John Cena legitimately believed his WrestleMania 36 showdown with Bray Wyatt was going to be the final bell of his legendary WWE career. That’s right, the guy who defines “Never Give Up” thought it was over more than five years before it actually was. Speaking to Alistair McGeorge of Metro, Cena revealed, “Honestly, no kidding. I thought the Firefly Fun House was going to be the last match of my career. I really did think that the Firefly Fun House match was going to be the tail end, and that was kind of a meta journey for me through facing all of my demons, and then letting go.” Wild, right?
The Firefly Fun House Fiasco That Almost Was The End
Think back to April 2020 and WrestleMania 36. The whole world was upside down, and WWE was pushing out content from empty arenas. The Firefly Fun House match wasn’t your typical squared-circle brawl; it was a total cinematic masterpiece. This unique bout took Cena on a wild ride through recreated moments from his own career, with Wyatt in various guises needling him about every single one. Wyatt ultimately won, and then Cena vanished from WWE TV for sixteen months, stacking up filming commitments for huge projects like *Fast 9* and *Barbie*. What a way to go out if that really *had* been the end. The lack of an audience, though? For a polarizing star like Cena, that would’ve been a silent, weird farewell to a career built on crowd reactions.
Cena’s Real Goodbye: Titles, Heel Turns, and a Stunned D.C. Crowd
After his hiatus, Cena came back as a part-time attraction, and that was the setup for the rest of his run. Bray Wyatt’s passing in August 2023 actually closed the chapter on their rivalry, which dated back to 2014, making the Fun House match the final act between them. Cena’s actual retirement announcement dropped at Money in the Bank in 2024, leading into his “The Last Time Is Now” farewell tour throughout 2025. That final year was packed, seeing him pull off a heel turn, snag a record 17th world championship, and complete his Grand Slam with an Intercontinental Championship reign. The true curtain call came on December 13, 2025, against Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event XLII in Washington, D.C. In front of a stunned Capital One Arena, Cena tapped out to a sleeper hold, marking the first time he’d submitted in a match in twenty years. Talk about a shocker!
Ultimately, Cena got the best of both worlds. The Firefly Fun House match delivered a clean, story-driven capstone, a twenty-minute deep dive into every criticism ever leveled at him. But it lacked the roar of a live crowd. The Gunther match fixed that. A packed arena chanting “don’t give up” at the guy who built a career on that phrase, only to watch him give up anyway? That’s the powerful, polarizing ending Cena earned. He closed the story, and then he closed the career. What a ride.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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