John Cena breaks silence on dad’s viral reaction to his last opponent
John Cena addressed his father’s recent statement about his final WWE opponent.
With just a few days left before Cena’s retirement match, his father went viral for commenting on his son’s potential final opponent, making it clear he doesn’t think it should be Gunther.
The 17-time World Champion addressed his father’s remarks while appearing on the Joe Rogan podcast.
“Man, there’s some sh*t he’ll say that is all f*cked up. He said some sh*t yesterday, ‘I don’t think John’s last opponent’ and people listen to him because he’s a wrestling fan and is in the weird subculture zeitgeist. I want to call my dad and be like, ‘What the f*ck are you doing?’
“But then I’m like, no, he’s doing what he does. This is him. This is the dad I love. This is the John Cena I love. This is the guy I can sit down with and part of that is being able to process all of it. But the opportunity I get from that of learning about my father’s story.”
Cena also said he recently mended fences with his father after having “such a sh*tty relationship” with him in the past.
“He’s 80, so I’m glad I’ve done this, because we don’t last forever. He’s going, we’re all going in the dirt soon, you know? But I just wanted him to be something else. I always wanted that motherf*cker to change. I wanted him to be something else. And finally, I got out of my own way.”
Cena’s final match is set for next Saturday in Washington, DC.
Shounak Chakrabarti is an experienced sports journalist with a lifelong passion for athletics and storytelling. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and joined F4WOnline in 2025.
Shounak takes particular interest in soccer, closely following top clubs like Real Madrid and Arsenal. Beyond sports, he enjoys fiction writing, photography, gaming, and cinema.