John Cena Reacts to Samoa Joe's Tribute on AEW Dynamite Ahead of WWE Retirement Match

In an Instagram post on Thursday, John Cena acknowledged Samoa Joe's tribute to him during Wednesday night's episode of AEW Dynamite.

Joe hit Eddie Kingston with Cena's signature Attitude Adjustment and then saluted the camera while executing Cena's STF submission finisher in the midst of a successful AEW World Championship defense on AEW Dynamite: Winter Is Coming.

Cena posted a screenshot of Joe's salute on Instagram, indicating that the 17-time world champ appreciated Joe's gesture:

The 48-year-old Cena is just days away from the final match of his legendary career, as he will face Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event in Washington, D.C.

This past year has been a celebration of Cena's career, and it has oftentimes seen other wrestlers perform Cena's moves or Cena perform the moves of his greatest rivals as a sign of respect.

Cena and Joe never faced each other in a one-on-one match in WWE, but Cena and Roman Reigns did beat Joe and The Miz in a tag team bout on an episode of Raw in August 2017.

Also, Joe's team beat Cena's team in a Survivor Series elimination match at Survivor Series 2017.

Despite the lack of interaction in WWE, Cena and Joe have a long history together, as they first crossed paths early in their careers in Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), which was a California-based independent company.

The only one-on-one match between Cena and Joe that is on record came in UPW way back in 2000, and it saw Cena, who was then known as The Prototype, defeat Joe.

Now, 25 years later, Cena is set to retire as the headliner of a huge Saturday Night's Main Event show, while Joe is the world champion of WWE's biggest competitor at 46 years of age.