WWE Hints At A Shocking John Cena vs The Rock Showdown At WrestleMania 42
John Cena has been crystal clear for more than a year now — once 2025 ends, his days as an in-ring WWE Superstar are over. With his “final” match against Gunther set for Saturday Night’s Main Event, fans have been preparing to say goodbye. But in WWE, goodbyes are rarely that simple.
Ahead of SNME, WWE.com quietly poured fuel on one of wrestling’s biggest dream-match rumors: John Cena vs. The Rock, one last time, at WrestleMania 42.
In a thought-provoking article on WWE’s official website, writer Mark Kaboly floated a wild “what if” scenario. What if Cena’s retirement talk is all part of a master plan? What if this isn’t really the end?
Kaboly imagined a moment straight out of a Hollywood script — The Rock returning after Cena’s supposed final match, confronting him as “The Final Boss,” and demanding one last showdown. The prize? A WrestleMania 42 rubber match, 13 years after their legendary rivalry first defined an era.
While WWE.com writers aren’t always looped into long-term creative plans, the timing of the tease is hard to ignore. Cena has repeatedly said the business has “passed him by,” openly admitting that age and physical wear have made him uncomfortable in the ring. By all accounts, he fully intends for SNME to be the end.
Still, there’s unfinished business.
The Rock played a major role in Cena’s shocking heel turn at Elimination Chamber, and since then, “The Great One” has vanished from WWE television. No confrontation. No closure. Just silence.
And in wrestling, silence often means something big is coming.
Yes, Cena vs. Gunther may mark his official farewell — but if retirement history has taught fans anything, it’s that legends always seem to have “one more” left in them. And if Cena were to break his promise, a final clash with The Rock on WWE’s biggest stage would feel far more poetic than riding off into the sunset against an opponent he has no shared history with.
For now, it’s just a tease. But WrestleMania dreams have started once again — and the idea of Cena and Rock closing the book on their rivalry at WrestleMania 42 is enough to make fans believe that the story isn’t finished just yet.
