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WWE officially announces John Cena retirement date

John Cena is retiring from WWE in December

John Cena will officially retire from WWE on December 13.

The 17-time world champion, who became a legend in professional wrestling before making the jump to Hollywood, will have his last ever match at Saturday Night's Main Event later this year as his farewell tour comes to an end.

In a press release announcing a new deal between WWE and Peacock, NBC Sports said: "Peacock will exclusively stream two nights of Saturday Night’s Main Events this year, with the first taking place on November 1. "Additionally, Saturday Night’s Main Event on Dec. 13 will feature John Cena in his retirement match."

In recent months, Saturday Night's Main Event have aired on NBCU every few months.

Internationally in countries like the UK, the special events will continue to be broadcast on YouTube.

WWE's chief content officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque commented: “We’re excited to bring Saturday Night’s Main Event exclusively to Peacock beginning this fall.

“NBCU have been terrific longtime partners, and we look forward to continuing to work with them for years to come.”

The announcement comes after WWE confirmed its premium live events will move to ESPN in the US from September 20 with new PLE Wrestlepalooza.

The deal - which doesn't impact international users, with the UK and others still able to watch WWE events on Netflix - was initially set to start in 2026, but has been moved forward.

Cena will also be in action at Wrestlepalooza, as well as next week's Clash In Paris where he faces Logan Paul.

The 48-year-old actor admitted his age is one of the reasons he'll be retiring in four month's time.

He told PEOPLE magazine: "Age plays a factor. I'm not as strong or as fast as I used to be.

"I made a promise when I started gaining some notoriety that when I'm a step slower, I will go, because there will be kids just as hungry as I was who have earned a shot to see if they can make it."

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