While John Cena may be in WWE for a good time on his farewell tour, his presence is not expected for a long time.
With a finite number of appearances left on his WWE calendar ticking away rapidly, Cena will need to drop the Undisputed WWE Championship soon.
Here are seven potential new champions after John Cena.
7. Randy Orton
It does seem to be a strange world in which Randy Orton is a supremely beloved babyface in WWE and John Cena is a nearly universally despised heel – but here we are!
Randy Orton has the most immediate chance to dethrone Cena – in Orton’s hometown of St Louis, Missouri no less – in order to achieve a career milestone of his own.
If Orton is able to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship, he would surpass his current tie with Triple H at 14 world title wins and sit squarely in third with 15 behind Flair at 16 and Cena at 17 in the history books for most ever world title reigns.
While it seems sort of unlikely, perhaps the path for John Cena to his retirement will continue to keep pace with having twists and turns and there will be a surprise win for Orton at WWE Backlash 2025.
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6. Rusev
After having a foray in AEW as Miro, the return that fans had been hotly anticipating finally happened.
Rusev returned at the WWE Raw after WrestleMania and delighted fans everywhere who were happy to see him, and curious about what the future holds.
With a history between Rusev and John Cena – albeit two entirely different iterations of their characters compared to present day – would make for a compelling throwback feud.
Although there is another WWE star that has some serious history with John Cena that would be deeply satisfying to see play out in 2025…
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5. CM Punk
There is a long and contentious history between CM Punk and John Cena that has gone largely unexplained to newer WWE fans.
While those who are well-versed in WWE history are aware of the past between the two, there could definitely be some spicy on-screen interactions between Punk and Cena unpacking the past.
Able to re-write some of the messier parts and make a cohesive narrative, CM Punk could be fully fleshed out as the returning hero style character that could be positioned as having spotted Cena’s mask all along.
Even if the match ends in an eventual CM Punk loss, it should definitely still be a feud that is considered for Cena to revisit on his farewell tour.
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4. Austin Theory
While it is probably unlikely that anyone outside of a slim few have an actual possibility to take the Undisputed WWE Championship away from Cena, it is still fun to think about potential outsiders.
Before his retirement, there at least has to be another interaction between John Cena and Austin Theory.
After Theory has spent the last several years boasting about having beaten John Cena at WrestleMania 39, it would make complete sense for the pair to run it back in some fashion.
Other young stars that have notable pasts with John Cena include Solo Sikoa who was able to beat Cena at Crown Jewel 2023, and even TNA World Champion Joe Hendry who has been vocal about wanting a match with the champ.
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3. Roman Reigns
One of the very few that could conceivably beat John Cena to prevent him from taking home the title forever is Roman Reigns.
With storyline rationale for wanting to prevent Cena from retiring this title – as it encompasses his record setting reign of 1,316 days – Reigns could prove to come back around before John Cena departs.
Although he seems occupied with his own interpersonal dramas, there are still months left to go before Cena signs off for good, and plenty of time for him to tangle with the Tribal Chief.
Potentially involved in a multi-man match in an attempt to protect the title from being taken forever by John Cena, Reigns could recapture his lost gold.
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2. The Rock
Bringing it back around to The Rock, he could definitely end up being the one to annihilate John Cena in the end and make sure Cena doesn’t escape WWE with the championship.
However, a slightly more interesting route would be if no one was able to beat Cena before retirement, and Rock took possession of the mere existence of a WWE Championship.
Forcing any future challenger to actually have to beat Rock in order for anyone to ever become WWE Champion again would be a blockbuster sized story fit for The Final Boss.
However, The Rock is a busy man and all of that would require an immense time commitment so there is likely another current WWE star that could tie the retirement story together in the end…
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1. Drew McIntyre
While there are many worthy opponents to take down John Cena, one that actually could provide the most compelling story would be Drew McIntyre.
With McIntyre already having teased past tension between Big Match John and a younger Drew, it would be really cool to see that story come together.
Given the unique historical moment between this particular generation of stars, there are a lot of fictional elements that could be introduced – even in the form of retroactive continuity – to bolster the overall drama between the two.
With Drew McIntyre continuing to occupy a space sort of between a babyface and a heel – rather more of a disgruntled truth teller a la Stone Cold Steve Austin – perhaps now would be the best time for him to take over the WWE Championship from the clearly corporately backed John Cena.
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