John Cena facing WWE icon for the first time in 2025 would excite fans, ex-manager says (Exclusive)
John Cena recently announced his intention to retire from WWE in-ring competition in December 2025. Legendary wrestling manager, Dutch Mantell believes WWE's higher-ups should seriously consider booking a first-time-ever match between the 47-year-old and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
In 2022, Austin defeated Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in his first competitive match since 2003. The 59-year-old has repeatedly said he was open to the idea of wrestling again, but only if the storyline made sense.
Mantell, formerly known as Zeb Colter in WWE, said on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk show that he along with several generations of fans, even the new ones, would like to see Austin vs. Cena. These were two of the biggest names in pro wrestling and a first-ever meeting between them would surely be handled with a lot of care by the promotion.
"Even for young fans, if they stood in the ring, it's history. It's history being made and it's like saying, 'I was there.' And a lot of people would like to see that. A lot of people would like to see it. I'd like to see it because you don't get these chances very often. And whatever they do with this, I think it will be well orchestrated, well produced, well executed," said Mantell. [23:02 – 23:30]
Watch the video above to hear Mantell's honest thoughts on whether Cena will stick to his retirement decision.
John Cena's history with Steve Austin
In 2005, Steve Austin served as the special referee for several untelevised John Cena matches during a tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland. He also officiated Cena and Alex Riley's disqualification loss against The Miz and R-Truth on the June 6, 2011, episode of RAW.
Austin and Cena appeared on a RAW Reunion episode on July 22, 2019. Speaking backstage, the latter seemed taken aback by his fellow legend saying he was "proud" of everything the 47-year-old had achieved.
"Thank you very much, Steve, that means a lot," Cena said. "So I'm very glad you got that on camera because that just melted my heart. Steve Austin saying, 'I'm proud of you,' is really cool."
While Austin has not wrestled since 2022, John Cena's most recent in-ring bout took place on the April 8 episode of RAW. He joined forces with The Miz and R-Truth to defeat Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor, and JD McDonagh in a six-man tag team match.
What are your thoughts on John Cena vs. Steve Austin? Hit the Discuss button and let us know.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk and embed the video if you use Dutch Mantell's quotes from this article, with an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.