Ex-WWE employee claims John Cena has changed; predicts tragic end to his farewell tour

One of World Wrestling Entertainment's most recognizable athletes is John Cena, and he has announced his retirement. But first, he will do a full calendar year's tour—a thank you to fans who have supported him over the years.

During Cena's early days as the face of WWE, Freddie Prinze Jr. worked for the company as a writer. The two seemingly did not get along well, as Prinze Jr. later revealed. The 48-year-old recently claimed that the 16-time World Champion's days under the sun were over and he was a changed man.

On the latest episode of his podcast, Wrestling with Freddie, the former WWE writer predicted a tragic end to John Cena's farewell tour. He believed Cena would not win his 17th world title. However, he was fairly certain that the company would squeeze the juice out of this storyline as much as they could.

"He keeps saying the championship—17, 17 so that I can hand it to the man that gets 18. I think Cena's at a point in his career where he wants that tragic ending instead of the hero's ending. He was the hero for so long. He's changed a lot since I worked there. So that's why I think he sees a cooler, unique story," Freddie Prinze Jr. said. [From 31:44 to 32:06]

The actor also felt that John Cena would lose his final WrestleMania match later this year at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, regardless of whether it would be for a world title.

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Vince McMahon allegedly believed John Cena had nothing to offer during his early WWE days

During a recent sit-down interview with Chris Van Vliet, AEW's Chris Jericho recounted a phone call with Vince McMahon.

Chris Jericho revealed that he decided to put over John Cena in the early aughts when Cena was still a rookie. The Demo God called up McMahon to discuss the matter, and that's when the former WWE Chairman allegedly told him that he did not believe in John Cena.

"If it was me, I would say, 'Dude, put the guy over.' I mean, I called Vince [McMahon] the first time I worked with John Cena on a pay-per-view and said Vince let me put him over. Vince asked, 'Why?' I replied, 'Because I think he should go over.' He said, 'That guy doesn't have anything. He's got nothing that impresses me.' I was like, 'Just let me put him over.' So I put him over," Chris Jericho told Chris Van Vliet.

Three years ago, the wrestler-turned-actor celebrated 20 years in World Wrestling Entertainment. Chris Jericho joined several other big names to pay tribute to The Greatest of All Time.

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Please credit Wrestling with Freddie and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use the transcription from the article's first half.