John Cena, AJ Styles and the Dudley Boyz: Why pro-wrestling retirements just hit different

WWE via Getty Images

Just over 11 years ago, Derek Jeter stepped up to the plate at Yankee Stadium for his final home at bat in a legendary career. Jeter, then 40 years old, wasn't the player he once was, but that night — that moment — in the Bronx he was able to punch a ball into right field and give fans one last memory. 

In the late 1990s, John Elway was able to ride into the sunset with back-to-back Super Bowl wins, capping off a career that was already bound for Canton with the ultimate accomplishment, twice. Roughly three months later, he retired.

And sometimes, there aren't signs, retirement just happens. 

Jack Nicholson, as talented and iconic an actor as there has ever been, hasn't had a role in 15 years. Three Oscars and an IMDB page that's 77 credits deep and that was that for an American legend. No goodbye, no parade, no statue, just some award show and "Saturday Night Live" cameos and Lakers games.

It's what makes what transpired over the weekend in the world of professional wrestling so significant. You see, wrestling exists in both planes of sport and entertainment. There's a physicality that brings a certain finiteness to the careers of men and women in the ring, but also an inherent artistry to the business that allows — in some cases — for stars to control their narratives in the final stages of their careers.

This past Saturday, John Cena and AJ Styles put on one of the best matches of 2025 — and in the former's case, his career. At 48 years old apiece, with thousands of matches and miles on their bodies, Cena and Styles crafted a masterpiece in the ring. For 27-plus minutes, fans and critics were able to put their disagreements aside, disregard booking decisions, ignore work rates, forget about the bigger picture and just watch — quite literally — the end of two eras of professional wrestling. 

It took more than an decade for Cena and Styles to meet in a WWE ring, with the latter working primarily in Ring of Honor, Total Nonstop Action and New Japan Pro Wrestling from 2002-16, but they were stylistic rivals well before. While Cena helped push WWE to new levels in the mainstream throughout the 2000s, Styles blazed a path with smaller companies and on the independent scene that revolutionized the industry in an entirely different way. When it came time to finally face off in the squared circle once Styles jumped to WWE, he always seemed to bring the best out in Cena — and Saturday was no different. 

WWE via Getty Images

Cena, somehow simultaneously in the GOAT conversation and underrated, selflessly gave up the spotlight to Styles for their final dance, paying homage to him with a handcrafted introduction before the match and then partaking in what Paul "Triple H" Levesque and my Uncrowned colleague Raj Prashad appropriately referred to as a love letter to professional wrestling. From Sting to Bray Wyatt and everyone in between, the tributes served as thank yous not only from the men in the ring, but also the fans who recognized them.

With four dates left on Cena's retirement tour, it's hard to imagine anything topping this — or if it even should. For all intents and purposes, Crown Jewel should serve as Cena's Jeter or Elway moment.

Ironically, Saturday was also the first match of the not-quite-official AJ Styles retirement tour. Styles, who recently confirmed 2026 will be his final year as an in-ring competitor, will likely have a different experience than Cena, but Crown Jewel's kickoff should set the bar incredibly high.

Then Sunday, at TNA's Bound For Glory pay-per-view, we witnessed another end-of-an-era moment when the Hardy Boyz and Dudley Boyz — two Mount Rushmore-worthy tag teams — battled for the final time. Where Cena and Styles felt like a trip down memory lane, the Hardyz and Dudleyz full-on transported an entire generation of fans to the Attitude Era with tables, ladders and chairs. 

At the combined age of 206, Matt, Jeff, Bubba Ray and D-Von put their bodies on the line one more time because anything else wouldn't have lived up the to expectations fans and the iconic quartet had for themselves. After the match, as an emotional Bubba Ray and D-Von unlaced their boots and handed them to Matt and Jeff amid a raucous, grateful crowd, it was hard not to feel the same way many did after Cena-Styles. It was so overwhelming that Bubba Ray, one of the toughest figures in the world of pro wrestling couldn't help but break down.

This was perfection. "Absolute Cinema" if we're pandering to the kids and meme culture.

Of course, not every retirement hits this level. For every Jeter and Elway, there's a Wizards Michael Jordan or Mets Willie Mays. For the majority of us, retirement just means you get a watch, or a plaque or a small party — maybe with an open bar if they really liked you. Even in wrestling, where retirements have a nasty habit of not sticking, sometimes "I'm sorry, I love you" turns into more of a "see you later."

It's why we shouldn't always be in a rush to think about the next match, the next PLE, the next big thing. The machine isn't going to stop to appreciate, but that doesn't mean we can't.

Because if six legends reminded us of anything this weekend, it's this:

They. De-serve. It.

We did too.