3 AEW stars who deserve to be invited to John Cena's retirement match at SNME 2025 

AEW will be returning to Cardiff, Wales, this weekend for its upcoming Winter is Coming edition of Saturday Night Collision. On that same day, WWE will be airing from Washington, DC for Saturday Night's Main Event- a show of monumental significance to the sport, as it will host the final match of John Cena.

As the "Greatest of All Time" prepares to take on "The Ring General" Gunther in his retirement bout, tributes have been pouring in for the veteran from the wrestling world in general, and even from his peers from both the Stamford-based company and from All Elite Wrestling. This very Wednesday on AEW Dynamite, the reigning Men's World Champion, Samoa Joe, shouted out the Cenation leader during his match against Eddie Kingston, for example.

Due to the promotional rivalry between WWE and All Elite Wrestling, it is unlikely that talent from the Tony Khan-led company who share history with John Cena- and there are more than a few such talent in AEW- will be allowed to attend the legend's retirement match. However, let us consider an imaginary scenario in which WWE reaches a fair agreement with TK, and in that light, take a look at 3 All Elite names who deserve to be at SNME for Cena vs. Gunther.

#1. Former TNT Champion Adam Copeland

Few of his rivals managed to push and develop John Cena as a character and as a top babyface the way Adam Copeland did, back when he was signed with WWE as Edge. It was by cashing in his Money in the Bank contract on the Cenation leader at New Year's Revolution 2006 that The Ultimate Opportunist won his first World Championship in the company. The two stars continued to feud on an upper-card, main event level, usually with a top title hanging in the balance, over the next several years, until Edge's initial retirement in 2011.

Although The Rated-R Superstar returned to pro-wrestling at the 2020 Royal Rumble, he has not shared the ring with Cena since 2011. The former Doctor of Thuganomics has remained loyal to the WWE brand, albeit slowly transitioning into a more part-time role over time; however, Edge left the sports entertainment juggernaut behind in 2023 to join AEW in a shocking and, to many, unanticipated jump, foiling his long-time tag partner Christian Cage and his faction at WrestleDream.

Competing under his real name, Adam Copeland has been on an incredible run in AEW, which includes a catalogue of matches against the likes of Luchasaurus, Cage, Daniel Garcia, Lee Moriarty, Brody King, Buddy Matthews, Kyle O'Reilly, and Pac, to name a few. Besides, he enjoyed two reigns as TNT Champion and, more recently, was in a World Title program with Jon Moxley earlier this year. After reuniting with Christian at All In: Texas in the aftermath of his falling out with FTR, the two veterans have rekindled their tag team partnership.

Cope and Cage have been on hiatus since they defeated FTR at AEW All Out: Toronto, and The Top Guys attacked Copeland's wife, Beth Phoenix, post-match in retaliation. In their absence, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler have won the World Tag Team Titles, which the legendary duo will likely pursue when they return. Before that, however, if a deal could be reached between the two companies, Cope could drop in at Saturday Night's Main Event to cheer John Cena on at his retirement bout.

Notably, Copeland had paid tribute to Cena at All Out 2025, performing some of the latter's signature moves on his opponents.

#2. Inaugural AEW World Champion Chris Jericho

John Cena first crossed paths with Chris Jericho soon after his WWE debut in 2002, with their first feud culminating in a PPV bout between the two at that year's Vengeance event. Their rivalry was reignited later in 2005 after Y2J turned on Cena, and the two battled for the WWE Championship on multiple occasions. In fact, it was "Big Match John" who ended Jericho's first tenure in the promotion after defeating him in a "You're Fired" match in August 2005.

Jericho and Cena feuded again later in 2008 after the latter unseated The Ayatollah of Rock N' Rolla as World Heavyweight Champion at Survivor Series. The two have squared off in both singles and multi-man action on numerous occasions since then. The last time they shared the ring was in a dark match in 2016, when Cena teamed with Dean Ambrose to defeat Jericho and Seth Rollins.

While Cena and Rollins have stayed on in WWE, both Jericho and Ambrose (now going by Jon Moxley) crossed over to AEW in 2019. The Demo God, in fact, became the inaugural AEW Men's World Champion and, over the years, has worked with many of the company's top stars, including Mox, Orange Cassidy, MJF, Eddie Kingston, Adam Cole, Hook, Bandido, and more. Despite once being a key player during the company's foundational era, however, Jericho has been on hiatus in the promotion since this past April.

Recent rumors indicate that The Learning Tree could potentially return to WWE for a retirement run of his own after his AEW contract expires at the end of 2025. However, with his long history with John Cena in mind, WWE ought to cut a deal with All Elite Wrestling to either have Jericho released early or agree to a special arrangement to allow Jericho to attend this weekend's Saturday Night's Main Event to watch The Franchise of WWE take on Gunther in his final match.

#3. Former AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson

Although John Cena and Daniel Bryan faced off in several matches, their most well-known singles bout was likely their SummerSlam 2013 WWE Championship showdown, which ended with Bryan unseating Cena in a massive upset. Despite facing off one-on-one on a handful of occasions only, The Face That Runs The Place was linked with the early chapters of The American Dragon's WWE career quite closely.

Bryan's last match before his initial retirement in 2015 saw him team with Cena to defeat Cesaro (now going by Claudio Castagnoli in AEW) and Tyson Kidd on an April episode of SmackDown. The technical master returned to in-ring action later in 2018, and that same year turned heel and recaptured the WWE Championship. He defended the belt against Cena inside a Steel Cage on two house shows in December 2018, and the two have not met in the squared circle since.

Reverting to his original ring-name, Bryan Danielson, the Washington-native signed with AEW in 2021. Over the next three years, he went on an unforgettable and prolific final run in the company, finishing up his career as a full-time competitor at WrestleDream 2024, where Jon Moxley dethroned him as AEW World Champion. Currently, the veteran appears on the promotion's weekly TV show as a broadcast personality.

Danielson's respect for Cena was evident when the latter sent him a message to celebrate his 20th anniversary in 2022, despite being under contract with AEW. Even on a recent interview, and despite admitting that he had not watched the former Undisputed WWE Champion's retirement tour, Bryan noted that Cena deserved "the last year of his career to be awesome.”

Bryan Danielson (fka Daniel Bryan) and John Cena [Source: WWE on YouTube]

If WWE and AEW could agree, Danielson could show up at Saturday Night's Main Event to attend Cena's retirement bout against Gunther.

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Edited by Angana Roy