Real reason revealed for John Cena's WWE absence - Reports

John Cena will enter the WWE Royal Rumble Match for the final time in less than one week. The 16-time World Champion is set to retire at the end of this year, and WWE reportedly has major plans in the works. There's some speculation on Cena's status for The Road to WrestleMania 41, and now there's an update on why the Cenation leader is not around.

The Face that Runs the Place announced his 2025 retirement several months back and officially kicked the tour off during the RAW Netflix premiere on January 6. After the 38th annual Royal Rumble, Cena will work his last Elimination Chamber PLE and then will step out onto The Grandest Stage of Them All for the final time. The farewell tour will continue until the end of the year, with Cena expected for TV and PLE dates. However, Cena's only scheduled appearance in the lead-up to The Rumble was the RAW Netflix premiere.

Cena is not currently booked for tonight's live RAW on Netflix and will not be there unless there's some sort of surprise planned or a last-minute schedule change. It's now confirmed that Cena has been unavailable for WWE TV in recent weeks because he's busy filming a movie. PWInsider adds that the veteran superstar is currently in Budapest.

Mattel Films announced in May 2024 that they were partnering with Apple Studios and Skydance Media for a live-action movie based on the Matchbox Cars toy brand. Cena, who is filming now, was announced for the lead role in September, with Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Daniel Bernhardt, Arturo Castro, Randeep Hooda, and Teyonah Parris also confirmed for the cast.

Filming on "Matchbox" began just this month in the Hungarian capital, which is the primary location. Production is also scheduled to take place later on in Los Angeles and the country of Slovakia. The LA filming may allow Cena to appear more often for WWE.

The action-adventure comedy film will tell the story of childhood friends who rediscover their bond after reuniting to prevent a global catastrophe. Apple TV+ has not confirmed the release date as of this writing. Sam Hargrave is directing the project, while Jonathan Tropper and David Coggeshall wrote the script.

John Cena's WWE farewell tour schedule

John Cena will officially retire from in-ring competition this year. The Cenation leader will make his in-ring return at the Royal Rumble on Saturday, in his first outing since teaming with Awesome Truth to defeat The Judgment Day on the RAW After WrestleMania XL.

Cena's farewell tour is expected to include around 36 dates, but as of early January, it still hadn't been decided how many matches the tour will include. Cena is currently confirmed for The Rumble, Elimination Chamber on March 1 in Toronto, and WrestleMania 41 on April 19 and 20 in Las Vegas.

WWE is expected to book Cena on the other main PLE shows as well, including SummerSlam on August 2 and 3 in East Rutherford, NJ. The 16-time World Champion is rumored to break Ric Flair's record this year, but that has not been confirmed.