John Cena announced at Money in the Bank in July that he will officially retire from wrestling at the end of next year and will embark on a farewell tour next January. One of Cena’s biggest rivals, Dave Bautista, recently spoke out about his decision to retire in 2025, stating that he could never give fans a farewell tour and wouldn’t feel comfortable doing so. In an interview with Insight, Bautista shared his admiration for Cena, but admitted that he is very different from the 16-time world champion and doesn’t want to make a “big deal” out of his career accolades.

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“I get along with John. I respect John a lot, a lot more than people think for some reason. I think the internet and the fans have built up this rivalry between us that doesn’t really exist, but that’s what sets us apart. I would never do that (the farewell tour). I wouldn’t, I couldn’t. It would feel disingenuous for me to travel around, and I just couldn’t. But I understand his point of view that he wants to travel around and thank all the fans in person, but there’s just something inside me that can’t make me do that… I retired the way I wanted to. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. I announced my retirement on Instagram and I knew I would.”

Bautista also stated that he did not want to tell anyone about his resignation because he had no desire to perform or prepare a speech, saying that the whole idea felt “wrong” to him.

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If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit Insight with ah/t to Wrestling Inc. as the source for the transcription.