{"id":210959,"date":"2025-12-14T04:19:52","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T04:19:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/14\/peyton-manning-tom-brady-pay-tribute-as-john-cena-retires-from-wwe\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T04:19:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T04:19:52","slug":"peyton-manning-tom-brady-pay-tribute-as-john-cena-retires-from-wwe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/14\/peyton-manning-tom-brady-pay-tribute-as-john-cena-retires-from-wwe\/","title":{"rendered":"Peyton Manning, Tom Brady Pay Tribute as John Cena Retires from WWE"},"content":{"rendered":"


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John Cena<\/strong><\/a> received support from Peyton Manning<\/strong>, Tom Brady<\/strong> and Jelly Roll<\/strong> before his WWE rematch match \u2014 but their congratulations didn\u2019t help him win.<\/p>\n

WWE aired video tributes<\/a> from sports and entertainment superstars on WWE SmackDown <\/em>on Friday, December 12, before Cena, 48, entered the ring for the final time at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. for Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event<\/em> on Saturday, December 13. Cena put up a good fight in his final battle with WWE star Gunther<\/strong>, but ultimately lost the match by tapping out to a choke hold.<\/p>\n

Before the disappointing result, NFL icon Peyton, 49, and his brother Eli Manning<\/strong> offered Cena congratulations on wrapping up his legendary WWE career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to warn you when you enter the grocery store or step into your garage, there\u2019s no entrance music at all in retirement, unless you play it yourself on your AirPods,\u201d Peyton joked. \u201cSo that\u2019s a free tip from me to you. Congrats again, pal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>WWE Breakout Star Lash Legend Gushes About \u2018No. 1 Fan\u2019 Trick Williams<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tWWE\u2019s Lash Legend has made an immediate impact after being called up to the main roster \u2014 and she\u2019s had NXT\u2019s Trick Williams in her corner as the rising star\u2019s biggest cheerleader. \u201cHe\u2019s literally my No. 1 fan,\u201d Legend, 28, exclusively told Us Weekly. \u201cHe\u2019s just so supportive. He\u2019s so reassuring. I\u2019m just so grateful [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Eli, 44, added, \u201cYou inspired so many people. You won a ton of championships, almost impressive enough for me to forget the fact that you\u2019re a die-hard Patriots fan. But hey, I guess no one\u2019s perfect, including the \u201907 Patriots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jelly Roll \u2014 who wrestled a WWE match earlier this year\u2014 called Cena the \u201cthe legendary, never seen 17\u201d in his tribute message. (Cena won his record-breaking 17th WWE World Championship at WrestleMania 41.)<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn Cena, the legendary, never seen 17. Man, thank you for all these years,\u201d the musician, 41, told him. \u201cThank you for the inspiration. Thank you for being the role model that we all needed. You deserve this, brother. Congratulations, happy retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The West Newbury, Massachusetts native even received a special video on Friday from former New England Patriot Brady.<\/p>\n

Brady, 48, told Cena. \u201cCongratulations on an incredible career. You\u2019ve impacted the lives of so many people inside the ring and outside the ring. Good luck in your last match. I hope you fare better in yours than I did in mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other celebrities who contributed goodbye videos for Cena included Tonight Show<\/em> host Jimmy Fallon<\/strong> and hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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\n John Cena salutes after final WWE match.<\/span> Courtesy of WWE \/ Peacock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following the tough loss in his retirement match, Cena was joined around the ring by many contemporaries \u2014 including CM Punk<\/strong> and Triple H<\/strong> \u2014 to take a final bow in the ring. Cena was then gifted with his own replicas of WWE championship belts.<\/p>\n

Cena stunned WWE fans<\/a> during a surprise appearance at the Money in the Bank live event in Toronto, Canada\u2019s Scotiabank Arena on July 6, 2024, when he announced his \u201cretirement from the WWE.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 17-time WWE World Champion confirmed that he planned to dedicate much of his 2025 schedule to pro wrestling \u2014 though he still managed to film two movies, action-adventure comedy Matchbox<\/em> and the Netflix comedy Little Brother<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis farewell does not end tonight. It is filled with opportunity,\u201d he promised in July 2024. \u201dI want to say thank you. Thank you so much for letting me play in the house that you built for so many years. Thank you so much always for your voice, because it\u2019s really loud and your honesty because it\u2019s beautifully brutal. And most of all thank you so much for allowing me to be here with you tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cena kicked off his retirement tour by competing in the Royal Rumble Match in January and winning the Men\u2019s Elimination Chamber Match the following month. At WrestleMania 41 in April, Cena had some help from rapper Travis Scott<\/strong> to win the Undisputed WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Cena eventually lost the championship back to Rhodes in a Street Fight at SummerSlam in August, before battling the likes of Brock Lesnar<\/strong>, A.J. Styles<\/strong> and Dominik Mysterio<\/strong> in the lead-up to his final match against Gunther on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Before the Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event<\/em> special, Cena told Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/em> that he is serious about never wrestling again.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>WWE’s Gunther Says He\u2019s ‘Proud’ to be John Cena’s Final Opponent<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tWhile John Cena received some praise from his final opponent this week, it wasn\u2019t all smiles and rainbows. Before Cena\u2019s final match \u2014 which will come on Saturday, December 13, at WWE\u2019s Saturday Night\u2019s Main Event at Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C. \u2014 his opponent, Gunther, told People that \u201cit\u2019s undeniable\u201d that Cena is [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s weird, there\u2019s a lot of skepticism out there because this has never been done before,\u201d he explained on Wednesday, December 10. \u201cI just hope people can come to grips with that because on the 13th \u2014 the reason I wanted to give people so much lead time \u2014 is being able to perform for two decades, people allowing me into their living rooms week after week, 52 weeks a year, no reruns, you do feel a connection with people. \u2026 I wanted to give people a heads up so people could process whatever closure they wanted for the 13th.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cena started wrestling in 1999 and signed with WWE two years later. After a year in WWE\u2019s development league, Ohio Valley Wrestling, he made his first WWE SmackDown<\/em> appearance on June 27, 2002, for a match against former Olympian Kurt Angle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Nicknamed the \u201cDoctor of Thuganomics,\u201d Cena parlayed his success in WWE into a mainstream movie career, having starred in blockbusters like The Suicide Squad, F9: The Fast Saga<\/em> and Blockers<\/em>. Cena also currently appears in the HBO Max streaming hit Peacemaker.<\/p>\n

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