Sixteen-time world champion wrestler John Cena announced his retirement Saturday at WWE’s Money in the Bank at ScotiaBank Arena in Toronto, which Cena said was the “perfect” place to make the announcement.
In recent years, Cena has shown off a towel that said “Never give up.”
Cena also wore a shirt that said “The Last Time Is Now Tour” and “John Cena Farewell.”
Cena said he would compete at next year’s Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania, which will be his final events. Chants of “Thank you Cena” roared through the crowd afterward.
“Thank you for letting me play in the house you built for so many years,” Cena told the crowd.
Now a Hollywood superstar, Cena made his WWE debut in 2002 and quickly became a fan favorite. His first dominant shtick was as a trash-talking rapper when he was nicknamed the “Doctor of Thuganomics.”
Two of his most famous matches were at back-to-back WrestleMania events in 2011 and 2012, both of which came against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Cena lost the first but won the second.