Reigning NFL Champion pays tribute to John Cena during his match

WWE legend John Cena received a farewell from the entire locker room after his final match. The Never Seen 17 was also paid homage to by wrestlers from other promotions. Interestingly, Philadelphia Eagles’ Cooper DeJean also joined the parade and paid tribute to the GOAT.

The 2025 NFL Champions were playing against the Washington Commanders in an away game on December 20. During the game, Cooper DeJean pretended to land a takedown on his teammate Quinyon Mitchell, then landed the Five Knuckle Shuffle on him.

He followed this with a pinfall while the rest of his team counted to three. When DeJean was interviewed about his antics, the 22-year-old confirmed he was paying tribute to John Cena and had been a fan of The Cenation Leader since childhood. He also noted that his team had been planning the tribute for quite some time.

“Yeah, and then the celebration, the tribute to John Cena. A guy I watched growing up, a big WWE guy when I was a kid, so yeah, we had that one plan for a while. I just didn't get the cue then either, so that we did, so we pulled it out.”

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The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Washington Commanders in the match with a score of 29-18. Cooper DeJean secured four tackles in the match.

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NFL legend also paid tribute to John Cena

While Cooper DeJean gave his nod to John Cena during one of his matches, Tom Brady was featured in a 'Thank You Cena' video made by WWE. The seven-time NFL Champion was the first person in a string of several others to congratulate the Never Seen 17 and bid farewell to him.

"Hey John, 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."

Check out the video here.

The video also featured several other sports personalities and celebrities, including Eli Manning, Snoop Dogg, Jelly Roll, and others. The Franchise Player has said he will never wrestle again but will serve as an ambassador for WWE for five years. It would be interesting to see what lies ahead for Cena.

Edited by Neda Ali