With John Cena set to retire after one last match on Saturday evening, WWE rolled out a special tribute video on SmackDown featuring various celebrities, including athletes and musicians.
Several NFL stars recognized Cena’s greatness, including seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady and two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning. Brady, who achieved most of his Super Bowl wins with the New England Patriots, shared a special message for Cena.
“Congratulations on an incredible career. You’ve impacted the lives of so many people inside the ring and outside the ring. Good luck in your last match, I hope you fare better in yours than I did in mine,” Brady said.
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The NFL legend retired as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after capturing his seventh championship win with them. He now works as a commentator for Fox Sports, calling big games on Sundays and appearing on Fox’s various NFL programs.
While Brady’s remark was funny, Eli Manning took things to another level, as he praised Cena, but also threw a few jabs in at the end for the WWE star and his former Super Bowl rival.
“You inspired so many people. You won a ton of championships. Almost impressive for me to forget the fact that you’re a diehard Patriots fan. But, hey, nobody’s perfect, including the ’07 Patriots,” Manning quipped.
The former New York Giants QB aimed his jab at Cena for being from Massachusetts and supporting the New England Patriots, but also at Brady, whom Manning famously defeated in the Super Bowl.
The defeat stung Brady, the Pats, and their fans especially hard, as they went 16-0 in that 2007-08 season, seeming on track to run the table and win it all with a perfect record. Their sole blemish was the 17-14 loss to Manning’s Giants in Super Bowl XLII in 2008.
Cena achieved the sole championship he’d yet to win in his career, winning it from Dominik Mysterio on Raw in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, last month. With that, he became a grand slam champion, something only the best of the best achieve.
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WWE also recognizes Cena for setting the record for the most major championship wins in the company, previously held by Ric Flair. With that, he shares a lot in common with the football GOAT, Brady, including the painfulness of that Super Bowl loss to Manning’s New York Giants.
Fans will see John Cena’s final match against WWE’s Gunther on Peacock’s “Saturday Night’s Main Event” live streaming on Saturday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
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