With Randy Orton scheduled to face John Cena at WWE Backlash 2025 in St. Louis, Missouri – win, lose or draw there is still more time left with Cena.
While his farewell tour is set to continue, someone will have to be next to step up to challenge the 17-time world champion.
Here are eight WWE stars who could replace Randy Orton as the next feud for John Cena.
8. Seth Rollins
In the event John Cena succeeds at retaining the Undisputed WWE Championship against Randy Orton at Backlash 2025, he could find himself blindsided by Seth Rollins.
Rollins clearly has his eye on domination and there’s no better way to do that than taking on Cena in an intriguing take on their potential feud.
With both functioning as separate but equally dastardly forces in WWE, pitting particularly John Cena against Paul Heyman could provide for some iconic verbal moments.
While this particular next step is probably unlikely as Rollins seems otherwise occupied, it would be great if we saw Rollins and Cena connect again before the latter says his final farewell.
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7. CM Punk
While CM Punk has an expanded collection of enemies that now includes the aforementioned Seth Rollins, he has a much longer history of hatred with John Cena.
Coming down to the final two in the Elimination Chamber match was satisfying to see, but with Cena having captured the win over Punk after an inference from Rollins, surely Punk would be interested in one more match.
Certainly a buzzworthy moment for a WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event or the like, Punk and Cena have to mix it up one more time before Cena hangs up his wrestling boots forever.
Whether or not Cena beats Punk clean would be a storyline decision entirely, but the match would be undoubtedly exciting either way.
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6. Sami Zayn
A believable challenger who still has at least a little hope in the industry that John Cena is doing his best to “ruin” – Sami Zayn could be an ideal future opponent for Cena.
Already beloved by fans, a feud between Zayn and Cena would give fans a chance to root for Sami to win his first ever World Championship while also not having to see him turn against Jey Uso.
With each having been in professional wrestling for over 25 years, the juxtaposition between Sami Zayn hunting for his first world singles title and Cena looking to maintain his all-time record breaking 17th title reign is pretty compelling.
While Zayn would seem as though he was ultimately an underdog in the battle against Cena, another WWE star would seemingly be poised to dominate…
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5. GUNTHER
Seeing GUNTHER tangle in the ring with John Cena would be an incredible moment for both athletes.
Continuing to have the “you can’t wrestle” chants brought up against him, Cena could have a go at the Ring General ahead of his eventual retirement and perhaps prove once and for all that he absolutely can wrestle.
By having a match with the technical wrestling focused GUNTHER and winning, Cena adds another piece to his farewell puzzle as he will have his skills now made undeniable.
However with GUNTHER recently having suffered a big loss into a precarious position at Backlash 2025 against Pat McAfee, perhaps fans aren’t destined to see Cena vs. GUNTHER after all.
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4. Drew McIntyre
Being revealed as the face of a new campaign for The Rock’s line of Under Armour attire ‘Project Rock’, Drew McIntyre seems poised to continue his rise inside and outside WWE.
There would be no better way to put a big spotlight on the Scottish star than to have him take on John Cena during this farewell tour.
With McIntyre already teasing elements of real life drama that could be incorporated into their storyline, fans are already curious about what McIntyre would have to say if unleashed on Cena.
If anyone could step up to John Cena after Randy Orton and seem like a viable threat to his 17th title reign, it is Drew McIntyre.
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3. AJ Styles
When looking for others on the WWE roster who could step up to challenge John Cena after Randy Orton, AJ Styles is worth consideration.
A veteran in both WWE and the wide professional wrestling industry, Styles would be a formidable foe for Cena.
Also able to fulfil the role of helping Cena to dispell any critcism about his wrestling skills once and for all before retirement, Styles would be able to also add another major bout against Cena to his career legacy.
The pair have met plenty of times before but their 2017 Royal Rumble match still stands out as great – as well as being the one that saw Cena capture his 16th World title victory.
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2. Jacob Fatu
With Jacob Fatu seemingly on the rise as a fan favorite in WWE, it would be a logical progression after his United States Championship win at WrestleMania 41 to take on an even bigger opponent next.
Pitting John Cena against Fatu would create an interesting storyline moment for the Bloodline as well since Solo Sikoa had previously seemed poised to be on a meteoric rise similar to Fatu.
After beating John Cena at Crown Jewel 2023, a lot has changed in the last two years for Solo Sikoa, having suffered a major loss against Roman Reigns and the perception that Fatu is now taking his spot could be a huge catalyst for a change in his character.
Making a major impression on fans after his January 2025 match on Saturday Night’s Main Event against Braun Strowman, perhaps taking on John Cena on NBC would be an even bigger introduction to mainstream audiences for another Bloodline star.
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1. Logan Paul
If WWE is looking to continue to create viral moments in John Cena’s farewell tour, one massive moment could be to face Logan Paul.
The match could see Cena test his powers of fan manipulation in the most intriguing way – can he get them to actually root for Logan Paul?
While Paul would not be the one to end Cena’s reign, it would likely still be a fun match.
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