Emotional John Cena kicks off WWE WrestleMania 42
John Cena was a man of his word as he kicked off WWE WrestleMania 42.
When he retired, Cena said he would not wear his wrestling gear in a WWE ring again. That stayed true as he ditched his signature jorts for a suit as he welcomed fans to WrestleMania. In his first time back since retirement, Cena — the host of WrestleMania 42 — immediately became emotional upon receiving a big reaction from the crowd.
“Wow, I didn’t expect that. Thank you so much,” Cena said. “Sorry, long-time fan, long-time performer, first-time host, how am I doing so far?”
Cena noted that the road to WrestleMania has been chaotic, unpredictable, vocal, and — a word Cena is very familiar with — polarizing.
“One could say it’s — Michael Cole, is it polarizing? Polarizing. Now I see why I got the hosting gig.”
To close his message, Cena said it was “such a great honor” to welcome everyone to WrestleMania. He declared that it was now time to see who would step up and seize the moment.
Cena concluded his WWE retirement tour in December 2025 with a loss to Gunther. Now working for the company as an ambassador, he appeared at the WWE World convention today, took part in a live podcast recording on Six Feet Under with The Undertaker, and is hosting both nights of Mania.
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the host of this weekend’s event, is also where Cena had his final WrestleMania match last year, defeating Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.