John Cena is pulling back the curtain on how much his farewell year shifted behind the scenes.
During an appearance on the No Contest Wrestling podcast, Cena revealed that AJ Styles was never meant to be his opponent at Crown Jewel 2025 in Australia. Instead, WWE originally had him lined up against Drew McIntyre before creative opted to change direction and deliver a more uplifting moment for the crowd.
“AJ was supposed to be Drew but it pivoted. We wanted to give them a feel-good moment because they were listening to the data points. They listen to you guys, they do. It’s real.”
The eventual clash with Styles turned into one of the most talked about bouts of the event, packed with nods to past rivals and career defining moments from both men. The match earned four and three quarter stars from Dave Meltzer and was widely praised for blending nostalgia with high level in ring storytelling.
Cena admitted that the reaction to his final run has not always been consistent. Some moments landed perfectly, while others sparked backlash.
“You have the Brock moment, people are pissed off. Then you have the AJ moment, things are great. Then you have the three-appearance run with Dom, which is fun.“
He also clarified lingering speculation about his character direction. According to Cena, the original idea was for him to turn babyface again during his SummerSlam showdown with Cody Rhodes rather than on the go home episode of television. Another bold decision came in his match with Gunther, where Cena chose to smile and submit, signaling what many saw as the symbolic end of his character’s long arc.
“It was a brave choice to say be like, we’re killing the character off. What’s the craziest way we can do it?” Cena said.
As Cena’s in ring career winds down, it is clear that even in his final chapter, plans were fluid and fan reaction played a major role in shaping how the story unfolded.