivalry led to a match between them at WrestleMania 21, where Cena defeated JBL to win his first WWE Championship.
John Cena’s Most Memorable SmackDown Moments: John Cena’s 2021 Return
John Cena returned to WWE in 2021 at the Money in the Bank Premium Live Event, where he confronted Roman Reigns. The rivalry between John Cena and Roman Reigns was entirely built on SmackDown, which led to a match between them at Summerslam 2021, where Reigns defeated Cena to retain his WWE Universal Championship.
FAQs
Q. Did John Cena debut on SmackDown?
A. Yes, John Cena made his debut in 2002 on an episode of SmackDown.
Q. Did John Cena retire?
A. John Cena announced his retirement tour in 2024. The retirement tour started in January 2025 and will end in December 2025.
Q. How many WWE Championships has John Cena won?
A. John Cena has won the WWE Championship 17 times in his WWE career.
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