WWE criticized for wasting John Cena’s torch-passing moments; veteran writer wants redemption ending (Exclusive)

Former WWE head writer Vince Russo recently shared his thoughts on John Cena's last match. The star is finishing up his retirement tour.

Cena has only a few more dates left on his retirement tour. His next appearance is at the Crown Jewel Premium Live Event in Perth, Australia, where he will face AJ Styles in a fan-demanded matchup. His final match is scheduled for December 13 in Washington, D.C., at Saturday Night's Main Event.

During this week's episode of Writing with Russo, the veteran writer explained that John Cena needed to win his final match. He felt that the legendary star had already passed the torch on several occasions, and WWE had done nothing with the new stars. He pointed out that John put Austin Theory over at WrestleMania, but Theory is not currently on the roster.

Vince Russo argued that WWE should let The Cenation Leader cap off his career with a win.

Insane Vince McMahon ideas that got canceled - Watch Here!

"Bro, the right thing to do is to let him go out on top. You don't need Cena passing any torch. Cena passed the torch to a guy that's not even on the roster anymore - Austin Theory. Cena has shown he has no problem passing the torch. But when you have him do a job to a guy that isn't even any longer on the roster, let the guy go out on top. Give me a break."

John Cena had an eventful 2025. After turning heel at Elimination Chamber, he went on to become a 17-time world champion. He's delivered some memorable matches against the likes of Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, CM Punk, and Logan Paul.

His last match was at Wrestlepalooza against Brock Lesnar. Cena came up short against The Beast after six brutal F5s delivered by Brock.

Remember to embed the video and credit Sportskeeda for the transcript while using the quotes from this piece.

About the author

Prityush is a WWE news writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling who started watching wrestling in the later part of The Attitude Era. Although he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Prityush was a creative writer for his college, and his flair for creativity and love of pro wrestling eventually led him to the journalism field. After an initial stint in 2016-2017, he has been writing regularly for Sportskeeda since 2021.

As someone who loves and respects the business, he prides himself on factual, clean, and ethical reporting, free of plagiarism and AI usage. One of the ways he ensures this is by transcribing videos that he reports on.

Prityush had the privilege of interviewing superstar Matt Hardy in his career so far. Although, his favorite wrestler is CM Punk, as he relates to his Straight Edge philosophy.

When he is not reporting news, he loves reading and collecting WWE action figures. He currently owns over 500 wrestling figures and merchandise.

Know More

Edited by Prityush Haldar