R-Truth Talks John Cena Retiring, WWE 2K25 and Unreleased Cena Song in B/R Interview

As WWE legend John Cena's retirement at the end of this year draws nearer, there aren't many who hold him in a higher regard than R-Truth.

Despite being five years older than Cena, R-Truth calls the 17-time World Champion his "childhood hero." With Cena set to hang up his jorts for good in his final match scheduled for Dec. 13, the veteran Superstar paid homage to one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.

"There will only be one Cena, there will never be another one," R-Truth told Bleacher Report. "I think he's created a blueprint and a legacy that, for one, he should be very proud of, considering where he comes from. Just to have the faith, the belief, and a lot of times having to be his own cheerleader, to accomplish what he's accomplished, I admire that. And to end it on the terms he wants to end it on, we all want that. So, man, I applaud him. My hat's off to him. Not only is he his own cheerleader, at times, I'm his biggest cheerleader, too."

Even after their brief feud from earlier this year that began with Cena putting him through a table during a press conference, R-Truth put all of that behind him and declared that Cena has returned to his heroic ways.

"Bruh, he's back! He's back, come on, dog. He told y'all he was back," R-Truth said. "He's back to smiling, kissing babies, shaking hands, taking pictures and all that stuff. They just got in his head way back then, but he's back, bruh."

After returning to the ring and kicking off his retirement tour at the start of this year, Cena turned heel for the first time since 2003 and broke Ric Flair's record of 16 World Championships by defeating Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE title at WrestleMania 41. He lost the title to Rhodes at SummerSlam and reverted to the crowd-pleasing babyface fans know and love for the final few months of his career.

Despite losing such a colossal presence from the wrestling industry when Cena puts his full focus into his acting career, R-Truth feels the business will be just fine, thanks in large part to the example he set on his way to the top.

"It's gonna excel, man, the wrestling business is only getting better, bigger and better. I think his blueprint has pretty much given the wrestling business a path to go on, almost like having a map, almost having a Siri. He's left a lot of stones for people to uncover, turn over, to learn from," R-Truth said. "And a lot of people don't know it, but when he was here, he was very giving. He was very knowledgeable; he had no problem telling you what you needed to work on, which is a key in the wrestling business, having a vet or having someone who has that status to give you information. I think that wrestling is going to evolve, it's going to keep outdoing itself, it's going to keep going."

While it's unlikely that anyone will fill the void left by Cena anytime soon, R-Truth feels the wrestling business is in good hands, and there are multiple Superstars within WWE and NXT who can assume the mantle as the face of the company.

"Man, there's a lot of guys. NXT is full of talent, man. Trick [Williams] is there, Carmelo [Hayes] is up here now, they got Je'Von [Evans], there's so much talent there, man. I don't want to, like, put no names or specific things on people, I like to just watch and let everything blossom and bloom," R-Truth said. "There's a lot of things that a lot of people still have to pay attention to and see, as far as characters go, a lot of people still coming into their characters. But there's gonna be guys, you'll see another almost like Cena, you'll see another almost like everybody else. But I don't like to put no names on anybody, there's a lot of them that you need to keep your eyes on."

Before saying goodbye to Cena, WWE is honoring him once again with the launch of the WWE 2K25 Farewell Tour Edition on Thursday. The game's latest Superstar pack will feature versions of Cena from various points in his career, including "Dr. of Thuganomics" John Cena and the heelish WrestleMania 41 John Cena. The pack also includes the return of Brock Lesnar, and it wouldn't be complete without the addition of R-Truth's alter-ego, "Ron Cena," complete with Cena's attire and move-set.

"It's phenomenal, dog, I'm riding on high right now," R-Truth said. "To be in there, it's the Super Pack, dog! You got the heel John Cena, you got my older brother John Cena, then you got the Beast Incarnate himself, Brock Lesnar, in there, dog! But it's finna go in a whole different type of spin right now. Ron Cena is in the game, my dog! Come on! It don't get no better than that! Now I get to watch my younger brother's back, sorry, my older brother's back."

In addition to getting to play as "Ron Cena," gamers will certainly be excited to see the return of Cena's classic persona, the "Dr. of Thuganomics." His music gimmick was the first thing that truly got him over with the WWE Universe in the early 2000s, as he dazzled live crowds with his rhymes to fuel his rise to the top.

R-Truth has also been known for his music skills, and in addition to having three hip-hop albums under his belt, he released a country album called The White Album over the summer.

"Music has always been my love, man. And it's just, connected with me and wrestling. If you look at it, music is a part of anything, whether it's games, a show, whatever. With wrestling, it sets the tone, it goes together. The country album was just me hitting genres of music that I love, I love all genres of music," R-Truth said. "A friend of mine, Alexander King, was like, 'Man, you should do a country album, a lot of your hardcore audience would love that. Everybody don't listen to rap.' Bruh, I got Marilyn Manson and Randy Travis on my music list, so my genres of music go from the mild to the wild, dog. So, country, I've always been into country, I've listened to country since Waylon Jennings. So it's just me attacking and doing something I've always wanted to do."

Music was something that bonded R-Truth and Cena to one another for years, and he revealed a fun backstory from their time on the road together.

"We never had a rap battle, but we used to do this thing on the tour bus, it was myself, Cena and The Usos, we would always have a cypher on tour buses," R-Truth said. "But me and Cena did a song like years ago, he came to my house, and we recorded it in my studio upstairs. It will never see the light of day, but there is a song with me and Cena on it."

Why won't the song ever see the light of day?

"I think it's just like not knowing what's in David Copperfield's hat. It's something that we just got," R-Truth said. "You never say never, but it's something that we got that we did years ago."

While the song only lives in their respective music libraries, R-Truth couldn't help but get excited while discussing the experience of recording a track with Cena.

"It was dope, bruh! Both verses, it was fire. It was called 'The Jumpoff,'" he said, rapping a small part of the song as he reminisced. "It was dope, dog!"