John Cena announces surprising WWE return for WrestleMania 42
Less than a year after his much-discussed retirement, John Cena is returning to WWE for WrestleMania 42. Sort of.
John Cena is returning to WWE for WrestleMania 42. Sort of. The record-setting 17-time WWE champion announced Monday that he has signed on to serve as the official host for this year's two-night affair.
Cena previously headlined Night 2 of WrestleMania 41 in 2025, capturing the Undisputed WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes as part of his year-long retirement tour, which culminated with a Dec. 15 submission loss to Austrian heel Gunther . Cena vowed throughout his retirement tour that Dec.
15 represented his last-ever match and that he would not wrestle again once the year was over, despite the tendency for high-profile wrestler retirements to be impermanent throughout the history of the business. And despite Monday's announcement, he's holding true so far to those promises, as the host for WrestleMania traditionally serves only to preside over the event rather than compete on it. Cena's announcement, which came from the set of upcoming Netflix film "One Attempt Remaining," can be watched below: "I'm also on the road, which is ironic because there's a road to WrestleMania going on, and Hollywood is really close to Vegas.
Rumor around this town is WrestleMania needs a host. Well, I'm already on that road, so I will see you at WrestleMania. " Since retirement, my “road” has looked a little different… but now I can officially say I’m headed to WrestleMania!!!!