Rumor: John Cena the Front-runner for Kurt Angle's Retirement Match at WrestleMania 35
Kurt Angle announced on Monday Night Raw this week that he would compete in his final pro [...]
Kurt Angle announced on Monday Night Raw this week that he would compete in his final pro wrestling match at WrestleMania 35 next month.
Angle didn't announce who his opponent would be for the bout, leading to speculation over who will get to take on the Olympic Gold Medalist.
Cageside Seats user Randall Ortman wrote in Tuesday's "Rumor Roundup" that the current front-runner for the match is none other than John Cena.
"Speaking of Cena, there's some speculation that Kurt Angle's final match at WrestleMania 35 could end up being against him," he wrote. Ortman also had a report from the Wrestling Observer that, as of a week ago, a Cena vs. Samoa Joe United States Championship match was not in the cards even though Cena was mentioned several times during R-Truth's brief run as US Champion.
Cena, who is notoriously vague with his Instagram posts, posted a photo of a young Angle (with hair!) to his account on Tuesday.
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Cena famously debuted on an episode of SmackDown against Kurt Angle during an open challenge match for his Olympic gold medal. The future 16-time champ came up short in the match, but made a noticeable impact when he shouted "Ruthless Aggression" before attacking Angle.
In 2005-06 the two feuded over Cena's WWE Championship. Cena successfully retained the championship multiple times against Angle, winning at Unforgiven, Taboo Tuesday, Suvivor Series and New Year's Revolution inside an Elimination Chamber match.
Cena briefly returned to WWE television in December and January before being written off television with a storyline injury from Drew McIntyre. During his stint he had an exchange with Becky Lynch and gave her a glowing review in a backstage interview.
"She has all the attributes, she certainly has the ability, as do many WWE Superstars, she has all the attributes to succeed and I was able to get one word into her, and that was 'it's yours to lose'," Cena said. "So time is a great thing as we reflect on '18 and look forward to '19, I would like to look forward to see what is the future of The Man. She certainly has caught lightening in the bottle for the present, but the hard work starts now."
Cena was previously rumored to be booked for a WrestleMania match against NXT call-up Lars Sullivan, but those plans reportedly fell through when Sullivan did not debut after suffering a panic attack.