With John Cena wrapping up his final months in WWE, there could still be some surprise returns set to make a special appearance to challenge him.
Since some of John Cena’s biggest rivals from the past are still in active competition – albeit outside of WWE – there are a host of intriguing choices of former foes who could reappear to give it a go against Cena one final time.
Here are six former WWE stars who could return and challenge John Cena.
6. Jeff Hardy
In what could be a generational showdown – TNA Wrestling star Jeff Hardy could make a return to take on John Cena.
With their former battles being already iconic, it would be great to see these former rivals go one more time.
Since John Cena’s last match has been confirmed for mid-December 2025, there is a possibility this bout could kick off a return to WWE both Matt and Jeff Hardy with their TNA contracts reportedly expiring in November 2025.
Bringing together two massive fan favorites, Jeff Hardy versus John Cena would make for a legendary addition to the latter’s farewell tour.
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5. Dolph Ziggler (Nic Nemeth)
An active wrestler that definitely could put on an iconic match with John Cena in 2025 is Nic Nemeth, formerly known as Dolph Ziggler in WWE.
Currently feuding with the Hardy Boyz in TNA Wrestling alongside his own real life brother Ryan Nemeth, the WWE legend is definitely busy with his own work.
However given all of the history between the pair – perhaps Nemeth would be willing to do a little zig-zagging in his creative plans to pop-up in WWE.
Likely to receive a heroes welcome upon his return, Nemeth continues to demonstrate that his in-ring skills remain as sharp as ever.
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4. Zack Ryder (Matt Cardona)
While Matt Cardona has said in the past that “Zack Ryder is Dead” – perhaps John Cena could resurrect him in WWE.
After departing WWE the former Zack Ryder went on to entirely rebrand himself in independent wrestling under his actual name Matt Cardona.
Known as a variety of nicknames including the Indy God and King of the Deathmatch – Cardona could bring an entirely new kind of foe for Cena in the farewell tour.
Bringing about the return of Matt Cardona to WWE, John Cena could be the forbidden door between vintage nostalgic WWE and modern indie wrestling’s rebel spirit.
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3. Jinder Mahal (Raj Dhesi)
One former rival of John Cena that could make a return to action is Jinder Mahal.
Now going by the in-ring name Raj Dhesi for his work in independent wrestling – the commanding presence of the Modern Day Maharaja remains intact.
While the former WWE Champion could definitely make a fun surprise return, the match would be an interesting one.
However with John Cena poised to only face a few more opponents on his farewell tour, perhaps a nostalgic surprise would be fun.
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2. Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam and John Cena famously wrestled at WWE ECW One Night Stand 2006 for the WWE Championship in a bout that saw RVD win in the highly hostile environment for Cena.
Making a potential perfect pairing to go at it once again during John Cena’s farewell tour – in the end, it wasn’t meant to be.
It was recently revealed by RVD himself that the match was not only being discussed – it seemed as though it could be happening.
However, RVD suffered a double heel fracture during an MLW Battle Riot match which is expected to keep him out of action into late 2025 which cancelled plans for the showdown.
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1. Wade Barrett
One epic rival of John Cena that has moved on from in-ring competition is Wade Barrett – or has he?
While recently off of WWE TV related to previously scheduled time off – perhaps there is more than meets the eye to the time away from the desk.
With Barrett noting that his time off was scheduled “nine months ago”, perhaps there has been a plan for Barrett to make an in-ring return to take on Cena since the beginning of the farewell tour!
Although this may be the most unlikely entry on the list – in WWE, you really can never say never.
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