John Cena’s final match sets WWE arena gate record to cap off lucrative retirement tour
Image: WWE
New data from live event trade publication Pollstar revealed that John Cena’s final match did more than big business for WWE and was the exclamation point on a lucrative retirement tour.
Reported by Post Wrestling’s Brandon Thurston on Thursday, the December 13 edition of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event from Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena generated $6,553,883 in ticket sales, far surpassing the previous clubhouse leader for non-stadium shows which was the January 2025 WWE Raw on Netflix premiere at Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome ($4,898,365).
17,121 tickets were sold for the December 13 show with an average ticket price of $383, a mark Thurston said was under just WrestleMania prices.
It’s unknown if there was any site fee involved or if Cena himself saw any additional financial compensation for the match being held in Washington, D.C. as opposed to a different locale. The show was put on in concert with Events DC, “the premier host of conventions, entertainment, sporting and cultural events in the nation’s capital.”
Cena famously lost to Gunther in his final match, controversially tapping out to end his run.
Thurston also reported full data on the 20 of 38 appearances Cena had during his 2025 retirement tour, noting those shows drew more than $80 million in ticket sales which doesn’t include Elimination Chamber, Clash in Paris, SummerSlam and Survivor Series of which sales data isn’t currently available for. He also observed the difficulties in separating Cena’s impact on those tallies vs. the WWE brand name itself.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.