On Saturday night, the iconic career of WWE legend John Cena will get a ceremonious end. His match with Gunther will conclude a year-long retirement tour where he took part in many entertaining matchups. However, during the tour and throughout his career, there were several dream matchups that wrestling fans missed out on.
With his career officially over, we look at six matches wrestling fans never got during John Cena’s incomparable career.
Drew McIntyre
Despite being on the roster together during both of Drew McIntyre’s two stints in WWE, he never faced Cena. He was also a popular pick to get a match with the legend during his 2025 tour. Yet, the stars never aligned, and the future Hall of Famer never got to face the current and best version of the “Scottish Psycho.”
LA Knight
LA Knight nearly got his opportunity to face Cena, but came up just short to Gunther in the “Last Time is Now Tournament” final. It would have made sense for Knight to face Cena and win as a passing of the torch moment. The former United States champion would have also been a good opponent option during Cena’s short heel run. Alas, it never happened.
Goldberg
Cena wasn’t a star during Bill Goldberg’s first run in WWE, but he was an icon when he made his surprise return in the late 2010s. A dream match between them at WrestleMania could have been epic as the two powerhouses and wrestling greats went toe-to-toe in a match few would have expected. Yet, the company chose to have the former WCW champion focus on a long feud with Brock Lesnar instead of a matchup with John Cena.
Jey Uso
Jey Uso eliminated John Cena in this year’s Royal Rumble. There were rumblings about a match between the two after that, but it never happened. A clash between the two would have been a lot of fun since they are two of the most beloved characters in WWE right now. Instead, Uso was busy in the World Heavyweight title picture for much of 2025.
Kazuchika Okada
To many wrestling fans, Japanese icon Kazuchika Okada is seen as NJPW’s version of Cena. That is why the two facing off is a unique dream match some fans hoped to see. However, when Okada chose to sign with AEW in March of last year, it killed any chance of that matchup ever happening.
Ric Flair
Ric Flair has faced many elite stars from multiple generations. However, John Cena was not one of the. The idea of the long-time leader for most world title reigns facing the man who would eventually beat his record could have been interesting, but they never went toe-to-toe in that short period during the end of Flair’s run as an active competitor in WWE.
Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon, surprisingly, got to face many WWE legends during his part-time run wrestling in his father’s company. Yet, despite getting huge matchups with all-time greats like The Undertaker, Steve Austin, and The Rock, McMahon never got a one-on-one match with Cena. The bout probably would have been a lot of fun, especially the build-up to the unexpected bout.
