John Cena bids farewell to SmackDown with a Brock Lesnar attack

Lesnar caused the United States Championship match to end in disqualification.

Cena has seven more appearances left before his retirement

John Cena Brock Lesnar
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Zully Angeles
Zully Angeles
Published 09/06/2025

In a special edition of SmackDown from Chicago, John Cena said goodbye to the fans in the same arena where he debuted years ago. After an emotional speech, Cena earned a match for the United States Championship against Sami Zayn, but the match ended abruptly when Brock Lesnar appeared. Lesnar not only caused the disqualification, but also left Cena badly injured after a brutal attack.

The match started with an exchange of technical and strength moves, with both competitors seeking to gain the upper hand. The audience, divided, cheered and booed in equal parts as the two talents neutralized each other with suplexes and submission holds. The pace of the match increased as Zayn and Cena exchanged offenses and resisted falling.

The match was full of false endings, with each wrestler escaping from finishers and final moves of the other, such as the Attitude Adjustment and the Blue Thunder Bomb. In a standout moment of the match, Cena even imitated the moves of his former rivals, like the GTS, the Spear, and the RKO, which drove the fans wild.

Just as the match reached its climax and both wrestlers lay exhausted on the mat, Brock Lesnar burst onto the scene. The "Beast Incarnate" attacked the referee, and then delivered a devastating F-5 to Sami Zayn before focusing on his main target. Lesnar hit John Cena with a double F-5, leaving John lying in the ring as he walked away smiling.