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John Cena will reportedly make 36 WWE appearances in 2025 before hanging up his boots by December next year. A former WWE host recently claimed the company should not waste one of these appearances by having The Cenation Leader square off against a rising star.
The superstar in question is none other than Carmelo Hayes. The 30-year-old had a three-year run in NXT before debuting on the main roster earlier this year. On his first night as a member of SmackDown, the former NXT Champion squared off against the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. However, former The Bump host Matt Camp believes Hayes should not be one of John Cena's opponents on his retirement tour.
On his The Wrestling Matt podcast, Camp claimed that Hayes is not ready to share the ring with the 16-time World Champion. Hence, he pleaded that the company should not waste one of Cena's appearances on the former NXT Champion:
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"Cena and Carmelo, no, please don't waste a date on Carmelo Hayes. He ain't even close. He ain't even in the ballpark. If you got a year of Cena and he's gonna be around, I'm okay with some of the guys he's never faced off with and maybe put, okay... I don't think we got time for that. And I'm not saying it's gotta be a full nostalgia tour either," he said. [From 21:24 to 21:53]
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Matt Camp thinks John Cena facing one of his iconic WWE rivals could be massive
Since announcing his retirement in 2025, many fans have been vocal about their desire to see John Cena share the ring with some of his former rivals, including Randy Orton, one last time.
On The Wrestling Matt podcast, Matt Camp discussed the possibility of seeing the two legends collide again. He claimed the potential match would be massive if done correctly:
"If that number, that hallowed number of 16 that Ric Flair has, that John Cena has, that's to me, that's a massive match. If done correctly, and one of them is champion, or not one of them, if Randy is champion or there's a title on the line or something like that, and there's 16 hangs in the balance, John protecting 16 or Randy going for 16, man, I think there's a lot there," he said.
Several WWE Superstars including Orton, CM Punk, and Bron Breakker have expressed their desire to face Cena before he hangs up his boots for good. It would be interesting to see who the 47-year-old will end up sharing the ring with on his retirement tour.
Please credit The Wrestling Matt and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use the above transcription.
