Randy Orton Honors John Cena, WWE Rumors on Rey Mysterio Retirement and Cody Rhodes

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Orton Honors Cena in Social Media Post

Randy Orton was not in attendance for John Cena's final match at Saturday Night's Main Event this past weekend, but he still paid homage to his longtime rival and friend with a heartfelt post on social media.

In an Instagram post, Orton noted that although he could not attend Cena's final match due to his promotional obligations for WWE in Saudi Arabia, he did exchange some texts with Cena on the morning of his retirement match:

"I broke into the wrestling business and grew up for the past two decades alongside John Cena," Orton wrote. "I wrestled with or against him 100 times, at least. I would have enjoyed being there in D.C. for WWE SNME and witness his emotional send-off into retirement. But I know if ANYONE understands my absence, it's John, because I was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, promoting Riyadh Season and Royal Rumble.

"The morning of his retirement, we exchanged a few texts, and I was honored to speak with him on such a big day. I look forward to following John's career in Hollywood AND beyond. Sky's the limit with this guy. An inspiration not only to generations of fans, but to myself, who was lucky enough to learn firsthand from one of the most OVER wrestlers ever. Thanks for being so good to my family over the years and thanks for making the locker room a better place. Take care John, and I'll see ya around."

Cena closed out his career on Saturday with a loss to Gunther. Seemingly resigned to the fact that the end had arrived, Cena tapped out for the first time in over 20 years.

It was an emotional scene with many current WWE Superstars and wrestlers from Cena's past in attendance to show their support for one of the all-time greats.

Orton's absence was among the most notable since he and Cena had so many classic encounters over the years, including this year when Orton was Cena's first opponent after he became a record-setting, 17-time world champion.

Few wrestlers are more synonymous with Cena's career than Orton, and while The Viper made it clear that he would have loved to have been in Washington, D.C., to support Cena, he still went out of his way to let Cena know he was in his thoughts on one of the biggest days of Cena's career.

Rey Mysterio's Retirement Reportedly Not on Horizon

Despite Cena retiring over the weekend and AJ Styles preparing to retire in 2026, there are reportedly no such plans in place for Rey Mysterio.

According to Fightful Select (h/t EWrestling.com), there has not been "any real indication, hint or plan" that Mysterio's retirement is imminent. WWE is reportedly still "very happy" with Mysterio's work, and he has "quite a lot of time left" on his contract.

The 51-year-old Mysterio has been wrestling since 1989, and he is already a member of the WWE Hall of Fame despite being an active wrestler.

While Mysterio is a multi-time world champion with little left to prove or accomplish, he seems to prove every time he gets in the ring that he has plenty left in the tank.

That was the case once again during Monday night's episode of Raw when Mysterio went toe to toe with Logan Paul in the main event.

Paul won thanks to interference from the mystery masked attacker, who removed his mask to reveal himself as Austin Theory.

The fact that Mysterio is in the midst of a rivalry with The Vision speaks to how highly WWE still views him, and it seems likely WWE will always have a spot for Mysterio for as long as he wants to continue wrestling.

Rhodes' Cena Tribute Reportedly Wasn't Planned

After Cena's retirement match against Gunther, Cody Rhodes showed his appreciation for the 17-time world champion in a ringside interview, and it reportedly happened on the spot without any prior planning.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Carrier), there were a lot of "off-the-cuff moments" that occurred during the aftermath of Cena's last match, and Cody's interview was among them.

Rhodes is a longtime friend of Cena, and he also spent much of 2025 as Cena's biggest on-screen rival.

During his interview with Jackie Redmond, Rhodes waxed poetic about Cena and his career, calling him "the greatest of all time."

Cena had a complicated relationship with the fans over the years, as he had a ton of diehard supporters, but perhaps just as many detractors. However, at SNME, the crowd was firmly behind the 17-time world champ.

When Cena lost by tapping out for the first time in over 20 years, the live crowd was furious, and the fans took their frustrations out on WWE head of creative Triple H when he came out to honor Cena.

While it may not have been the storybook ending Cena's fans wanted, Cena did the honors for Gunther, who is now in line to be one of the biggest and most credible stars in WWE as a result.