By Matthew Couden

Copyright newsweek

WWE megastar John Cena is approaching retirement, and with that, he only has a handful of matches left before calling it a career. With that in mind, fans have been demanding a specific opponent for his last match.

Throughout the previous months, Cena has battled notable opponents, including Cody Rhodes over the Undisputed WWE Championship, CM Punk, Randy Orton, and most recently, Brock Lesnar.

While Cena has racked up mostly wins over his prominent opponents, he recently lost to Lesnar at Wrestlepalooza, which was the first WWE premium live event presented on ESPN’s new ESPN Unlimited streaming platform.

It caused some criticism that Cena would lose. However, he may soon bounce back from that loss, as he’s got other matches on the way, including an epic rematch with AJ Styles.

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Cena doesn’t have a final opponent named yet, although rumors have lingered. There have also been fans calling for someone of great significance in Cena’s career to be his final opponent.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – AUGUST 03: John Cena takes a moment to salute the fans after the loss to Cody Rhodes during the WWE 2025 SummerSlam at MetLife Stadium on August 03, 2025, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Many fans believe that the individual should be WWE legend Kurt Angle, who captured multiple championships throughout his storied career in both TNA and WWE.

More importantly, he has a significant tie to the early part of Cena’s career. John Cena made his television debut with WWE when he answered Angle’s open challenge for a match on SmackDown in June 2002. Cena indicated he wanted to display “ruthless aggression” at that moment, and the rest is history.

Angle recently appeared as a guest on the Busted Open Podcast to speak with former WWE co-star Jonathan Coachman. During that appearance, he heaped praise on Cena, calling him the “greatest of all time” due to his career and what he’s done beyond that with Make-A-Wish, entertainment, and more. He also addressed fans, suggesting he should be Cena’s final opponent.

“I believe John is the greatest of all time, and to be affiliated with him- I know I was his first match, and that was really cool. I wouldn’t have minded being John Cena’s last match, but there’s no way in hell I can get in that ring right now,” Angle shared.

Angle, 56, officially had his own retirement match under Vince McMahon’s WWE at WrestleMania 35 in 2019. According to SI’s Takedown, Angle initially requested to fight Cena in his match. However, McMahon said he’d need to finish out his “program” or story with Baron Corbin and wait another year to face Cena, so Angle accepted Corbin as his opponent.

“I didn’t mind it was Baron. He’s a great athlete, great wrestler, and a good guy. I love him. But, I did want John Cena to be my last match. And unfortunately it wasn’t,” Angle said.

The wrestling legend previously mentioned that he had noticed a decline in his physical performance in the ring, prompting him to retire from in-ring competition officially.

That still leaves a final opponent for John Cena to face in his last match. Most reports maintain that it will take place on Dec. 13 at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Will he battle Brock Lesnar one final time to try to defeat him, or put over another newer star on his way out of WWE?

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