Former rival wants to return to WWE after five years to wrestle John Cena
A former WWE star has opened up about his desire to wrestle John Cena after his retirement tour announcement at Money in the Bank 2024. The said performer is Matt Cardona (fka Zack Ryder), who shared a locker room with The Leader of Cenation for years in the Stamford-based promotion.
MITB 2024 made for one of the most emotional nights in WWE history, where Cena revealed that he intended to hang up his boots by the end of 2025. Since then, fans have been speculating how the company should plan John Cena's final chapter and which opponents he must step inside the ring with.
Amid this, many athletes have come forward to express their interest in being a part of Cena's retirement tour. One of them is Matt Cardona, who opened up about it while appearing on Busted Open Radio. The former Intercontinental Champion added that he had improved since the last time he shared a ring with Cena.
"I would love to get in the ring [with Cena]. I've definitely grown as a man and performer [since we last wrestled]. All these years later, I'd like to see John Cena vs. 'The Deathmatch' King Matt Cardona in a WWE ring," said Matt Cardona. (H/T - WrestlingInc)
Cardona last wrestled the Hollywood superstar on the May 25, 2015, edition of WWE RAW, where he failed to capture the United States Title from the latter.
Bill Apter on who should John Cena face in his retirement match in WWE
On a recent episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine podcast, Bill Apter spoke about who should face the 16-time world champion in his retirement match. The veteran journalist stated that it could be either the up-and-coming Bron Breakker or CM Punk, with whom Cena has had a storied rivalry in the past.
"I think that Cena for his final match, what I hear in the wind, would be one of two people. One will be Bron Breakker, the son of Rick Steiner. The other one would be CM Punk, who is chomping at the bit, chomping at the bit to wrestle John Cena."
Cena's retirement tour is sure to be a memorable one and there's no doubt WWE would put a lot of thought into picking the right opponents for him.