Advocating the Case for Solo Sikoa to Be John Cena’s Final Opponent

When John Cena finally steps away from the ring for good, WWE will face a moment that transcends wins, losses, or merchandise sales. Cena’s retirement match will serve as a symbolic passing of the torch, one of the sport’s most ritualized gestures, every bit as important as WrestleMania main events or title coronations. The question isn’t simply who deserves that final spotlight; it’s who can carry forward what Cena represents. In today’s WWE ecosystem, no one fits that responsibility more convincingly than Solo Sikoa.

A Story Ten Years in the Making

Solo Sikoa isn’t just another young star on the rise; he’s a direct product of the Anoa’i dynasty, the most influential family in modern professional wrestling. He entered the Bloodline saga at the exact moment when Roman Reigns needed a silent enforcer, and he immediately established himself with a combination of raw power, intimidation, and narrative purpose. When he debuted at Clash at the Castle in 2022 to cost Drew McIntyre the Undisputed Universal Championship, he didn’t merely interfere; he altered the trajectory of one of the most successful WWE storylines ever created.

Cena, meanwhile, has spent the past two decades playing the role of the heroic constant—an avatar of loyalty, persistence, and work ethic. Whenever WWE needed stability, Cena showed up. Whenever emerging stars needed legitimacy, Cena offered it. His match with Kevin Owens in 2015 instantly made Owens a main-event threat. His rivalry with AJ Styles elevated both men and helped cement Styles’ long-term credibility with WWE fans. Cena’s feuds with CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, and Bray Wyatt changed how WWE told stories, layering psychological depth into once standard hero-vs-villain structures.

A final Cena match needs that same narrative clarity and historical resonance. Solo Sikoa offers both.

Symbolically, He’s Everything Cena’s Final Opponent Should Be

Suppose Cena built his legacy as the clean-cut, hustle-loyalty-respect figure. In that case, Solo Sikoa stands as the antithesis: stoic, violent, morally ambiguous, and loyal only to the brutal logic of Bloodline dominance. He doesn’t speak often, but when he does, every word lands with weight. This contrast creates a dramatic blueprint that mirrors classic wrestling storytelling—Bruno Sammartino defending against emerging monsters, Hulk Hogan confronting anti-heroes like The Undertaker, or Shawn Michaels carrying Ric Flair through one of WWE’s most emotional farewells.

Cena’s final match shouldn’t be a nostalgia act; it needs to matter. It needs to shape the next generation. A showdown with Solo allows Cena to exit not with a soft retro curtain call but with a purposeful narrative full stop.

The Bloodline Connection Adds Historical Gravity

The Bloodline storyline remains the most critically acclaimed saga of the modern WWE era. Cena’s involvement with the Bloodline stretches back a decade. He clashed with Roman Reigns multiple times, most memorably at SummerSlam 2021. He helped elevate the group’s dominance by returning at pivotal moments, including his tag match with LA Knight at Fastlane 2023.

Solo Sikoa already carries the aura of a future “final boss,” the kind of character whose legend grows through major collisions. WWE has deliberately positioned him as the next evolution of the family legacy, less cerebral than Roman, but more unpredictable and physically dangerous. That dynamic becomes irresistible when paired with Cena, who has long defined himself as the man who stands against insurmountable odds.

If WWE wants Cena’s retirement to echo long after he leaves, blending his legacy with the Bloodline’s ongoing saga gives them a story that connects eras, characters, and themes. Cena’s last act becomes part of the most essential wrestling narrative of the 2020s.

Solo Needs the Match—And He’s Ready for It

WWE has spent the past few years searching for the “next big villain,” someone who can command main-event attention without being a copy of Roman Reigns. Solo offers that opportunity. Fans recognize his legitimacy because of his lineage and his performances. His matches with Cody Rhodes, Sheamus, Rey Mysterio, and Randy Orton show that he can anchor main-event action while keeping the stoic, destructive energy that defines his character.

Cena has always used his star power to make rising talent look like threats. In 2022, he did it for Austin Theory on an otherwise uneven WrestleMania card. Before that, he gave Baron Corbin, Rusev, Bray Wyatt, and Kevin Owens some of the most meaningful matches of their early careers. Sikoa fits perfectly into that tradition not as a “hopeful prospect,” but as the kind of credible, violent force that WWE wants audiences to believe in long-term.

A victory over Cena, especially in Cena’s final match, instantly cements Solo’s legacy. It tells fans that he is not merely another piece of the Bloodline puzzle, but the successor powerful enough to defeat one of WWE’s most enduring icons.

A Match That Writes Itself

The potential story beats practically leap off the page:

• Solo claims Cena represents everything that held the Bloodline down.

• Cena frames the match as one final stand against tyranny and disrespect.

• Roman Reigns’ shadow looms over the rivalry without overshadowing it.

• The emotional weight falls on Cena’s career and Solo’s future.

  
  

From their first staredown to a climactic moment where Solo delivers the Samoan Spike to end the most decorated career in modern wrestling, the match gives fans both emotional closure and a shocking, conversation-fueling finish. It mirrors Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker, Ric Flair vs. HBK, and even Rock vs. Cena in terms of generational significance.

Cena Deserves a Final Match With Stakes—Solo Gives Him That

The biggest mistake WWE could make is giving Cena a final match defined by nostalgia rather than storytelling power. Fans don’t just want to thank Cena; they want one last chapter that feels meaningful. Solo Sikoa provides that meaning. He represents the future Cena helped build, the lineage that shaped the modern WWE, and the perfect narrative foil to a hero making his final walk down the ramp.

If wrestling is at its best when it blends symbolism, emotion, and athletic storytelling, then John Cena vs. Solo Sikoa stands as the most compelling option for Cena’s final match. It honors the past, elevates the present, and builds the future, everything John Cena spent 20 years teaching WWE to value.

And when Cena finally leaves his wristbands in the ring, fans will know his legacy didn’t fade out quietly. It launched one last star into greatness.