On the August 1 edition of WWE SmackDown, John Cena turned babyface in a passionate promo against Cody Rhodes who wanted to face the real version of the legend at SummerSlam 2025.
At WWE SummerSlam 2025 Cena was dethroned as Undisputed WWE Champion and will now finish his retirement tour as the character fans know and love.
With just four months and 12 dates remaining in his run, it will be quite intriguing to see what WWE has planned for the 17-time world champion.
Here are seven potential John Cena plans for WWE SmackDown.
7. Feud With Brock Lesnar
At WWE SummerSlam 2025, Cody Rhodes defeated John Cena in a Street Fight to win the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Post match, Brock Lesnar made his shocking return to WWE by coming out to confront and lay out Cena with a F-5.
It looks like fans will witness the final battle between Lesnar and Cena to close out their long storied rivalry sooner rather than later.
A feud with Lesnar would give Cena one more match with another career rival in a similar fashion to his battles with Randy Orton and CM Punk earlier this year.
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6. Teaming With Jacob Fatu Against Solo Sikoa & The MFTs
Over on WWE SmackDown, one of the main rivalries that has been prominent over the past few months was between Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa.
During this retirement tour for John Cena, he has not been able to interact that much with the newer talent on the roster.
Giving Cena a chance to mix it up with this familial war, fans could see the legend team with “The Samoan Werewolf” to face Solo and his MFTs.
Whether it be on a Premium Live Event or Saturday Night’s Main Event, Cena teaming with Fatu could prove to be an insurmountable duo for Sikoa and the MFTs to overcome.
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5. Tag Team With R-Truth
Back at the May 24 edition of WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event, John Cena defeated R-Truth. This bout proved to be Truth’s second-to-last before he told his contract would not be renewed.
Thanks to the fans’ disapproval and rallying behind him, Truth was brought back to WWE and led to him costing Cena his tag team main event with Logan Paul against Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso at Money in the Bank 2025.
Now that both men are back on the same alignment over on SmackDown, fans could potentially see Cena team with Truth.
Ron “R-Truth” Killings getting the chance to team with the man he once called his childhood hero would be a magical moment that many fans have wanted to see over the past few years.
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4. Confrontation With Aleister Black
In recent weeks, Aleister Black has displayed a change in attitude that has seen him turn heel and feud with Damian Priest.
Black has also targeted R-Truth who had been concerned with getting his hands on John Cena at the time.
This could be a way for WWE to eventually have the former NXT Champion be one of the final competitors to step in the squared circle with Cena.
The 17-time world champion could greatly benefit Black moving forward if he were chosen to be one of his final opponents in these next few months left of his career.
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3. PLE Showdown With Logan Paul
At WWE Money in the Bank 2025, Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso defeated John Cena and Logan Paul.
This bout showcased that Cena and Paul were not on the same page and subsequently led to their loss during this tag team main event.
Paul is also someone Cena has interacted with before with the two men being in the final three during the 2025 men’s Royal Rumble Match.
After doing battle in the Rumble and teaming with each other at Money in the Bank, it might be a matter of time before fans see Cena clash with Logan in a singles meeting that would pit two of WWE’s biggest mainstream stars going at it.
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2. Rivalry With Drew McIntyre
Ahead of WWE Elimination Chamber 2025, Drew McIntyre was the most vocal of any John Cena’s opponents in the Men’s Chamber about his lack of qualifying for the bout.
Despite McIntyre having several confrontations over the last couple of years, he has never gone one-on-one with Cena.
Considering McIntyre is one of the biggest stars currently on the WWE roster, it would be disappointing if he did not get one singles match with Cena before he hangs up the boots.
McIntyre has the kind of character who can call out the flaws in Cena and his retirement tour that might dig deep and make for an even more compelling rivalry that fans won’t soon forget.
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1. John Cena Open Challenge Accepted By Carmelo Hayes
Many fans formed their connection with John Cena when he first made his debut, answering Kurt Angle’s open challenge by saying he has “Ruthless Aggression” and slapping him across the face on a June 2002 episode of SmackDown.
Now 23 years later, Cena is about to call it a career with that initial appearance still lasting long in many fans’ minds.
Cena has the opportunity to create a similar moment for someone currently on the WWE SmackDown roster or even a debuting talent from WWE NXT.
Looking at the entire WWE roster, it would feel most appropriate for Cena’s fellow Massachusetts native, Carmelo Hayes to get the chance to show off his own “Ruthless Aggression” against the legend by answering his own open challenge.
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