Two More Major Stars Rumored For 2026 WWE Retirement

On the verge of his retirement match at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event, John Cena suggested that his long-time foe Brock Lesnar might be approaching his own retirement upon the turn of the new year. While reflecting on his quick loss to Lesnar at WWE Wrestlepalooza, Cena specifically told Chris Van Vliet that "you have to figure out who gets the shine that night and if, in [Lesnar's] return again, only my perspective, this attraction where we are going to build until he goes into the sunset, which is, I think, in Minnesota. Creatively, it's very soon."

Given Cena's statements, fans and pundits have speculated that Lesnar will mark the end of his in-ring career at the 2026 SummerSlam event in Minneapolis, Minnesota — the home of Lesnar's alma mater, University of Minnesota. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the exact date of Lesnar's retirement start is unknown, but there are currently working plans for him to make a final run in WWE in 2026. Under the WWE banner, Lesnar is a multi-time world champion, most recently appearing on the winning end of the Men's WarGames match at Survivor Series.

Similarly, in the event that former world champion Chris Jericho returns there in 2026, WWE reportedly has plans for him to make a last run in the company as well. WON previously noted that WWE had put a retirement storyline on the table for Jericho, whose AEW contract is set to expire this month. As of now, Jericho's next destination is unconfirmed, though he is confident that he will end up in a wrestling ring of some sort come 2026.

Former WWE Champion AJ Styles has already announced 2026 as his last year as an active in-ring competitor. As of September, the specifics surrounding his respective final months, including a potential appearance at WrestleMania 42, were still being decided.