John Cena Explains Why He Wanted A Tournament To Decide His Final WWE Opponent
John Cena has discussed the idea behind the Last Time Is Now tournament and what he hopes to achieve in the final WWE event of his career.
WWE is currently hosting a tournament to determine Cena's final opponent, and the 17-time world champion recently explained on ESPN's "First Take" why he wanted a tournament, linking it back to his start in the business.
"Everyone was like, 'Who does John Cena want to face?' And the way I got my start in WWE was through a random opportunity. I got my first match because the Undertaker was sick. So, I love the theory of opportunity, and I believe in the meritocracy of the WWE. So, I don't want to face anyone. I don't want to handpick anyone. I want people to have a chance to showcase their skills and earn the right for opportunity. So, we're doing this with the Time Is Now tournament, where it's a bunch of the top superstars and some random entries, like, even some against-all-odds opponents, have a chance to see if they can make it, to get a chance to see if they can retire John Cena, which is a really special thing," he said.
The tournament has already seen some surprise entrants, including stars not signed with WWE, like Dolph Ziggler and Zack Ryder, both of whom have history with Cena. In the interivew, Cena also detailed how he intends to use his final farewell show to showcase some of the younger stars from the NXT roster, as a way to pay back those who provided him an opportunity in his early years in the business.
"I basically want this tour to be about opportunity for the future and paving the way for the future because that's what the class before me did for me," Cena added.
Cena has just two more advertised stops on his retirement tour — Survivor Series, where he will put his Intercontinental Championship on the line against Dominik Mysterio, and his final event, Saturday Night's Main Event, on December 13.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "First Take" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.