John Cena has been a major player in the WWE for over 20 years and is considered one of the greatest to have ever done it in the ring. The WWE superstar’s aura and unbridled commitment to entertain audiences through his energetic performance in the ring has won him a large fanbase. Cena and another superstar share a historic WWE record that none have come close to.
The Peacemaker star and Ric Flair currently share the record of being the 16-time WWE World Champions. Cena recently announced his retirement by the end of 2025 and has a finite time to become the reigning WWE champion with 17 wins. However, Booker T believes that the title shouldn’t be forced on him just because his tenure is ending.
Booker T Is Against John Cena Nabbing His 17th World Championship Title And Fans Are Enraged
After more than 20 years of entertaining WWE audiences, John Cena is ending his tenure in the industry by the end of 2025. The celebrated WWE superstar will embark on a farewell tour which will culminate in his retirement next year. Cena will reportedly work between 30-40 dates in 2025 and will compete in the year’s Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, and WrestleMania 41 matches.
This has opened up a lot of possibilities about the opponents he will face and how he plans to end his WWE career. Cena now has a year and some months of possibly beating Ric Flair’s record of 16 WWE World championship wins (they are both tied), which will be an epic way to end such a legendary career. However, six-time world champion Booker T feels otherwise.
Speaking on The Hall of Fame podcast, Booker stated that he wouldn’t put the title on him just because he is in his farewell era. He defends his stance by pointing out how Cena would have to perform on a regular basis to defend the title, which he doesn’t see him doing. Booker said,
I wouldn’t put the title on him, just because it’s the farewell tour. I wouldn’t do it, because if you put it on him, he’s gonna have to defend it. He’s gonna have to go out and perform. He’s gonna have to perform on a regular basis. I see John making 30 appearances, but I don’t see him having 30 matches. It’s not something that John Cena really, really needs to do.
While Booker’s reasons are logical, fans are not happy with what he said. On X, they criticized his views and desperately wanted Cena to go out on a high note by winning his 17th WWE World title. Here are some of the reactions on X,
Cena is humble enough to not want it so makes sense. But he should win regardless even if it’s just to say he’s 17x and he relinquishes it immediately.
— malachi (@malthechamp) July 14, 2024
Booker still salty
— Todd Ferguson (@ToddFerguson01) July 14, 2024
It doesn't matter what do you think
— OĞUZ (@oguzodabas) July 14, 2024
i could care less what Booker T says lol i want super Cena for this last run
— Jamie 𓅓 (@jnmegatron) July 15, 2024
I respect Book, and usually I’d agree. Even if it’s a Legend, no point in giving them one more title run on their way out.
BUT – the fact that one more World Title run will give him the record, you gotta do it!
— Teejay (@TeejayMcFly) July 15, 2024
Cena defeated AJ Styles in 2017 to become a 16-time World Champion in 2017. Fans certainly want him to face another big superstar to become the reigning champion. However, Booker’s points are also true and may cause problems for Cena’s retirement. It remains to be seen if the championship title is one of his goals leading up to his retirement.
Matty Matheson Praises John Cena’s Professionalism And Larger Than Life Nature
The new season of The Bear saw the introduction of a new member of the Fak family with John Cena‘s Sammy Fak. It was one of the delightful cameos of season 3 and the cast surely had a ball working with him. Cena’s on-screen brother Matty Matheson who plays Neil Fak talked to Variety about his experiences with the actor.
Matheson expressed his admiration for the Argylle star’s professionalism and larger-than-life nature. He also revealed how the cast of the show was surprised when they found out that Cena read a medical doctrine on neurology in between takes. Matheson said,
He came in and was so professional, so dialed. It was a trip. My son, who is 8, is always doing that ‘You can’t see me’ Cena thing. He’s bigger than life. He was reading in between takes, and we were all like, ‘What’s that book on his chair?’ He was reading, like, literally a medical doctrine on neurology. It was crazy.
As of the rest of the year, Cena will star in two action comedy films, the first one being Jackpot alongside Awkwafina and Simu Liu hitting Prime Video on August 15, 2024. The second one is Heads of State with Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Idris Elba. The DC star is also shooting for season 2 of Peacemaker.
