John Cena paid tribute to Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles on Instagram this week, sharing a photo of the three legends touching fists after Lesnar announced his retirement on the Pat McAfee Show. Lesnar’s decision came days after he lost a Hell in a Cell match to Oba Femi at SummerSlam. The post closes out a stretch that has seen Cena, Styles and Lesnar, three stars who came up together in OVW, all step away from in-ring competition within roughly eight months of each other.
John Cena celebrates Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles in emotional post-retirement WWE message
John Cena has welcomed Brock Lesnar into wrestling’s retirement club, joining him alongside AJ Styles. The gesture came just days after Lesnar confirmed he was done competing, closing out a run that started decades ago in Ohio Valley Wrestling. Cena’s tribute lands at a moment when WWE is processing the exit of three of its most decorated stars in less than a year, and it signals how deeply their careers were intertwined.Lesnar made his announcement official on the Pat McAfee Show, confirming what many had suspected since his Hell in a Cell loss to Oba Femi at SummerSlam. Asked about his future, Lesnar kept it simple, saying “that’s it for me in the squared circle.” The comment put an end to speculation that had followed him since his WrestleMania appearance earlier this year, when a similar retirement scare turned out to be premature.
Three OVW alumni bow out within eight months of each other
Cena’s Instagram post showed three wristbands touching in a fist bump, representing himself, Lesnar and Styles, with no caption attached. The image works as a quiet nod to a shared history that stretches back to their days developing together in OVW alongside Randy Orton and Batista. Of that group, only Orton remains an active in-ring competitor, with Batista having transitioned into a Hollywood career years ago.Retirement timeline of the three WWE legends:
| Wrestler | Retirement announced | Final match |
| John Cena | December 2025 | Lost to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event |
| AJ Styles | January 2026 | Lost to Gunther at Royal Rumble |
| Brock Lesnar | August 2026 | Lost to Oba Femi in Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam |
Cena and Lesnar built one of the most physical rivalries in WWE history, including a match where Lesnar suplexed Cena 16 times in a single outing. Styles and Cena, meanwhile, had a defining feud in 2016 and 2017 that included a SummerSlam 2016 classic, and both men crossed paths again during Cena’s farewell tour last year at Crown Jewel in Australia.
What comes next for WWE’s new generation
Result: Oba Femi defeated Brock Lesnar in the Hell in a Cell main event of SummerSlam Night 1, marking the second time Femi had beaten Lesnar in three meetings. After the loss, Lesnar embraced Femi in the ring and called him the future of the company, a moment that now reads as a deliberate passing of the torch.All three retirees have taken steps to support that next wave. Cena launched the John Cena Classic to spotlight rising NXT talent, Styles has moved into scouting and training newer wrestlers, and Lesnar used his final night to publicly endorse Femi. Whether that endorsement translates into Femi carrying a heavier main event role in the months ahead is the question WWE now has to answer, and fans are already floating Hall of Fame timelines for Lesnar as the next milestone to watch.
