Kevin Owens has joined the list of stars wanting to work with John Cena in 2025, but he has one additional wish.
Wrestling icon Cena announced back in the summer that he’d be retiring from WWE at some stage next year.
Though no specific date for his final send-off, the wrestler turned Hollywood star has made clear his intention to feature throughout the year with the aim of up to 40 dates in the calendar.
Knowing so far in advance that the curtain is coming down on his illustrious career, there has been no shortage of WWE wrestlers wanting to work with the veteran while they still can.
Relatively new faces like Bron Breakker laid down their challenge, but some of Cena’s old foes from yesteryear have thrown their hat in the ring – Randy Orton making clear he’d love to get in on the act.
Kevin Owens, too, has told talkSPORT in an exclusive interview he would ‘love’ to feature in Cena’s year-long finale – but with a twist.
Early in his WWE career when he was reigning NXT Champion, Owens stepped up to confront Cena to begin a rivalry that really put the Canadian on the map.
He was a major star in the industry in his own right at that point in 2015, but the programme with Cena is what cemented his place on the WWE roster, and Owens hasn’t forgotten it.
The 40-year-old explained, “Every single person will say yes; anyone will be lucky to be in the ring with John in any level, especially in his last year.
“For me, I guess the answer might be a little different, though, because yes, I want to be [a part of it], but I was really lucky to get to share the ring with the many, many times in my first year in WWE. We were wrestling each other three times a week for several months and it was incredible.”
The difference comes in that, during 2025, the ten-year anniversary of their very first match will fall.
Owens toppled Cena at the Elimination Chamber in Texas in what was a major victory and the first in a programme of more than a dozen matches.
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‘KO’ is spying the date of May 31 and, as that sits on a Saturday, he’s keeping fingers crossed there is a WWE event on the night to mark it – so that he and his former rival can run things back one more time.
“I would really love to be in the ring with him at a specific time because in May of 2025, the end of May, specifically, will mark ten years since our first match.
“I think actually, the ten-year anniversary of our first match happens to be on a Saturday night and, you know, WWE obviously has shows on Saturday nights a lot of times.
“If there’s a way somehow we can end up having a match on the ten-year anniversary of our first one, that would be so great – or around that time, just for a little celebration of a match that obviously meant a lot to me, and always will.”
Owens won’t be too downhearted if he doesn’t get his wish, though, insisting: “If it doesn’t happen again, I feel very lucky to have been a part of a lot of his matches.
“I teamed with him, I wrestled him, we’ve been in the ring together sharing a microphone, you know, battling out that way.
“I’ve had a I have a lot of great memories from my career with John. As small a part as I may have been to his, he was a huge part of mine.
“So now to be around for his last year as well is, is great. You know, I’m very happy to see him get that chance. It’s going to be a great ride, I’m sure.”
WWE’s Road to WrestleMania Tour hits the UK this March, bringing RAW and SmackDown live to The O2 Arena. Tickets available now from Ticketmaster.co.uk