2025 will be the last time the WWE Universe gets to witness John Cena compete inside the squared circle. The wrestler-turned-actor announced his retirement from active in-ring competition at Money in the Bank on July 6. Cena popped up unannounced to a huge ovation before delivering arguably the most surprising announcements of his illustrious career.
Cena is second to none when it comes to working the fans. His appearance at Money in the Bank caught most fans by surprise. Speaking of Money in the Bank, the PLE has had its fair share of some truly shocking John Cena moments. These are the five times Cena shocked the WWE Universe at Money in the Bank.
Winning the briefcase – Money in the Bank 2012
The Money in the Bank ladder match has never been John Cena’s specialty. That said, he’s among the dozen-plus men who’ve captured the career-changing briefcase. Cena won the Money in the Bank ladder match in 2012, which featured Cena himself as well as Big Show, Chris Jericho, Kane, and The Miz.
The closing moment saw Cena repeatedly hit Show with the briefcase until the squared object came off the hook. Cena’s expression at the moment were of utter shock. It was as if he wasn’t initially supposed to win the match. WrestleZone would later confirm WWE originally wanted to go with Y2J as the winner, but ultimately decided on Cena during the week of the show.
Cena’s post Money in the Bank momentum quickly faded as he failed to cash in his contract on CM Punk on RAW 1000, becoming the first of five WWE Superstars (as of this writing) to lose during the cash-in attempt.
John Cena makes a surprise return – Money in the Bank 2023
WWE went to London’s O2 Arena for their 14th annual Money in the Bank PLE. The night saw a couple of huge surprises such as John Cena’s surprise appearance since WrestleMania 39 as well as Roman Reigns’ first pinfall loss since TLC 2019.
Cena appeared after the Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio match. Cena popped a huge reaction from the crowd by advocating for the city to host WrestleMania. He would soon throw hands with Grayson Waller before putting him out with an Attitude Adjustment.
Cena, most recently, told BBC he’d like the O2 to host his final WrestleMania in-ring appearance.
Confronting Roman Reigns – Money in the Bank 2021
Roman Reigns and Edge headlined Money in the Bank 2021. Seth Rollins interfered during the closing moments of the match. The distraction allowed Reigns to retain his WWE Universal Championship via a spear.
Reigns took the mic to cut a post-match promo only for Cena to interrupt. Cena received a thunderous response as he showed up for the first time on WWE television since WrestleMania 36.
The confrontation with Reigns led to their heavily-promoted SummerSlam 2021 main event. Cena brought the fight to Reigns at the Biggest Party of the Summer, but failed to end his opponent’s historic title run.
John Cena vs. CM Punk – Money in the Bank 2011
John Cena versus CM Punk is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest feuds in WWE history. Their match at Money in the Bank 2011 is an all-time classic. One might say Money in the Bank owes its somewhat cult classic status to this particular match-up.
The match solidified Punk as the industry’s top champion. Cena, on the other hand, showed he could do more than just “five moves of doom” when working with the right opponent. The Chicago crowd was just spectacular from bell to bell.
Announcing his retirement – Money in the Bank 2024
John Cena versus CM Punk may be one of the greatest moments/matches in Money in the Bank history but, to me, Cena’s retirement announcement from July 6 has a lot more shock factor to it. Nobody quite literally expected Mr. Hustle, Loyalty & Respect to announce his retirement. The crowd was stunned and, rightfully, responded with a thunderous “no” to the news.
A lot of adult fans, including myself, grew up watching Cena. He was WWE’s biggest draw for a long time. He’s earned his retirement and deserves a sendoff in the best possible way. Word on the internet is that Cena’s farewell tour will be a heavily promoted event, which it should be.
Thank you, John Cena, for being a major part of my childhood, and I hope to see you on my screen soon.
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