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John Cena’s illustrious in-ring career with WWE will come to an end in just over a month as his final match is scheduled for December 13th in Washington at the Capital One Arena.
Cena made his main roster debut in 2002 when he went up against Kurt Angle, who had an open challenge on “SmackDown.” The rest is history as Cena left an indelible mark on the industry and became a 17-time WWE Champion at WrestleMania 41.
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Major League Wrestling’s Court Bauer pictured at an event. (Major League Wrestling)
Major League Wrestling founder Court Bauer was a writer for WWE just as Cena was coming up through the territory system and eventually to the top shows. Bauer recalled Cena’s grit and professionalism throughout his career in a recent interview with Pakinomist Digital.
“John Cena is what Vince McMahon saw for his entire career as a promoter,” Bauer said. “Someone who would show up to work early, leave late, be an incredible soldier and leader on the field or in the ring in this case. Always represent the company, go above and beyond, whether it was charity, whether it was something to do to help other talents and uplift them. Never a complaint. Never a problem.
“You look at all the guys who were anointed, ‘the guy,’ throughout Vince McMahon’s tenure as the head of the company, and there was maybe one guy who didn’t like to do the credit for somebody else or had a financial conflict or wanted to complain about some problem or was unhappy or thought the grass was greener somewhere else or just something would come up – John Cena was just a fight that was always a fight.
MAJOR LEAGUE WRESTLING’S COURT BAUER THESE ON EXCITING GROWTH, IMPORTANCE OF FINANCIALLY FRIENDLY EVENTS
John Cena makes his debut during Crown Jewel at the RAC Arena on October 11, 2025 in Perth, Australia. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)
Bauer pointed to Cena learning Mandarin, which helped take WWE into China.
“You could start a cloning factory and not come up with the prototype that was John Cena for WWE,” Bauer continued. “And when you look at how the company changed and evolved with him leading the way as the guy, it’s undeniable what his contributions were as a performer, in terms of what they were of what Vince McMahon was always looking for and couldn’t find in Shawn Michaels, couldn’t find in the Ultimate Warrior, couldn’t find in guys who went through the 4 years that was a roster. …’ And then it all went to hell.
“John Cena’s start is strong, his finish is strong and was a constant in every sense. So when you see someone like that, and I’ve worked with him, and I thought, ‘What an amazing experience it was to work with him.’ Always kept it light on set, always just giving positive input and feedback on things, never difficult, always with the common goal of, “Let’s make this as good as we can, let’s make this great.” And if we share that feeling, let’s give the fans the best damn thing we can.”
Bauer said that same mindset has carried over to other projects Cena has worked on outside the ring, including the “Peacemaker” series and the commercials he’s been on.
Cody Rhodes and John Cena in the ring during SmackDown at the Prudential Center on August 1, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)
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Cena’s in-ring career will culminate in a match with the winner of the Last Time is Now tournament. The winner gets a shot at Cena and will likely carry the torch for the company into 2026.
Cena has four scheduled dates remaining. The first is Monday night in Boston.
