John Cena revealed what happened in the WWE locker room after his final ever wrestling match ended in defeat.
Cena's 23-year career came to an end on Saturday night when he tapped out to Gunther at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
In his 36th date of a retirement tour which saw him become a record-breaking 17-time world champion and finally claimed the Intercontinental title, Cena tapped out smiling in a sleeper hold before leaving his sneakers and sweatbands in the ring.
The 48-year-old, who will still remain involved in WWE as an ambassador, saluted the fans with a parting message on the ramp when he said, "It's been a pleasure serving you all these years, thank you".
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Cena was seen posing for pictures aplenty backstage, with a series of snaps shared online by wrestlers.
The aftermath of his retirement is likely to be captured in a rumoured documentary on Peacock but in his first interview since his retirement, Cena discussed what happened behind the scenes in a sit-down with former rival and friend Cody Rhodes.
Speaking to the WWE champion on his 'What Do You Wanna Talk About?' podcast, Cena recalled the final toast he made inside the locker room before he rode off into the sunset.
"I got to have one last beer in the locker room in my gear, in my socks, my kneepads, the jorts," Cena said.
"And I made a toast. And the toast was to the metrics of the evening: largest arena [gate] in WWE history, largest for the building itself. Very rarely do we hit those milestones,”
"And the only reason I wanted to showcase those metrics was because I said — you know, Haku was in the room and Je’Von Evans was in the room. And everyone in between. We have legends, we have future stars, we have talent that are front and centre on our programming. The locker room was full. I can’t believe that many stayed. So I have 12 ounces of conversation left in me, and I choose to use a moment to say, ‘This is what we did tonight. The reason we did that is because of the effort of people like Haku. Also, the goal is for you younger guys to shove that sh*t straight up my ass. You now have the metric.'”
Rhodes and Cena squared off at both WrestleMania and SummerSlam in the latter's final run, with the American Nightmare regaining his championship in a street fight that proved to be a torch-passing moment.
Rhodes broke down in tears after Cena comments
Cena was particularly emotional after watching Cena retire and joining CM Punk in putting their world titles over the legend's shoulder in a wonderful, unplanned tribute.
And to close out the episode of the podcast, Rhodes, widely seen as the heir to Cena's throne, again choked up as he listened to arguably the greatest ever shower him with praise and express pride at his achievements.
“I wanna thank you because you are going nose to nose and you go as hard, in some cases harder than I can imagine," Cena explained.
"Your work ethic is aspirational. You will joust that. Here is my volley.
You are responsible for more than yourself. For many of these years I was running a one man show. And it was like if you wanna ride the wake, I’m the boat. You can get a tow and some skis but we’re doing it my way.
“You’re a family man, a dedicated father, a wonderful husband. You got people to support and that support you, and sometimes that helps, but you are juggling so much more than I ever possibly could. So thank you for overstaying. You gave me another 35 minutes. It’s not lost on me, and a lot of me wanting to milk this is just, I miss my friend and I wanted a conversation with my friend.
"I love you too. Thanks so much for this time. You're doing it and I'm so f***ing proud of you."
Rhodes thanked the man who he used to drive around many years ago and the two finished with a warm embrace.
Topics: John Cena, WWE, Wrestling, Cody Rhodes
Josh Lawless