At September's Wrestlepalooza PLE, John Cena faced Brock Lesnar in what proved to be a glorified squash match. The returning Beast made short work of the 17-time WWE Champion, and there's never been a rematch or any sort of follow-up (which has frustrated many fans).
It's been widely reported that WWE wanted to make Lesnar look strong following his two-year absence from the company, and he's since competed in a WarGames match at Survivor Series amid claims that his in-ring retirement is looming.
Talking to Chris Van Vliet, Cena was asked why his match with Lesnar was so quick. "Well, I guess quick is perspective," he replied, "because my frame didn't feel like it was."
Pushed to elaborate on the bout, Cena appeared to confirm that Lesnar will indeed retire at SummerSlam 2026, which takes place over two nights on August 1 and August 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
"Again, I love the public's ability to weigh in. You have this guy who's returning, who absolutely looks like he hasn't aged a day, moves like it. He can split his pants and still move like a ballerina, slip on his Pyro and do a ninja roll and be okay. He's a beast. It's his first time back. I've been in this seat before. It's like I'm always in the seat when Brock comes back, Rock after Miami, who's the next guy? SummerSlam with Roman, here he comes again. After he beats Taker for the streak, I've sat in this seat before. You have to figure out who gets the shine that night and if, in his return again, only my perspective. This attraction where we are going to build until he goes into the sunset, which is, I think, in Minnesota?"
"Creatively, it's very soon. To create a mountain to climb for someone, you have to build the mountain. I'm on my way out. It’s not like it's gonna hurt me, but I'm a viable commodity, and it's a great main event. See these two titans for the last time, and it’s ok. Sometimes your team gets blown out. We were first on the program. I did the best I could. We all did the best we could to make it a competitive fight into the middle. People forget I was in that arena when Brock fell down for the first time on the shoulder tackle, and then I was able to give them all the stuff. They were into it, and then just a bunch of gratuitous F5's. That's how you build Brock."
Who will retire Lesnar? Bron Breakker has to be the most likely contender, and WWE using Cena as a stepping stone to however The Beast's WWE career ends next summer was certainly a choice!
It's a little surprising that Lesnar isn't sticking around for what will surely be a lucrative WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia in 2027. Still, SummerSlam makes sense for his farewell, given his connections to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
You can watch the full interview with Cena in the player below.