AEW News & Rumor Roundup: WWE Hall of Famer's retirement tour canceled, John Cena has a new ally, Tony Khan urged to release more stars

Welcome to another edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's AEW News and Rumor Roundup. Today, we will look at stories involving John Cena, Tony Khan, and more.

All Elite Wrestling has reportedly canceled a WWE legend's retirement tour. Meanwhile, John Cena's outburst on Monday Night RAW seemingly received a two-time AEW champion's approval. So, without any further ado, let's begin:

#5 AEW reportedly canceled WWE legend's retirement tour

Jeff Jarrett is a legend of the professional wrestling business, having been part of the industry for almost four decades. Double J previously announced his goal to chase the World Title in AEW before his in-ring retirement. However, it seems that the WWE Hall of Famer's World Championship pursuit has been done away with.

According to Fightful Select, AEW has dropped Jarrett's retirement tour angle because it was not working out the way the company had hoped. The report added that Jarrett's World Title chase angle just wasn't that good. Tony Khan originally had plans for Double J to feud with MJF but those plans were nixed in favor of MJF vs. "Hangman" Adam Page.

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#4 John Cena's outburst on WWE RAW backed by 2-time AEW champion

John Cena sent shockwaves through the entire professional wrestling community after turning to the dark side at Elimination Chamber 2025. He aligned with The Rock and Travis Scott and brutally attacked Cody Rhodes.

This week, The Cenation Leader appeared on WWE Monday Night RAW in front of a fiery crowd in Brussels, Belgium. Cena lashed out at his fans and supporters, expressing his hatred for them by calling their relationship "toxic."

After John Cena's segment on RAW, Max Caster seemingly did a spoof of the iconic "Never Give Up" motto on social media. The former Acclaimed member responded to a fan asking him to shut up on X (formerly Twitter) by using the iconic catchphrase against him. Cena may have now found a new ally in the former Acclaimed member.

Caster is a former World Tag Team and World Trios Champion.

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#3 MVP regrets not slapping top pro wrestling executive

MVP has been doing an impressive job representing The Hurt Syndicate ever since he moved to All Elite Wrestling. The group currently holds the World Tag Team Championship and is growing in popularity.

The group first started in WWE as The Hurt Business but was disbanded within 2 years. MVP recently appeared on the F Y'all podcast alongside Shelton Benjamin, where he was asked who he would hypothetically slap provided there were no repercussions for the assault.

Although MVP did not outright name the individual, he said he regrets not slapping a pro wrestling executive when he wanted to.

“You know who I want to say. You know who I want to say, I just don’t know if it would be the best thing to say right now (...) Let’s just say, in my professional career, I have only one regret. There is one individual, an executive for a wrestling company that I wish I would have slapped the sh*t out of when I wanted to, and I never got the chance. I’ll leave it at that. That’s not hard to figure out.” (H/T: EWrestlingnews)

MVP departed WWE after not having a prominent role on TV for a long time. He managed Omos during his final days in the promotion.

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#2 Swerve Strickland feels an ex-WWE star's value has increased after AEW move

Mercedes Mone has undoubtedly scaled new heights since her debut in AEW last year. She currently is a triple champion and holds the AEW TBS Title in the promotion.

Swerve Strickland recently appeared on The BootlegKev Podcast and discussed how All Elite Wrestling takes its stars to the next level. He cited Mercedes Mone's success as an example of how the Tony Khan-led promotion was providing a platform for performers to thrive in their careers.

The Realest compared The CEO with multi-time WWE champion Becky Lynch, implying that Mone had perhaps transcended Big Time Becks. Strickland also mentioned that top WWE stars such as CM Punk and Cody Rhodes had become even bigger stars after their stints in AEW.

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#1 Veteran urges Tony Khan to get rid of several AEW stars

AEW has grown its roster tenfold ever since it came into existence in 2019. It includes some of the best talents in the professional wrestling industry. However, recently, several major stars, such as Malakai Black, Miro, and Ricky Saints, have departed from the promotion.

Disco Inferno recently commented on AEW's roster on the Keepin' It 100 podcast. He urged Tony Khan to get rid of the stars who were sitting at home and doing nothing.

"If this was like two months from now and they start making their like, they made some cuts and we look back at this, it's like I I'd say, well, that was one of the smart things. You finally start cutting these people because there's no reason to waste that much money. Like, anybody would agree on that."

Inferno further mentioned that these stars were being paid fifteen times more in AEW than what performers earn on the independent circuit.