John Cena Confirms His Status From WWE Clash at the Castle
John Cena explained in his latest return to Monday Night Raw that he didn't know when he'd be back inside of a WWE ring again. That meant, despite there being plenty of speculation, he wasn't going to compete at SummerSlam in late July against Theory for the United States Championship. The Nashville show came and went without any appearance from the 16-time world champion, and it looks like that will be the case for Clash at the Castle on Sept. 3 as well.
"I've been coming to Cardiff to fight for 15-plus years, and every time, it's exciting and amazing. I'm not going to be at Clash," Cena explained during a Q&A while attending Wales Comic Con. He also discussed how he'd make Vince McMahon the only face on his pro wrestling Mount Rushmore and how his favorite match continues to be his next one.
Cena has often been asked about how much longer he'll keep wrestling given that he's found success in Hollywood and has been a part-timer for years. He discussed his mindset toward retirement in an interview with Chris Hardwick last year.
"Returning to WWE, it's a brand new world. A new cast of characters, new direction with the company, new platforms, new environment. There is a challenge there," Cena said in April 2021. "To challenge myself as a 44-year-old to go back, there is an Intrinsic challenge there, a set of circumstances. That's a good challenge in many ways. My body could tell me after this extended stay, 'dude, you're done' or it could tell me, 'You're so far from done it's crazy.' That's another interesting conversation with myself. If physically, I'm slower, I've said openly to everyone that I will keep doing this until I feel I'm offending the customer. I will continually go out there and do what I can to contribute and add.
"I don't want to go out there and be like, 'Okay, just let him go out there and (do his thing).' I'm not into that because I know what it's like to pay for a ticket," he added. If I were to get that on this go-round, it's a humbling and tough thing that I will have to hurdle. If I get the opposite and it's like, 'You're quicker and can do some things better and define a new personality,' then that's a new conversation because I do not have much time left and if I want to give it like, 'let's really commit to this thing and really go all in,' that's an honest choice where other stuff will have to take a backseat."
Check out the card for Clash at the Castle below. The show will mark the first time WWE has held a major pay-per-view in the United Kingdom since SummerSlam in 1992.
- Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
- SmackDown Women's Championship: Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler
- Bayley, Io Sky and Dakota Kai vs. Bianca Belair, Asuka and Alexa Bliss